"Seems like it would leave an oily residue"

Yes that is exactly what is does. Oil or silicone.

All those stainless steel "cleaners" for your appliances do, is smear an oil coating on the item so that it doesn't show fingerprints and repels them.

I would concentraet on just keeping the granite clean and sanitary and not coat it with anything, least of all Pledge.

Our granite fabricator from Italy actually recommended regular Pledge once a week instead of using the expensive granite polishes.

Why would you need polish at all? Doesn't it have a shiny finish to begin with? As long as it was sealed it should not need anything. If it looks cloudy at all, what you need is to wipe it down with a microfiber cloth. When I clean the kitchen at night after wiping down the counter I buff off any streaks with plain water and microfiber. The counter is 5 years old and it looks the same now as it did when it was new. If you fill up the pores in the stone with wax you will never be able to seal it again.

I have absolute black granite and would never think to apply pledge. I too use a microfiber cloth and after trying several cleaners could not find anything better than my cloth. It was from Norwex and it removes 99.9% of bacteria with just water. The cloth is embedded with silver which kills the germs lurking in the cloth. Very green!! Keeps my black granite looking beautiful.

Seriously - ICK!!

Why would you want anything like Pledge anywhere near where you prepare food? You probably wouldn't poison yourself, but who would want that smell near food?

Cindla, your granite guy is totally off base and obviously not a stone expert.
Never, ever, put wax or polish on your stone. Hesitate to even seal it unless it's a light color. Dark granites don't need and shouldn't be sealed. The unbelievable thing is that many granite fabricators don't even know this. I learned it by reading up about it when we were building our house six years ago. See the link for an excellent forum on natural stone care.

Here is a link that might be useful: Natural Stone Forum

I wash mine with the same dish soap that I use to wash my dishes (Dawn). Then rinse and wipe dry with microfiber.

natesgramma, just make sure you don't use much of that soap or it will leave a dulling film over time. It's better to use plain water. And, incidentally, granite does not harbor bacteria. If in doubt, use hydrogen peroxide to kill germs.

I asked a stone specialist about cleaning granite also. He said you can put just a couple drops of anti-bacterial soap in water to wash it down. Of course, superbugs are the buzz now, and only use the ones with alcohol. But, I wouldn't do Pledge buildup on it, esp in a food area. I have heard to polish/protect faucets, like brass, with furniture polish though (from an appliance/fixture store, as I recall).

I use pledge regularly on my granite. It’s fabulous! Clean it. Spray with pledge. Comes out smooth with no residue. Read the back of the can, it’s recommended.

I have been using Pledge on my granite for 10 years. It leaves a beautiful, shiny surface. Just spray it on and wipe thoroughly with a terry cloth towel. There will be no oily residue. Everything slides easily on the polished surface and makes cleanup so easy. It lasts 2-3 weeks.