Which cleaners are safe on granite, wood, grout and stainless steel?

Granite tolerates acids far better than marble does, but the stone trade still recommends a pH-neutral cleaner for every natural stone. Marble, limestone, travertine and onyx must never see vinegar, lemon juice or acidic cleaners, and polished stone should not be scrubbed with scouring powder. On finished wood floors, UF/IFAS allows weak vinegar on a nearly dry mop, but the flooring trade warns it can dull the finish, so the floor maker decides. Vinegar's SDS lists stainless steel, not mild steel or aluminum, as a suitable container. Grout in a stone installation follows the stone rules. Below, each surface is set against acids, alkalis, bleach, alcohol and abrasives, with gaps marked and a fix for etching.

How to read the tables

Each cell gives what a named source says, with its reference. "No source read" means none of the extension, trade or manufacturer sources consulted for this page addresses that combination; it does not mean the combination is safe. Where a cell is empty of evidence, the rule is the same every time: follow the manufacturer's or installer's care sheet for that surface, and test on a hidden spot first.

The ingredient groups are:

• Acids: vinegar, citric acid, lemon juice, and acidic bathroom, lime and grout cleaners.
• Alkalis: washing soda, borax, ammonia and strong degreasers.
• Bleach: chlorine bleach and bleach-containing cleaners.
• Alcohol: rubbing alcohol and alcohol glass cleaners.
• Abrasives: baking soda paste, scouring powder, soft cleansers, scrub pads.

Natural stone

The reason marble and granite behave differently is chemistry. Marble and limestone are calcium carbonate [1], the same mineral as hard-water scale, so the acid that dissolves scale dissolves the stone. Granite is mostly feldspar, quartz and mica [1], which ordinary household acids do not attack. The sealer on a granite counter is a different matter: the booklet says counter sealers "should be applied to minimize the possibility of staining" [1], and some sealers have their own care rules. Ask your fabricator what was applied.

Too much of even a neutral cleaner causes trouble: "Too much cleaner may leave a film and cause streaks" [1]. Rinse and dry stone after washing [1].

Floors, counters and other hard surfaces

The floor dilutions above are short versions; each is quoted in full, with its mop technique, on the floor cleaners page. Floors that a manufacturer says should not see vinegar at all follow the manufacturer.

Metals

The aluminum row shows why contact time matters. The SDS rule is about storing acid in an aluminum vessel for a long time [5]. The UGA recipe is a brief cleaning contact on purpose [3]. A quick wipe followed by a rinse is a different exposure from a pan left soaking overnight.

Cast iron is iron, so the mild steel caution reasonably extends to bare cast iron. That is an inference from the SDS, not a cookware maker's statement; follow your pan maker's care directions.

Bleach and alcohol, surface by surface

The sources read for this page say little about bleach and alcohol on specific household surfaces. What they do say:

• Elkay tells owners of its stainless steel sinks not to use chlorine bleach and water solutions in the sink, because chlorides "are very aggressive to stainless steel" [14]. Maytag lists bleach among things that can damage a glass cooktop [13].
• Bleach is corrosive to skin and eyes and incompatible with acids, bases and oxidizers [7]. CDC's bleach guidance is written for hard surfaces and tells you to follow your bottle's directions [8], which list the surfaces it may be used on.
• Rubbing alcohol is a solvent; none of the sources tests it on wood finishes, paint or acrylic. Test a hidden spot.

For both, the product label is the source to follow.

Testing a hidden spot

When no source covers your surface:

1. Pick a spot that will not show: inside a cabinet door, under a rug, the back edge of a counter.
2. Apply the cleaner at the strength you plan to use, for the time you plan to use it.
3. Rinse and dry, as you would in real cleaning.
4. Look at it the next day, in raking light. Check for dullness, a rough patch, color change, softening or a ring.
5. If anything changed, do not use that cleaner on that surface.

If you etched your stone

An etch looks like a dull, pale or rough patch where an acid sat, often in the shape of a drip or a glass ring. The Miracle Sealants booklet says "worn and etched areas can be revitalized" with abrasive honing and polishing compounds made for stone, that a marble conditioner can remove "light surface scratches, etch marks," and that "extensive restoration requires a skilled professional" [1].

