Best Tips for Kitchen Countertop Aftercare

Countertop is a central element in any kitchen, serving as support for food preparation or as storage for household goods. It is subjected to the risk of surface damage, because of blunt objects and corrosive agents. As a result, kitchen countertop aftercare is a daily priority and most of the damaged surfaces result from a wrong approach on the activities or plain indifference. A professional approach on aftercare activities increases the lifetime of kitchen countertops, while preserving the properties of the material.

1. Things to keep in mind before beginning   

For featuring the procedure, you need to first analyze the aspects:

• the tear and wear of your countertop – depends on surface’s usage. You can use it for basic activities, such as preparing light dishes (salads / breakfasts), or you can prepare complex dishes, which involve processing of meat, vegetables or fruits and more complicated techniques of food preparation. The first examples involve a minimum impact on countertop surface, thus maintenance should be quite simple. Second example poses the risk of surface damage due to extensive food processing. Hence the need for consistent maintenance meant to protect the surface.

• degree of usage – how often you use the countertop. A countertop used for preparing food twice a week is less likely to be damaged compared to one used for daily food preparation. That's why countertops from restaurants or cafeterias, with a higher usage, are more likely to be damaged.

• the material of your countertop – essential element to be kept in mind from the selection stage. Based on the material, you will have different options for aftercare.

2. Risks of surface damage

Depending on the material used, a countertop can be damaged by many activities that take place on its surface. Usually, this includes mechanical actions, especially cutting and tapping (meat processing, bread slicing or vegetables cutting). For natural stone countertops, or those made from wood or composite materials, this leads to scratching or edge chipping.  For stainless steel countertops, surface can bend from strong impact. Mechanical actions on countertops made from natural or ceramic stone tiles can lead to breakage. Environmental factors (temperature, pressure) react with various results on specific surfaces. All types of countertops withstand fine the temperature, yet repeted exposure to temperature variations will damage all surfaces in time. Besides the physical factors, countertops can also be influenced by chemical factors, such as food acids and commercial detergents used for cleaning. These are all corrosive factors and act in depth. Acidic food agents (fruit juices, certain wines, vinegar, cola-based drinks) and commercial detergents will damage natural stone countertops depending on the stone type; wood or stainless steel countertops are damaged in time, while ceramic and composite material countertops are not usually damaged.