Thread: Naniwa 12000 ruined?

I shall let you know. Sitting on a sunny window sill as we speak.

+1 on the sunlight.

Since you live in Oahu, I suspect you have high humidity levels. Either keep your stones where air can circulate freely, or use silica gel packs or DampRid (which is primarily calcium carbonate) to absorb any excess moisture.

If you get a bright sunny day with little chance of rain, leave your 12K out when the sun can "bake" it. That will help dry it out and kill any mold on the surface. If you can, flip it over every hour to allow both sides to dry evenly. After the baking process, you will need to lap the surface of the hone before you use it.

Personally I'd give it a little bath in a sanitizing solution using Plain Liquid Chlorine Bleach (not scented).

Washington State Health Departments recommend using 1 teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water--as a sanitizer for plates, utensils etc--it doesn't take a lot! I believe that the USDA recommends 1 Tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water for sanitizing cutting boards/both wood, plastic, glass etc.

Then after the soak just put it in the sun to dry.

I have kept my Norton 4/8 and my King waterstones in the USDA solution for months on end. But those Naniwa's are a different matter.

Personally, I would avoid direct sun. YMMV

Originally Posted by bluesman7

Personally, I would avoid direct sun. YMMV

Agreed, sunlight will do more damage to a ceramic stone than mildew ever could.
Bleach would be also bad for a non clay based stone.