So:

1. Stop using any acidic cleaner on the stone, including vinegar sprays and "natural" bathroom cleaners.
2. Rinse the area with water and dry it.
3. For a light etch on marble, use a polishing product made for marble, following its directions.
4. For a deep etch, a large area or a honed finish you cannot match, call a stone restoration professional.
5. Clean from then on with a neutral-pH stone cleaner, and blot acidic spills at once [1].

Choosing the cleaner for your floor or counter

Once you know what your surface tolerates, the recipe pages give published mixes for each job: the floor cleaners page for floors by type, the bathroom, tub and tile page for scale and soap scum where acid is allowed, and the scouring powder page for sinks and tubs that can take a scrub.

References

1. Miracle Sealants Company, Natural Stone Care Made Simple: Caring for Your Stone Installation, 2017 edition. https://www.rustoleum.com/~/media/RustoleumUSA/Pages/miracle-sealants/documents/care_guides/Miracle_Sealants_Company_Basic_Natural_Stone_Care_2017.ashx?la=en
2. University of Florida IFAS Extension, Griffin and Cantrell, Homemade Household Cleaners (FCS3319), Release Date October 7, 2025. https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FY1449
3. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (Pamela R. Turner and Sharon M. S. Gibson), *Green Cleaning: Recipes for a Healthy Home*, HACE-E-73-1 (Green Clean Booklet), revised October 2018. https://site.extension.uga.edu/greenway/files/2024/09/10.18_Green-Clean-Booklet_update.pdf
4. New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension, Griffiths and Koukel, Green Alternatives to Toxic Household Products and Hazardous Waste (G-313), revised February 2019. https://pubs.nmsu.edu/_g/G313/index.html
5. Alliance Chemical, Safety Data Sheet: 5% Diluted Acetic Acid Food Grade, revised October 20, 2026. https://docs.alliancechemical.com/sds/5-acetic-acid-food-grade
6. Alliance Chemical, Safety Data Sheet: Isopropyl Alcohol 91% USP Grade, revised October 21, 2026. https://docs.alliancechemical.com/sds/isopropyl-alcohol-91
7. The Clorox Company, Safety Data Sheet: Clorox Regular Bleach2, revision 3, December 9, 2020. https://www.thecloroxcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/US001153-Clorox-Regular-Bleach2_3.pdf
8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cleaning and Disinfecting with Bleach, last reviewed April 24, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/about/cleaning-and-disinfecting-with-bleach.html
9. Wood Floor Business (answers by Rusty Swindoll, National Wood Flooring Association), *Q&As: Steam Mops, Lap Lines & Swirl Marks*, October 2, 2013. https://www.woodfloorbusiness.com/finishing/maintenance/article/15125575/qas-steam-mops-lap-lines-swirl-marks
10. Caesarstone, *Care & Maintenance*, undated web page, read October 22, 2026. https://caesarstone.com/customer-service
11. Whirlpool Corporation, *Should You Clean Your Washing Machine with Vinegar?*, undated (page copyright 2026), read October 2026. https://www.whirlpool.com/blog/washers-and-dryers/should-you-clean-washing-machine-with-vinegar.html
12. Maytag (Whirlpool Corporation), *Stop Using Vinegar to Clean Your Washing Machine, Here's Why*, undated (page copyright 2026), read October 2026. https://www.maytag.com/blog/washers-and-dryers/stop-cleaning-washing-machine-with-vinegar.html
13. Maytag (Whirlpool Canada LP), *How to Clean Your Glass Cooktop*, undated (page copyright 2026), read October 22, 2026. https://www.maytag.ca/blog/kitchen/how-to-clean-a-glass-cooktop.html
14. Elkay, *Suggestions for the Care and Cleaning of Your Elkay Stainless Steel Sink*, F-4071, rev. 5/08. https://assets.ajmadison.com/ajmadison/itemdocs/EFRU131610care.pdf