Care & Maintenance
GRANITE
What’s the best way to clean granite counter tops? We’ve read a lot of varying views on this — use Windex! No, never use Windex! Use a special granite-only cleaner! No, you don’t need a special granite-only cleaner! — but after doing our research, we think we’ve discovered a consensus among stone experts on how to care for granite. The best part? You really don’t need any special cleaners to get those counter tops shiny and streak-free.
Never use harsh or abrasive cleaners and sponges, Windex, acidic cleaners like vinegar, lemon, lime, or anything with ammonia or bleach. Frequent use of these chemicals will dull and weaken the sealant over time. Basically, the harsher the cleaner, the quicker it will break down the sealant.
Wipe up spills as soon as you notice them.
Use warm water, a mild or gentle dish soap, and a nubby washcloth or microfiber cloth for daily wipe downs.
A well-sealed granite countertop is relatively impervious to bacteria. Hot water and dish soap should be adequate for daily sanitizing. However, if a stronger disinfectant is desired, mix together a 50:50 solution of water and 91% isopropyl alcohol. Spray onto the granite, allow to sit for 3-5 minutes, then rinse with water and dry with a clean microfiber cloth. Avoid bleach or ammonia-based cleaners.
STAINS
Don’t panic! Most of the time, stained granite counter tops can be cleaned with household items so common that you probably already have them in your pantry. No matter the source of the stain, start with baking soda. If you wish to clean a water stain, mix the baking soda with a small amount of hydrogen peroxide in a bowl. For an oil-based stain, mix the baking soda with water. In either case, the mixture should generate a thick paste. Generously spoon and spread that over the stain, then cover the area with plastic rap, taping down its edges. Leave the homemade stain remover overnight (or even for a couple of days), before rinsing and wiping down the granite.
Quartz
Though quartz will resist permanent staining when exposed to liquids like wine, vinegar, tea, lemon juice, and soda, or fruits and vegetables, it’s important to wipe up spills immediately—before they have a chance to dry. Take care of fresh messes with mild dishwashing detergent and a soft cloth. For dried spills or heavy stains, your best bet is a glass or surface cleaner, a nonabrasive sponge (sponges designed for nonstick pans are safe and effective), and a little elbow grease. Keep a plastic putty knife handy to gently scrape off gum, food, nail polish, paint, or other messes that harden as they dry.
Should you find yourself confronting a particularly sticky situation, your stain-busting might require a couple of extra tools.
Removing Cooking Grease
Remove cooking grease. If dinner was great but the counter took a beating, use a degreasing soap product that will first loosen then remove the grease from the surface. Follow the cleanser manufacturer’s instructions for use.
Removing Permanent Marker Stains
Erase permanent markers. Permanent markers are supposed to be, well…permanent. When the kids get creative, make sure your counters are protected from their artistry by first putting down placemats or kraft paper, so the only thing they leave behind is a happy memory. Should you find an ink or permanent marker stain after craft time, moisten a cloth with alcahol or a comparable product, and rub it into the stain. Rinse thoroughly with warm water to remove any cleanser residue.
DEEP CLEANING
Daily wiping and attention to spills and messes will satisfy your counter top’s basic daily maintenance requirements. But experts also recommend an overall deeper general cleaning at regular intervals. For best results, spray a generous amount of a nonabrasive surface cleaner over your counter top and let it sit for 10 minutes. Wipe away with a non-scratch sponge.
When it comes to care and maintenance of quartz countertops, the dos are easy and straightforward: Wipe clean with a damp cloth. Use a mild nonabrasive detergent soap for deep cleaning. Simple, right? Preserving your counter’s integrity and appeal is more about adhering to the list of don’ts. Never use abrasive cleansers and avoid scouring pads, which can dull the surface. Fortunately, soapy water will usually do the trick. If you need a gentle cleanser with a little more oomph to remove surface stains, make sure it is specifically designed for use on quartz.
Beware, too, of harsh cleaning solutions at both ends of the pH spectrum. Culprits include products from nail polish remover and turpentine to drain cleaner and dishwasher rinsing agents. Whether highly acidic or highly alkaline, those chemicals can disintegrate the bonds between quartz and resin. Quartz will tolerate casual exposure to milder alkaline solutions, such as diluted bleach, but high-pH substances, such as oven cleaners and concentrated bleach, will damage the surface. If any of the substances mentioned above come into contact with your quartz counter top, rinse the exposed surface immediately and thoroughly with water.
