You’ve spent good money on your new countertops. The last things you want are stains, scratches, or discolorations. While there are some specific concerns depending on the materials you’ve selected, the basic rule applies: clean your counters as you use them, mopping up spills as you go along before they have a chance to set in or collect other materials that scratch and stain. If you clean as you go, you won’t need more than a damp cloth and mild detergent to do the job safely.

That said, let’s look over some specific tips for maintaining laminate or granite countertops if you let things go:

Laminate
Always use cleaners that are proven to be non-abrasive and are free of bleach and dyes. If you spill drain cleaner on the surface, by all means get it up quickly. Acidity is the arch-enemy of laminate. Baking soda is a great choice for most cleaning jobs on laminate countertops.

Granite
Scratches are the real culprit in damaging granite countertops. Be careful at all times in shoving any pots, pans, scouring materials, or silverware across the surface. Steel wool can remove some of the traces of scarring, but it’s best if you apply sealant every year to your kitchen countertops as a preventative. For best results, install granite countertops with a polished finish.

All-Around Countertop Cleaners
You’d be surprised how many contractors and manufacturers recommend the use of natural cleaners for your kitchen countertops. Lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda are among the more common substances that have proven effective and harmless on countertops. But it’s always a good idea to test them out on a section that has low visibility.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 8:23 am and is filed under New Kitchen Cabinets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.