Maintenance rules for every worktop type: postforming, quartz, acrylic stone, natural stone, ceramic. What to avoid and what to clean with.
Universal Rules for All Worktops
- Wipe up spills immediately — every material suffers from prolonged water contact
- Never cut directly on the surface — even granite gets scratched by a steel knife
- Never place hot items without a trivet — the only exceptions are granite and ceramic
- Never use abrasive pads or scouring powders on any surface
- Daily cleaning: damp cloth and a mild washing-up liquid
Postforming and HPL Laminate
- Daily: damp microfibre cloth, any neutral detergent
- Stubborn marks: soft sponge with a non-abrasive liquid cleaner
- Avoid: abrasive powders (Comet, Ajax powder) — they leave dull scratches
- Avoid: concentrated acids or alkalis — they attack the laminate layer
- Avoid: prolonged soaking — chipboard core swells, especially at edges and joints
- Avoid: hot pots and pans — laminate bubbles and delaminates
Acrylic Stone
- Daily: damp cloth, any washing-up liquid
- Light scratches: grey Scotch-Brite pad — restores a matte finish
- Deep scratches and burns: a professional can sand and polish them out
- Avoid: hot pots and pans — acrylic is soft and will dent or crack
- Avoid: cutting directly on it — softer than steel
- Gloss versions lose their shine quickly — matte is more practical for a cooking zone
- Hard water leaves white limescale — remove with diluted citric acid
Quartz (Engineered Stone)
- Daily: damp cloth, neutral detergent
- Dried-on deposits: soak with water, lift with a plastic scraper — never metal
- Stubborn stains (marker, paint): isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad
- Avoid: pots straight from the oven — sudden thermal shock can crack the slab
- Avoid: concentrated bleach — discolours the polymer binder
- Avoid: abrasive pads — they scratch the finish coat and it cannot be restored
- No sealing required, unlike natural stone
Natural Stone (Granite, Marble)
Natural stone is porous. Without proper care it absorbs fat, acids, and water.
- Daily: pH-neutral stone cleaner — not standard washing-up liquid
- Sealing: 1–2 times per year with a specialist stone impregnator (Bellinzoni, Tenax, or equivalent)
- Avoid: lemon juice, vinegar, wine, tomato sauce — acid etches marble in minutes
- Avoid: general-purpose cleaners containing acid or alkali
- Avoid: abrasive pads
- Granite is significantly more acid-resistant than marble; marble in a cooking zone is a bad idea
- An acid etch mark on marble requires professional re-polishing
Ceramic and Porcelain
- Daily: any detergent, any sponge except steel wool
- Hot pots are fine — ceramic does not react to heat
- Stubborn stains: white vinegar or citric acid solution
- Grout lines are the weak point: they darken over time; renew with epoxy grout
- Avoid: metal scourers — they scratch the glaze on edges and in joints
- Avoid: dropping heavy objects on the edge — ceramic is brittle under point impact
What Damages Every Worktop
| Threat | Why it's harmful | Most vulnerable |
|---|
| Hot pots without a trivet | Thermal shock, bubbling, cracking | Postforming, acrylic, quartz |
| Abrasive pads and powders | Scratch the finish layer | Everything except granite |
| Acids (vinegar, lemon) | Etch and break down the surface | Marble, acrylic, laminate |
| Prolonged water contact | Swells the substrate | Postforming |
| Cutting without a board | Knife scratches | Acrylic, laminate, quartz |
| Chlorine-based cleaners | Discolour the binder | Quartz, acrylic |
One trivet and one cutting board solve 90% of worktop maintenance problems — for any material. Everything else is surface-specific detail.
What to Clean With: Quick Reference
- Daily — damp microfibre cloth + neutral washing-up liquid
- Greasy residue — a few drops of washing-up liquid, leave one minute, wipe off
- Limescale from water — citric acid 1:10 with water (not on marble)
- Dried-on stain — soak with water, lift with a plastic scraper
- Marker or pen — isopropyl alcohol
- Chewing gum or wax — ice pack to harden, then plastic scraper