Your quartzite benchtops can be the cream of the crop in your kitchen. It acts as an alluring piece that significantly elevates your entire culinary space.
While these durable stone surfaces provide a wide array of benefits to your kitchen, from enhanced aesthetics to improved functionality, you should conduct proper care and maintenance to maximise their function and extend their lifeline.
Is Quartzite an Excellent Benchtop Material?
Natural stones, such as quartzite, stand out as an excellent option for countertops. This material offers both lasting strength and aesthetic appeal.
Quartzite also has an exceptional ability to resist heat and scratches, which makes it perfect for high-traffic kitchens.
What Are the Unique Characteristics of Quartzite?
Your quartzite countertops possess distinct qualities that contribute to their amazing functionality and timeless beauty.
Distinct Composition
Quartzite is a metamorphic rock made from the original quartz grains found in sandstone that recrystallises during metamorphism, resulting in a dense, granular, and hard stone.
Durable
The exceptional mineral composition and intricate metamorphic process make the quartzite hard and resistant to abrasion, guaranteeing resilience and longevity.
This natural stone can withstand the daily demands of your busy kitchen, resisting heat and scratches and maintaining its pristine condition. The durability of your quartz benchtops saves you from costly repair and replacement needs.
While your elegant quartzite slabs can cater to the needs of your kitchen, they are less porous than their other natural stone alternatives.
You need to maintain your quartz counters and wipe the liquid spills off the stone to prevent it from penetrating and damaging the surface.
Heat Resistant
The kitchen is where the magic of cooking happens. You often require fire and heat when making your culinary creations, making quartzite an ideal worktop material.
The inherent thermal resistance of quartzite ensures that the surface can withstand high temperatures without damaging it.
Design Variety
You can count on this natural stone to make your space look and feel more captivating and aesthetically pleasing.
The unique veined quartzite and its various colours, finishes, and textures add a special touch to your kitchen, blending into different interior styles and making it more lustrous and alluring.
How to Clean and Maintain Your Quartzite Benchtop?
Ensure longevity and enhance the efficiency in your kitchen with a well-maintained quartzite benchtop. Check out these easy care and maintenance tips for your captivating quartz surfaces.
Keep Your Counters Clean
Regular cleaning is always ideal for extending the life of your natural stone surface and keeping a hygienic kitchen.
You can simply clean your low-maintenance stone tops by wiping them with a clean cloth to remove dust and dirt. Periodic washing and cleaning of your quartzite surfaces with warm and soapy water is also essential.
For stains and spills, make sure to wipe the surface immediately to prevent them from seeping through the surface.
Seal Your Quartzite Benchtop
Your quartzite benchtops are less porous and can easily absorb liquid spills if left uncleaned for too long, so sealing is essential. Applying a premium sealant can help you prolong the longevity of your natural quartzite benchtops and maintain its sleek, glossy appearance.
Many stone sealers come in polyurethanes, natural wax, or acrylics that are easy to apply but only last for a short time. For a longer-lasting sealant, you can use the penetrating seals.
These are created from silicones and are more efficient in keeping liquids away. They go into the stone’s surface and stay effective longer than quick-wearing topical sealers.
Avoid Using Abrasive Cleaning Agents
While your hard-wearing bench surfaces can enhance the efficiency in your culinary space, they may diminish its functionality and strip off the protective seal if cleaned with an acidic or harsh cleaning agent.
Make sure to use a non-abrasive cleanser to clean your quartzite surfaces. You can also go for a simple DIY cleaning solution, which combines water and soap, and apply it on your benchtops using a clean microfibre cloth.
Use Your Trivets and other Kitchen Tools
Quartzite is heat resistant, meaning you can place hot pans directly onto your benchtops without leaving a burn mark or causing thermal shock. It is also resistant to scratches, but it is not completely scratch-proof.
You must implement an additional protective measure to maintain a pristine quartzite benchtop by using your trivets when placing hot kitchenware on the surface, a chopping board when cutting food, and other kitchen tools.
These preventive methods prevent the grit of your hot pan and the effects of directly chopping food on the benchtop from scratching and pitting on your premium stone countertops.
It also allows you to maintain proper hygiene in your culinary space and prevent bacterial contamination in your food that may harm your health.
Perform Proper Stain Removal
Since your durable quartzite surfaces are not highly porous, you must promptly and thoroughly remove the stains on your benchtops to maintain their excellent condition.
But if there are any stubborn stains or dried-up spills, clean them immediately using soft sponges and a non-abrasive and non-acidic cleaning agent to prevent scratching the surface.
When you fail to remove the stain without scratching it, you must re-seal and polish your benchtop to restore its pristine look.
Call the Pros for Benchtop Restoration or Replacement
While quartzite is durable, prolonged and heavy use may lead to various issues, such as discolouration, chipping, and cracking.
When these signs of wear and tear become too evident and cause inconvenience in your daily kitchen tasks, it is best to get the services of a quartzite professional.
These experts are skilled and experienced in restoring, repairing, and repolishing your quartzite kitchen tops and restoring their timeless and original beauty.
If the damage to your benchtop is too extreme that a replacement is needed instead of restoration, it is your chance to choose other exquisite quartzite finishes, designs, and textures to elevate your kitchen counters. You can consult the professionals to assess the situation and ask for their recommendations.
Maintain Your Elegant Quartzite Surfaces
Take excellent care of your stunning quartzite counters by conducting regular cleaning and maintenance. But, if you encounter any issues with your natural stone benchtop, such as chipping or cracking, you can contact Stone Interiors.
For more information about our products and services, please don’t hesitate to call (03) 9357 0096.