Marble / Granite Cleaning - Is it safe to use steam cleaner on marble shower walls / floors and granite countertops

Q. Is it safe to use a steam cleaner on marble shower walls/floors and granite countertops?

A. Under normal circumstances typical heavy duty steam cleaners are too high temp and are not recommended. Why? Because of thermal expansion and contraction. In other words, the steam will expand the stone and surrounding materials and as it cools ands contracts may cause problems over time. Also, if your stone has natural fills (such as travertines) the steam could cause the fills to pop over time.

However, the home steam cleaners are generally safe because the temperature is not as high. As long as you are not using it everyday, you should be fine. Think about this though: You may find that steam won't clean as effectively as a chemical cleaner / disenfectant created for stone showers. If heavy soap film is a problem, I would recommend Stonecare PRO Signature Heavy Duty Soap Film Remover which you can find at www.stonecarecentral.com. You may also want to download our Stone and Tile Care Guide here: www.stoneandtilepros.com/care-guide.pdf.

For granite countertops, there is no compelling reason not to use steam, except if there are natural fissures there may be some possibility of exacerbating them. If the reason you are considering steam cleaning is for disinfecting the granite countertops, a better option may be to use a mild solution of bleach water.

John Freitag
Director
The Stone and Tile School
www.thestoneandtileschool.com

EXPANSION
Enlargement of length and bulk by reason of temperature rise or absorption of water

GRANITE
A very hard, crystalline, igneous rock, gray to pink in color, composed of feldspar, quartz, and lesser amounts of dark Ferro magnesium materials. Black ’granites’ are similar to true ’granites’ in structure and texture, but are composed of different minerals

MARBLE
A metamorphic crystalline rock composed predominantly of crystalline grains of calcite, dolomite, or serpentine, and capable of taking a polish

TILE
A thin modular stone, generally less than ¾ inch thick