So – you’re building your home, and it’s time to decide on what to use for your surfaces. For you, there’s no question:
You want onyx. You would be hard pressed to find a stone half as captivating as onyx.
Onyx embodies luxury and class, which is precisely what you want for your new home.
No problem my friend, we’re here to help you with that. But before you tell your contractor “go”, take a moment to consider here exactly what you can expect from your onyx surfaces.
Because what your contractor may not know to tell you is, although your onyx will glisten like the sea for the first day you own it, it takes serious diligence and care to keep it that way.
Onyx as a Natural Stone
You see, onyx is a cousin of marble, a notoriously soft and porous stone.
If you can believe it, onyx is actually softer than its famous cousin. So every challenge you can expect with marble – from etching by way of acid damage, to chipping, pitting, and spalling from accidental impact damage, you can expect in even greater measure with onyx.
So! Be particularly mindful of where you install your onyx.
You can put it in your kitchen, but every drop of juice, wine, vinegar – and even acid-based all purpose cleaners, will etch and dull your onyx immediately. And I mean immediately! Two seconds sitting on your counter is too long.
Therefore, consider installing it in lower traffic areas instead. Bathroom countertops are a great place for your onyx counters, paying the same amount of diligence to toothpaste spatter and spilt mouthwash.
As you commit to maintaining your onyx, be mindful of what kinds of cleaners you use! You don’t need anything special – dish soap and water applied with the soft side of a sponge is more than enough.
Onyx is the height of luxury. It is beautiful, it is classy.
But it is also very temperamental!
If the work you’ll need to do to keep it up doesn’t deter you, then you can be confident that you’ll be able to enjoy your onyx for years to come.
And if you need some help maintaining or restoring your onyx countertops, give us a call!
Santa Barbara Stone Masters is the best in the business at bringing worn, aging stone back to its original glory.
