Soapstone and Mineral Oil: How to Maintain Your Countertops
If you’ve recently remodeled your home and decided to use brand new soapstone for your counters, you might not know what to expect from the new grey kitchen countertops in your Bucks County home. What you might not realize is that brand new soapstone develops its vibrant, classic color as the stone ages. With questions around whether you should seal your counters, scrub them down with heavy-duty cleaning supplies, or some other counter care method, you can quickly become overwhelmed with trying to figure out how to best care for your new soapstone countertops. However, you can do something to help your counters darken a little faster: treat your counters with mineral oil.
About Soapstone
Primarily composed of the mineral talc, soapstone has a soft and soapy texture to the touch. This unique texture leads to shock from people when they find out about the durability of the material. Soapstone is resistant to etching from the acidic chemicals of soda, wine, and juice. As soapstone ages, it gains a darker and richer color that homeowners have come to appreciate. To keep the your counters in top condition, you can treat them with mineral oil instead of sealing your soapstone counters to achieve similar results.
Why Should I Treat My Counters With Mineral Oil?
Many people like the look of unoiled soapstone, but rubbing your counters down with oil will help your counters oxidize consistently across their entirety. Oxidation is the process the soapstone undergoes as it darkens and often gets accelerated by contact with water and other surfaces. Soapstone is a nonporous, chemically inert substance, so oxidation doesn’t damage the material, but mineral oil helps keep the counters beautiful throughout their lifespan.
How Often Should I Apply the Oil?
When you’ve got a brand new soapstone countertop, it’s worth rubbing it down a day after installation. Before doing so, allow your counter to settle for a day so the silicon can set and dry. After that, you should plan to oil your stone once every month or when your counters start to get too light. If your sink happens to lighten up quicker than the rest of your countertops, we recommend our mineral oil and bee’s wax combination. It may take a bit more elbow grease, but it’s sure to last longer.
Should I Seal Soapstone?
Soapstone is one of the best products to use in kitchens because of its durability and nonporous nature. A bonus of these two characteristics is that soapstone doesn’t need to be sealed to be safe.
Sealants are used for porous stones like marble or granite to keep stains from forming and minimize bacterial growth issues. Soapstone doesn’t require a seal because it’s incredibly dense in its structure. Because of this, it is more likely to dent than break, and it is resistant to issues like bacterial growth, burning, and staining.
Will Mineral Oil Help with Scratches?
While soapstone is a highly durable surface, it’s possible to scratch it. However, unlike other materials used for countertops, buffing the scratch with mineral oil will help remove the scratches. Deeper marks in the counter might require a little sanding, but afterward, a coat of mineral oil will help maintain the consistent color that inspired you to choose soapstone in the first place.
If you’ve recently installed soapstone in your home and want to know how to maintain it, or are interested in looking at soapstone countertops for sale in Wayne, PA, call the BC Soapstone team today!
