How to Clean Quartz Countertops

Think that quartz kitchen countertops don’t need much in the way of maintenance? Truth is that while quartz tops don’t need as much maintenance as granite and marble, they do indeed need to be frequently cleaned and polished. Find out…

LESLIE: Carolyn in Iowa is on the line and has a question about how to clean quartz countertops. Tell us what’s going on.

CAROLYN: Yes. What I notice are some dull spots that are showing up on the quartz countertop. We built this home two-and-a-half years ago. And I always had understood, with quartz, you didn’t have to polish or seal or anything. And we’re trying to be really careful.

TOM: Oh, no. Oh, no. Surely, you jest. Quartz is indestructible because you can put hot stuff on it but it’s also really absorbent. And you can – you definitely need to polish it and clean quartz countertops.

CAROLYN: OK. So, all that report that I’ve heard that you never have to do anything to quartz, it isn’t true? You do need to …?

LESLIE: I mean you have to do stuff to granite, to marble, to quartz over time because there’s a sealant that they put on it. And depending on where you got it and who the yard is, if it’s a granite or a marble, it wears away with use.

And so, the lighter the color, the more often you have to do it. And it should be – they say with quartz and marble and granite, every two to three years. I have a granite countertop. I’ve probably done it three times in the 15 years I’ve been in my house. And it’s mostly because the areas where you see what they pour that fills into the spaces, it’s kind of popped out, especially on the edge. But other than that, I haven’t really needed to do much to it.

TOM: There’s a polish online at Amazon.com called Supreme Surface that’s really well-recommended to clean quartz countertops. It’s four out of five stars. I would give that a start if you’ve never tried it before. Order it online. But as Leslie said, you definitely do need to polish natural stone. Otherwise, it is going to get dull over the years. And it sounds like it’s about time to do that with your house.