Protecting quartz worktop

[Irishpoppy]

Hi! Sorry bit of a boring one but we’re getting quartz in our new kitchen and desperate to keep it in good condition. Our current fairly cheap worktops seem to withstand anything!
Please give me your recommendations for pan rests, cleaning products, any tips or advice welcome!

There is a lot of nonsense I have read on the net about quartz.

First it is very hard. It isn't. It is very durable. But it is not as hard as quartz rock because it isn't quartz rock. It's quartz rock particles encased in resin, and its the resin that gives it the ultimate hardness. So don't cut directly on it.

Second is that it is very heat resistant. Again, you are not looking at the properties of the rock here, but the resin. It will stand up to a lot. My supplier said you could put red hot pans on it and it would be fine. I am not convinced and have never done that.

I use granite blocks for pans and silicon mats for other stuff. I have not marked it yet in 3 years. What I have managed to do is chip off a couple of tiny bits of the front sharp edge by bashing pans against it. These are not visible and can only be felt if you run a finger across it. You can repair them but I haven't bothered because they are so small and can't be seen. Not sure how you would protect against this, maybe put a L shaped trim on the edge, but it would look ugly. Maybe sand down the edge to a flat angle rather than a right angle to make the transition smoother on installation would decrease the vunerability to this.

Consider asking your supplier to make up some small additional squares of material for use as chopping boards or pan stands if you want them to match.

There's Quartz and there's quartz.

I've had most success with Silestone. Virtually impossible to stain. Wren quartz for example looks gorgeous but even tea will stain it.

Get some samples and abuse them as you please before you buy. Turmeric, hot pans, red wine etc.

I’ve had no issue with my quartz worktop over ten years. It gets a lot of use: I put hot pans directly on it, cut on it, leave water sitting in it etc. wipe it down and a bit of pink stuff on marks and it is good as new.

my marble tops on the other hand total nightmare

following as also about to have quartz worktops

Cif is really good at cleaning more stubborn stains.

Be careful with lemon and lime, don't get it on the worktop.

My quartz worktop (Schock no longer sold in UK) is 23 years old and no chips etc but the kitchen suppliers suggested exactly as dairydebris collect as many samples as you can and abuse them.

We tried ballpoint, curry sauce, red wine, hot pans knives etc I was surprised how many of them marked or stained.

I have a metal rack for straight off the hob pans and always use a mat for cutting on but other than that no special treatment is needed.

The drawback is I have gone off the colour but cannot justify changing it!

I just sold my place that had quartz worktops. So sorry to leave them behind because they were so easy to care for, even after 20 odd years of use, and not all by me, even rented at times.
You have made a great choice . Even the slightest of stains come up with Cif type cleaner. Sponge on, let sit and sponge off. All gone! Enjoy!

We have quartz and it’s pretty bulletproof (ours was from an independent worktop specialist, not a kitchen chain). I am quite careful with it (rarely put hot pans on it etc.) but that’s purely out of habit as our previous worktop was awful and everything marked it.

The supplier made us a chopping board / worktop saver out of the sink space off cut and that gets fully abused, but nothing has managed to make a mark on it in over a year.

Very grateful for all your replies! Thank you!

I don't put hot pans on ours (Classic Quartz Fiji) and only use washing up liquid to clean it - was told not to use anything abrasive or acidic. I have a couple of expandable silicon things that you can put roasting tins etc on. I wipe up red wine stains as soon as I see them but OH spilled coffee and didn't notice it and that came off easily enough a few days later. We don't use turmeric so no worries there, I'd imagine that's the worst thing.

I did bang a frying pan against the sink edge a few times when washing up but luckily haven't chipped it.

I echo the post about getting samples and staining them with lots of things.

Had our highly expensive quartz worktop a few weeks when I noticed a small chip on the edge. Only thing I could remember was a week earlier I had knocked a small spice jar off the shelf and it landed in the floor after dropping off the quartz worktop, so you need to be careful. Had a very cheap worktop for almost 20 years without any chips whatsoever .