Granite shrugs off scratches and acid far better than marble — it's a hard, quartz- and feldspar-rich stone. That reputation for being indestructible is where the neglect starts. Granite isn't maintenance-free; it just fails more slowly and less obviously.
How granite actually wears
- Traffic-lane dullness. The mirror polish granite leaves the factory with slowly flattens under foot traffic. On a floor you see it as a matte path; on a countertop, around the sink and prep area.
- Greasy film. In kitchens and lobbies, granite builds up an invisible layer of grease and grime that ordinary cleaning spreads around rather than removes. The floor looks "dirty" no matter how often you mop.
- Oil and water stains. Granite's porosity varies enormously by variety. Some black granites are almost sealed by nature; some light ones drink oil into dark blotches. Unsealed or under-sealed granite stains.
- Hard-water spotting around wet areas, and soap scum in bathrooms.
Daily care
- Clean with pH-neutral stone cleaner and a microfibre mop or cloth. Skip the abrasive pads and scouring powders — they scratch even granite's polish over time.
- Blot oil and grease promptly, especially on lighter granites.
- Test the seal every so often: drop water on the surface. If it beads, you're fine. If it soaks in and darkens the stone, it's time to re-seal.
- Re-seal every 2–4 years typically.
What a professional re-polish involves
Because granite is hard, restoring it is more about patience and the right pad progression than aggressive grinding:
- A deep degrease first, in kitchens and lobbies.
- Diamond resin pads worked through to a high grit to rebuild the shine.
- An impregnating sealer matched to how absorbent that particular granite is.
Done with the right tools it's a once-in-many-years job. Attempted with the pads and compounds sold for home use, it makes almost no difference — granite is simply too hard for consumer kit.
Countertops
Everything above applies, plus: re-seal countertops more often than floors (they take more spills), don't cut directly on the surface (it dulls your knives and, over years, the polish), and get chipped edges professionally repaired before they spread.