Extreme Heat
Trivets and hot pads are your quartz counter top’s best friends. Though the material is heat- and scorch-resistant, the resin used in manufacturing quartz counter tops is a plastic and therefore prone to melting in heat above 300 degrees Fahrenheit. A sudden change in temperature or prolonged exposure to heat from a pan left on the counter top may even cause the quartz to crack. To be safe, always use a trivet or hot pad.
Slicing or Dicing Without a Cutting Board
Quartz is a hard surface, but not hard enough to withstand the effects of sharp objects like knives. So, slice and dice to your heart’s content, but make sure to do it on a cutting board to avoid ugly scratches on your quartz counter tops.
The Elements
Quartz is not the right choice for an outdoor kitchen. If you install it outdoors, you do so at your own risk, as all manufacturer warranties cover indoor use only. Day after day in direct sunlight will fade colors and lead to warping or splitting.
Combining the best of authenticity and ingenuity, quartz is truly the rock of all ages. Be kind to your quartz countertops with regular attention and cleaning, and they will give you a lifetime of pleasure!
MARBLE
Marble can be easily stained by many of the liquids that frequently appear in the kitchen – for example, wine, coffee, and orange juice. Watch out for spills and clean them up as quickly as possible. Even water, if left to pool for a period of time, can discolor marble, so it’s best to keep stone surfaces dry. We recommended not to use marble in a high traffic area.
Avoid general-purpose cleaners unless the product specifically states that it’s marble-safe. Most of the time, a solution of dish soap and warm water is all that’s needed to keep marble looking new. Dip a soft cloth into the diluted soap, wring out the cloth so that it’s damp but not dripping wet, then wipe the marble clean.
You can also clean marble floors with a solution of dish soap and warm water—and you don’t need to get down on your hands and knees. It’s totally fine to use a mop just be careful not to slosh too much water all over the place. When you’re finished, the floor should be a little damp, but if any pools have collected, you haven’t wrung out the mop well enough. Wipe up any standing water quickly with a dry cloth or towel.
Be aware that while many homeowners rightly revere the cleaning virtues of vinegar, this handy pantry staple should never be applied to marble; its high level of acidity can actually corrode the stone.
STAINS
Given the material’s sensitivity, removing stains from marble can be a little tricky, but it’s not an insurmountable challenge. The key is to absorb the stain. Try this: Mix bakin soda with a small amount of water to form a thick paste. Apply it directly to the stain, then cover it with plastic wrap. Leave the paste in place for at least 24 hours, then check to see whether the solution has worked. If the stain is less noticeable but is still hanging on, repeat the process with a fresh application of paste.
No luck yet? So long as the marble is light-colored, you can experiment with hydrogen peroxide. But don’t go near this method if your marble is darker—the bleach could discolor it.
The very best way to care for marble is to prevent stains in the first place. Clean up any spills quickly, never put hot pans on the surface, and always be careful using sharp objects near marble because it can be easily scratched. Treat marble well and it will stay looking great for a lifetime.
Butcher Block
Just as pots and pans, dishes and kitchen tools must be cleaned after use, so too must be butcher block. Daily cleaning does not take long and requires no special tools or materials, but time is of the essence: Clean butcher block before the wood grain has the chance to absorb stains and become discolored. Food residue may be scraped away with a smooth, flat, and ideally plastic spatula, and the surface should be sponged off with only mild-dish washing soap. Undiluted vinegar, by the by, works great for cleaning and disinfecting butcher block, and this type of vinegar does not leave behind a strong, pungent odor
Cabinet Care
With proper care, your cabinetry should provide a lifetime of use and satisfaction. Proper care involves attentive cleaning, polishing and careful avoidance of damaging household cleaners. The beauty of wood is in the variation in graining and hue. Because wood is a natural product, it has inherent variation. This variation includes many natural characteristics as a result of tree growth patterns, as well as differences in wood color and grain due to variations in forest growing conditions. We apply and then hand wipe our stains to bring out the natural character and sheen of the wood.
