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How do you clean and maintain your quartz countertops?

Tell me what you like and what you don't like about them.

I just had them put in my kitchen and bathrooms and am curious to see what you have to say.

Thanks!!!

They're basically maintenance-free. Just clean as you go, and if you spill something that stains easily, use a bit of cleaner. We have a spray bottle of diluted cleaner that smells of lavender that we use (maybe Fabuloso?) to wipe up messes. We've had nothing stain ours, but we don't drink red wine, or cook with tomato sauce very often. When I prepare carrots for roasting, and I've gotten some orange on the counter, I clean it up quickly, but I think it would have to sit there for a long time to stain.

I love our quartz, and will be putting it in our new home again.

Quartz counters are 99% maintenance free. Because they're a manmade aggregate composed of natural stone mixed with resins, you can use Windex or any non abrasive cleaner on them. Ime, they are also almost completely impervious to staining. The only thing to be careful of is heat, as they can be damaged by heat. I had them in my last house and LOVED them. Will be putting them in my next house and can't wait to have them back.

We’ve had them in our kitchen and in the kitchen of our rental for the past 5 years. We installed them in our bathroom a few years ago. They look and wear great. No regrets.

They are pretty maintenance free. Just clean with all-purpose spray or soap/water and you’re good to go. Ours are super white (with grey veining) and so we have to be a bit more careful with staining but that’s more a function of the colour we chose rather than the material. I’ve never had an issue with red wine or any other food product (other than turmeric) and I’m a regular cook (with young kids!), but we have had an issue with pen and sharpie marker. Any time we have had a stain, it’s come off super easily with a tiny bit of acetone nail polish remover on a makeup pad. Harsher products like bleach or acetone generally aren’t advised on quartz but are okay infrequently.

The only other thing I would say is that you’re supposed to avoid super high heat so I wouldn’t place a hot frying pan or a curling iron directly on them. To be fair, I wouldn’t do this on any other countertops either. Things like hot coffee cups or casserole dishes etc are perfectly fine.

Thank you all for the replies!!

I have white quartz with grey veining. They are very pretty.

The problem I have been having is with cleaning them. They have what looks like smears in a couple of areas that I can't get off. There was also a spot that was in the shape of a triangle. It was not discolored but you could see it looked different in that spot.

The company that sold and installed them finally came out to look at them. They got the triangle mark off with steel wool and a razor blade. He told me he thought I was missing that spot when cleaning so it left a perfect triangle. As far as the smearing, he said I needed to use different cleaning methods. (I called the company to ask what to use to clean them and they never sent me the information) He said I should be using soft scrub and paper towels. I have been using dish soap and a spray made for quartz with a microfiber cloth which is what I read is recommended.

I still can't get the smears off.

This was a problem I noticed immediately. The smears seemed to be there before we even moved back into the house.

I have been so careful and have not put anything directly on the counters. I even put pads and towels down before unloading groceries. I know about protecting them from heat.

I wonder if there is some type of oil or something that got on them before, during or after installation?

I'm so frustrated. The guy that looked at them said the only thing they could do is have somebody come out and clean them with soft scrub. He said to use soft scrub with bleach. Everything I have read says not to use bleach products on quartz.

Also, how do you sanitize quartz?

[This message edited by zebra25 at 5:27 PM, Monday, March 6th]

Strange. I don't have any answers for you on what could be causing the issue. Sorry. It sounds like you are already much more cautious than I am (using special cloths and cleaning solutions).

In terms of sanitizing I literally use Mr. Clean with febreeze (which is a disinfectant) or a mix of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. I have never used bleach.

Thanks for your input emergent.

I guess there is no way to sanitize against everything. I'm pretty sure a bleach solution is the only thing that kills norovirus. No way am I using bleach but I like to really sanitize things especially if someone has been sick.

I will check into Mr Clean. Thank you!!

I always used windex and clorox wipes on my counters and didn't have any issues.

There was also a spot that was in the shape of a triangle. It was not discolored but you could see it looked different in that spot.

I'm wondering if, since quartz countertops are man-made, if this is some sort of manufacturing defect?