Caring for Your Home: Natural Stone Cleaning Cost

If you have natural stone in your home, you know how beautiful it can be.

But the sparkle can wear off when it becomes dingy, dirty, etched or dull.

You can bring life back to your natural stone by having a professional cleaning company handle the job.

Before and after we cleaned a backyard BBQ slate

At this point, you’re curious about natural stone cleaning cost. 

We’ll fill you in on the expense – after we take a look at the cleaning process.

The cleaning process for natural stone

There are a lot of different types of natural stone you may have in your home including:

• Marble.
• Granite.
• Limestone.
• Sandstone.
• Soapstone.
• Slate.
• Cement.

While the details may vary some depending on the type, here’s an inside look at the general cleaning process.

1. Cleaning natural stone

Here’s a step-by-step example of how we clean natural stone:

• To get through the toughest grime, we use a high pH grease- and soil-cutting enzyme.
• When the heat is applied, the soil and dirt start breaking down.
• Mechanical agitation can be used on areas that need more substantial repair.
• Next, we use a rotary jet extraction method. It’s basically a pressure wash that’s totally contained but works at a high temperature. Because it’s contained, you don’t have to worry about over-spray and the dirty water goes into a sanitary drain.
• A gentle acid rinse can be used on mineral deposits or iron stains. This rinse also helps to restore the natural stone to its former glory. If iron stains or mineral deposits are an issue, a restorative, mild acid rinse can be used to get rid of them.
• To be sure that all the residue of cleaning is gone and get the surface ready for sealing, we give it one more high-pressure rinse.

2. Sealing or coating your natural stone

The next steps depend on your answers to a few questions.

• Is your natural stone inside or outside?
• Do you want it to look as “natural” as possible? 
• Or do you want it to have a different color?
• Would you like your stone to look glossy or have a high shine?

Armed with the answers to these questions, we'll get started on a solution that’s exactly what you want – and fits within your budget.

Natural stone cleaning cost 

Expect to spend between $1.20 and $2.60 per square foot to have your home’s natural stone cleaned and sealed or coated.

The results of cleaned natural stone

These before and after pictures show you the amazing difference some maintenance can do.

Before Knoll                                                 After Knoll

Natural stone restoration and repair

Dirty, crumbly, dull natural stone isn’t very appealing to the eye. You don’t want this look, whether it’s inside or outside.

What you need is a little repair and restoration to restore your stone’s beauty.

At HammondKnoll, we have the expertise to fix your scratched or etched natural stone, such as marble, granite, limestone, slate.

Cost for the restoration of your natural stone

Here’s what you could spend on tile and stone repair, depending on the problem.

More details on natural stone cleaning cost

Before and after we cleaned concrete flooring

There are a few additional elements that affect natural stone cleaning cost.

These include:

• What type of natural stone do you have – marble, granite, stamped concrete, etc.?
• Is there damage from improper maintenance?
• Has it been coated or sealed?

There will be differences in cost, but it’s important to remember that ALL types of natural stone can be cleaned.

A real-life example of natural stone cleaning 

One of the most common types of natural stone people have in their homes is marble.

Check out how we transformed this customer’s countertops.

The marble counters in the image above were not sealed when installed and had become etched or scratched from acidic spots (acid from citrus juices and tomato juices to name a couple culprits).

The counter not only looked bad, but it also had a rough feel.

We cleaned, polished and resealed the counter back to a smooth, shiny finish.

The cost for the counter was $19 per square foot, due to the number of times it needed to be polished, and the fact that we had to tape all the kitchen cabinets to protect them from damage.

The total cost of the project was $665 – still way, way less than replacing the marble countertop.

Work with trusted experts

Giving your natural stone the regular upkeep it needs will make it last longer and look great.

Even if your natural stone is in poor shape, you can likely save money by having it restored or repaired – and cleaned – by an expert, instead of replacing it.

Now that we’ve given you a better understanding of natural stone cleaning cost, it’s time to call in the professionals.

At HammondKnoll, we have had many years of experience cleaning, repairing and restoring natural stone. We’ve developed strategies that make our service a cut above the rest.

*A note about the costs: Prices vary depending on the type of stone, prep for the job (taping off walls and cabinets), moving of furniture, as well as the amount of polishing or repairs that are required to bring the stone back to its original condition.