Basic Cleaning
Grease and grime buildup can damage cabinets and destroy the look and feel of a new kitchen. To remove buildup wipe down cabinets using a soft cloth dampened with warm water and do so at least once every two weeks or more often depending on the amount of activity that takes place in the kitchen. If water alone does not clean cabinets completely, mix a little mild dishwasher soap with the water. Wipe down wood cabinets in the direction of the grain. Use a soft cloth to remove any residual moisture that may be left on the cabinets.
If routine cleaning does not remove stains or built up grime, create a paste by mixing baking soda with water. Place the paste on a sponge and scrub the stain until it disappears. Rinse with water and dry with a soft cloth. A mix of vinegar and water is another option for removing sticky grime or film from kitchen cabinets.
The following products and ingredients can damage cabinets so avoid using them or any product that contains them:
- Petroleum-based products
- Solvents
- Bleach
- Strong detergents and soaps
- Nail polish remover
- Paint thinners
- Plastic brushes
- Steel wool
- Scoring pad
- Ammonia
Control Temperature and Humidity
01
Repairing Nicks and Scratches
02
Avoid Excessive Moisture
03
Avoid temperature and humidity extremes
04
Avoid light damage
05
Avoid exposure from harsh cleaners
Harsh cleaners can damage the finish of your cabinetry. Avoid cleaners containing ammonia, bleach, citric acid (including orange and lemon oil) and organic solvents.
06
Avoid exposure to waxes
Most common self-polishing waxes can damage your finish. Take care to use only high-quality cream furniture polishes available from high-end furniture or paint stores.
07
Guard against scratching and abrasion
Clean with a soft, damp cloth when necessary. Avoid using scouring pads and abrasive cleaners as they may dull fine finishes.
08
Guard against plastic and rubber
Use felt or cloth under plastic or rubber objects as their ingredients may react with your woods finish.
09
Avoid Aggressive Acids
10
Avoid Chips And Scratches
Maintenance Tips For Laminate Products
With proper care, our laminate products will last a lifetime. Generally, a damp sponge is all you need for everyday maintenance of laminate surfaces.
Basic Cleaning
Stubborn Spots and Stains
Maple Chopping Block
Basic Cleaning
Periodically Reseal The Surface
How Humidity and Temperature Affect Your Cabinetry
Moisture
- Repeated short-term exposure to excessive moisture such as splashing of surfaces from a sink or even a single longer term event such as flooding WILL result in irreversible damage to wood cabinetry.
- Steam, as from cook tops, crock pots and improperly sealed dishwasher doors, can cause problems as well.
- Moisture should be wiped from surfaces immediately to minimize damage.• If the wood has a chance to absorb excess moisture, efforts should be made to dry out the wood including substrates immediately.
- Avoid direct high heat and instead, use fans and dehumidifiers and moisture absorbing cloth and compounds.
- Immediate attention reduces the amount of damage and also reduces the likelihood of mold and mildew.
Humidity
- Wood expands as humidity increases and shrinks as humidity decreases.
- Unfinished (exposed) wood will exhibit the most dramatic changes
- Even finished wood will change with long-term changes in humidity.
- Finishes and other coatings such as laminate or foil temper humidity swings by slowing the transfer of moisture.
- They do not stop it entirely.
- Solid wood will dimensionally change more across the grain than with grain.
- Plywood, particleboard, and fiberboard are more dimensionally stable.
- Particleboard and fiberboard, exposed to water directly, will expand in thickness quickly and dramatically.
- As wood expands (swells) and contracts with changes in humidity, the finish at joints will crack.
- This cracking is universal but is much more evident on light colored paint than on stains or dark paints.
- Regardless, this is the nature of product made from wood and not a reason for replacement.
- Where humidity exposure is uneven, pieces may warp, cup or bow.
- Most often, if humidity level is returned to a normal level and maintained for a period of time, these issues will disappear.
- Extremely dry conditions can result in wood parts splitting and/or cracking in addition to shrinkage as described above.
- The optimal humidity level is 35% to 50% relative humidity.
- Extreme conditions (lower than 20% or higher than 80%) especially need to be avoided.