Regular cleaning helps keep quartz worktops looking their best. Once you’ve installed a quartz kitchen counter or bathroom vanity, it should last years or even decades without significant wear. However, there are a few things to do – and a few things to avoid – if you want to keep your engineered stone looking as good as new.
Daily Cleaning Ritual
Processed stones, like Quarella or Silestone, are sealed as they’re finished. This makes the material non-porous, so it’s harder to stain. As quartz is one of the toughest materials on the planet, it’s usually difficult to chip or crack under normal use. As a result, choosing quartz for your kitchen or bathroom is a great way to simplify your daily cleaning. Most families find that wiping down the service with a damp cloth is enough to keep their quartz worktop clean day-to-day.
However, if you’re dealing with a spill or a greasy spot near the stove, you might need to use a tougher cleaner. Using abrasive cleaners, including bleach or scouring pads, can dull the polished finish of your quartz work surface, so try to avoid them. A dry microfibre cloth is a good choice for a final polish, on days when you want your quartz counters to really shine.
Deep Cleaning
If you’re having a party or looked behind the toaster for the first time in a while, you might want to give your quartz worktops a more thorough clean than your daily wipe down. While quartz is a tough natural material, a highly polished finish can be damaged by abrasive cleaners so we recommend starting with gentle cleaners first. If there are stubborn spots, for example overlooked pasta sauce, it’s best to soak them off with water, as scraping can damage the polish.
Quartz kitchens are sealed and non-porous, so there’s no need to soak a counter or leave a product to work in. In fact, leaving some harsh cleaning products on the counter can dull the finish as well as releasing toxins into the air. Instead, wipe your cleaner off after no more than 10 minutes, and rinse the area with clean water.
Dealing with Scratches, Scuffs and Stains
Accidents do happen, and occasionally a dropped pot or piece of furniture can chip or scratch your quartz worktop. In these cases, it’s best to assess the damage on a personal level. If the mark is in a hidden place, clean the mark and gently polish it with your usual cloth. If it’s not visible, you may not want to do anything more about it, as unlike laminate worktops, quartz kitchens are solid all the way through so your counter won’t be compromised by a chip or scratch.
If the mark is large or obvious, it’s best to get a professional to assess the damage and repair it. As an engineered stone, quartz is made up of multiple small particles, and its often possible to source a matching putty to create an invisible repair.
We haven’t discussed stains because they’re so unlikely – quartz is impervious to liquids, so coffee, tea, red wine and other stains just wipe off!
