How To Care For Your New Countertops
Care & Maintenance
A beautiful stone countertop makes a kitchen. It’s the work surface where you prepare food, eat casual family meals, pay bills and help kids with theirs homework. And of all the countertop materials you can buy, stone is the gold standard. Both for its durability and character.
Pulled from the earth, each slab of Granite has its own mineral color, veining, and speckles, brought to life by craftsmanship to become the centre piece of your home. Each piece is an original work of art.
A stone countertop will last as long as your house—maybe even longer. It only needs a little routine care to keep away water marks, stains, and etching typically caused by acidic foods.
Quartz with its durability and high level of stain and scratch resistance, need only a bit of love to ensure it keeps its gorgeous shine.
Granite and Quartz countertops can stand the test of time if they are cared for properly. Its not as difficult as most people think, follow these simple rules for keeping your new countertops beautiful from day 1.
Contrary to popular opinion, proper maintenance and cleaning of granite countertops is easy. there are just a few important things to remember in order to maintain its natural lustre and beauty.
- Only use warm, mildly soapy water or a low PH neutral stone cleaner and soft cloth to clean your granite. We carry a variety of stone care products in our showroom.
- Don’t use ammonia or bleach based products such as Windex, Comet, Fantastic or Mr. Clean, or acidic cleaners like vinegar. These chemicals will strip the sealer over time rendering your stone susceptible to stains.
- Never under any circumstances use scrub pads such as Scotch-Brite or S.O.S. These pads contain harsh abrasives that can scratch the surface.
- Always clean up spills as soon as you notice them.
- Don’t walk, stand, sit, jump or kneel on your countertops.
- When moving objects on your countertops, lift rather than slide. Granite is very durable, but can be scratched just like everything else.
- You can take a hot pot off the stove and put it directly on your granite countertop without any problem. HOWEVER, it is possible (but rare) for granite to suffer “thermal shock” and crack.
- Periodically reseal your countertop. Granite is porous and the sealant blocks liquids from seeping into the stone. This helps to prevent etching and staining caused by dirt and spills. there are a few factors that determine the frequency of resealing. Dark colours, for example, are denser and less porous than light colours and therefore require less frequent sealing. The way you maintain your granite can also affect the frequency of resealing. If you use chemicals that wear away or weaken the sealant, you will need to reseal more often.
Following these simple instructions will ensure that you get to enjoy your new stone countertops for years to come.
To keep your new quartz countertop looking new, follow these simple guidelines and precautions.
- Use warm, mildly soapy water and a soft cloth to clean your quartz.
- Always clean up spills as soon as you notice them. Quartz is stain resistant; not stain proof.
- Don’t use ammonia or bleach based products such as Windex, Comet, Fantastic, or Mr. Clean, or acidic cleaners like vinegar.
- Never under any circumstances use scrub pads such as Scotch-Brite or S.O.S. These pads contain harsh abrasives that can scratch the surface. Quartz is scratch resistant; not scratch proof.
- Quartz can be damaged by sudden and excessive heat as well as direct and/or sustained heat. Always be sure to put hot pads or trivets under hot pots, electric frying pans, slow cookers and roaster ovens before placing them on quartz.
- Quartz requires no sealing or polishing. Never apply sealants, penetrants or topical treaments to quartz. Such products will cause the surface to appear dull and inconsistent.
