In searching the forums I didn't find anyone who has a soapstone floor in their kitchen. We do.

Soapstone looks absolutely beautiful on floors but we would NEVER use it on a kitchen floor again. While it's true that soapstone doesn't *permanently* stain, it does change color with spills of oil, grease, coffee, dog chewing a bone, dropped food on the floor, and sometimes even with water. I can tell you those grease stains don't come out even when using Dawn or 409. The stains may lighten but you can still clearly see them for a few weeks to a month or more.

It makes the floor look dirty and raggedy even when it's clean. Sigh... We explain to guests that soapstone doesn't stain and they look at the floor and ask about the stains. We say, oh those aren't stains; they're not permanent, they'll come out in a month. LOL.

But it feels great with the floor heat underneath.

I would use soapstone on the floor in a heartbeat in a bathroom (there is no better stone for wet areas), entry hall, or den, but there is no way in the world I would ever recommend it for a kitchen floor. My hope is that the entire floor will develop a darker patina in a couple of years.

We love our soapstone countertops and sinks but for some reason they are much easier to clean than the floor. Perhaps it's because the counters have become darker because of the mineral oil. We've never oiled the floors, of course!

In a future thread I may ask about steam cleaners.

Billy

In the photos below the darker stains are new (uncleaned) and the lighter stains have been there a while after scrubbing and several cleanings. The soapstone is Barocca, just like the counters.