CLEANING QUARTZ WORKTOPS: WHEN CLEANING STAINS

Over the last few years granite worktop companies like ours have seen the bulk of our business move from black granite to white quartz. That is fine, of course – tastes change and new materials are developed. But as a result the regular ongoing maintenance issue has switched from “How do you clean black granite worktops?” to “How do you clean quartz worktops?”

One thing that attracts people to quartz is that it is supposed to be easier to keep clean that granite, and is less prone to staining. This is certainly true in light colours where porous and waterlogged natural stones can get stains beneath their surface. But it really isn’t an issue with dark, volcanic stones, where the cleaning challenge has much more to do with greasy marks and dust than stains.

When it comes to cleaning stains actually ON the surface, white quartz can be a real challenge. A black Sharpie® in the hands of a three year old can do far worse damage on your white marble-look quartz worktops than it can on Black Pearl granite! It is possible to tackle that kind of issue, but you may well need specialist help to find the best solvent for the particular ink stain. We have seen advice to try nail-varnish remover or hair-spray; be very sparing, try to avoid using too much, or on too wide an area. Use little dabs of tissue at the whetted stain, avoiding moving it around the worktop.

One repeated worktop cleaning issue that has come up has to do with cleaning products themselves. Sometimes it is the very people who are most thorough and keen about kitchen cleaning and hygiene who have had the most problems. “I’m getting terrible stains on my new quartz worktops!”, “Cups leave rings so easily”, and so it goes.

What we have found, time after time, is that the problems starts with over-enthusiastic use of cleaners, especially without adequate rinsing and buffing off. Some cleaners can dry onto the surface to form a layer which is in itself a stain, and which can also accept stains very easily from coloured liquids such as tea and coffee.

We happened to have a case just this week where a customer asked us to visit and take a look at marks and stains on their Affordable Carrara quartz worktops – worktops installed a few months ago. Jon, our regular templator, popped in on his way back to base and did a general clean up. He took a few pictures of the stained worktops.

It is really hard to take photos of the kind of problem I am talking about, but if you click through the images in the carousel below you can see two shots – as taken, and after boosting the contrast in Photoshop to show the quartz worktop staining. In the contrasty shots, you can clearly see marks on the surface.

What Jon found on the worktops was a deposit of cleaning agent that had built up to form a bloom on the surface. Not only was this discolouring the white quartz in its own right, but it was forming a surface onto which stains of tea, coffee and other liquids could ‘take’. The result was certainly unsightly staining of the quartz worktops – but it was solved by removing the cleaning agents that had caused the problem!

A good going over with water and a little basic Cif (the simple, standard white one) broke through the layers of kitchen cleaner and got back to the stone surface. A final clean with AG spray cleaner for quartz and granite worktops (the can is hiding in the back of the picture) and Jon was able to buff the tops to a good, clean and consistent shine.

The three culprits?

For our general guide to cleaning and maintenance, please see here. If you have specific problems with cleaning stains or marks on quartz worktops, especially with permanent markers or inks, please contact us directly for advice – or go straight to the man who is the real expert on this stuff. So far as we are concerned, Matan of Bespoke Repairs in the best in the business when it comes to stains, burns, chips and breakages on all kinds of stone, tile and glass surfaces.