What To Expect Once Your Counters Are Installed

What To Expect Once Your Counters Are Installed

We’ve been on a series of “What to expect” with a variety of topics related to your countertops. I’m going to link them here.

Now that your beautiful new counters are installed, you might want to know what to expect regarding cleaning and upkeep. I’m going to go over some of the basics for 3 of the most common stone countertops.

Quartz

Quartz has become so popular because not only is it beautiful, but it is very durable and easy to maintain. You do not need to reseal quartz countertops. Once they are installed, they are good to go! Ideally, just soap and water will clean your countertops from any messes. It’s important to dilute the soap and use a soap that is free of color additives. This is what we recommend the most. But let's say you’re cooking with some chicken and it comes off the cutting board and onto the counters more than you would have liked, you might want a stronger cleaner once in a while. You can actually use some rubbing alcohol and water to sanitize and it will leave the counters shiny and clean. Put some in a spray bottle and use when needed.

Stay away from bleach, vinegar and harsh chemicals and wipes. Many cleaners that you would use on other surfaces could actually harm your quartz countertops. Keep it simple! It’s better for your health to stay away from bleach and strong chemicals anyways. And don’t wipe with anything that is rough or abrasive.

You’ll also want to make sure you use cutting boards and trivets. If you are kneading some bread or making homemade pasta, use the quartz directly! But if you are cutting anything or taking something directly out of the oven, please protect your countertops by putting something down first. While quartz is durable to staining and scratching, it’s not indestructible. The glue resins that make it stronger can get discolored with direct heat.

Dekton

Dekton is more durable than quartz and granite. According to the Dekton website, multipurpose disinfectants and multipurpose cleaners are allowed on Dekton countertops, diluted products being the best. Soap and water is still a great way to clean Dekton countertops when a disinfectant is not needed.

You do not need to reseal Dekton and you can actually put heat directly onto your Dekton countertops!

Granite

For your granite countertop cleaning, follow the steps you would for quartz. Soap and water being the best option.

Granite, unlike the other options listed, does need to be resealed. It will be sealed when we install it. But depending on many factors like how much it is being used, how much it is being cleaned, if water is getting onto it often, can affect how much you need to reseal it. As a general rule, resealing your granite countertops every year is good for most homes. Resealing is something that you can do yourself and is fairly easy and just a matter of applying a solution that you can buy online or in store.

Many people will say that they put direct heat onto their granite and it was okay for their counters. Granite is going to be more heat resistant than quartz because it does not have glue resins in it. However, we still do not recommend taking a pan off of the range and putting it directly onto the countertops. The temperature difference can still cause harm and it’s risky! To care for your granite well, we recommend using trivets and cutting boards when needed.

We hope this helps you with the basics of caring for your new countertops! Please call us whenever you have any specific questions and we are happy to answer them for you.