Quartz Worktops, Stains & Household Detergents
  • affordable-granite-care-kit-1

    Quartz

    Care & Maintenance

With the increasing popularity of quartz worktops over recent years, we have been gaining a growing body of knowledge regarding the performance and maintenance of these materials. The vast majority of our customers have been delighted and have experienced no particular difficulties, but we have seen a few issues with staining on some uniform-textured, light-coloured engineered stones.

With the increasing popularity of quartz worktops over recent years, we have been gaining a growing body of knowledge regarding the performance and maintenance of these materials.

The vast majority of our customers have been delighted and have experienced no particular difficulties, but we have seen a few issues with staining on some uniform-textured, light-coloured engineered stones.

Having worked with our customers and with the quartz manufacturers to solve these problems, it has struck us that the people who have experienced difficulties have been among the most conscientious in their kitchen cleaning. Specifically, very regular wiping down with detergent solutions seems to be associated with staining.

What appears to be happening is that a microscopically thin layer of residue left after each wipe-down starts to build up to become a coating or “bloom” which is itself susceptible to staining. If you have ever washed your windows with washing up liquid and left it to dry on you will probably have seen this kind of bloom on the glass. In the case of the worktop stains, it is not the quartz which is staining at all, but the very detergent used to clean it!

The way round this issue is to avoid using too much detergent. Wiping down with warm water alone is the most basic and effective maintenance. Dilute detergent can be used if greasy dirt is involved, but rinse off carefully to avoid any build-up. If a bloom is already present, Astonish Orange Cleaning Paste USED WET should get rid of it. The key is to avoid leaving any washing up liquid to dry on.