How to Care for Your Countertops
It's almost here. The cooking day of champions, also known as
Thanksgiving. This feast involves a lot of slicing and dicing and
mashing and roasting — no matter what vegetable sides or pies are
tradition to share around your family table. Here are the dos and don'ts
for caring for your counters while they're the hub of holiday cooking.
1. Granite is by far the most popular countertop choice. Keep your granite looking good by wiping down with a damp cloth and a pH-neutral stone cleaner.
2. Avoid soap, abrasive cleaners, and citrus cleaners when cleaning granite countertops — these alkaline solutions can etch the stone.
3. Steel wool is not your countertop's friend. It will scratch most countertops.
4. Butcher block countertops are typically made of maple or oak and come in wide plank or narrow strips in terms of style. The wide plank style is more apt to warp.
5. Be sure to use only food-grade mineral oil to prevent the wood from warping and drying out. Avoid vegetable or olive oils for your butcherblock countertop — these oils can turn rancid.
6. Reapply mineral oil whenever the wood looks dry. You'll want to use a generous amount of mineral oil — continue reapplying until you see the wood is no longer accepting any more oil.
7. Cooking oil bottles can actually leave ring marks on stone surfaces that can be difficult to remove. Use coasters or a tray under bottles to prevent marks.
8. Protect the counter from lemon, vinegar, tomato, and other acidic foods, which will etch marble.
Article originally published on Houzz.
1. Granite is by far the most popular countertop choice. Keep your granite looking good by wiping down with a damp cloth and a pH-neutral stone cleaner.
2. Avoid soap, abrasive cleaners, and citrus cleaners when cleaning granite countertops — these alkaline solutions can etch the stone.
3. Steel wool is not your countertop's friend. It will scratch most countertops.
4. Butcher block countertops are typically made of maple or oak and come in wide plank or narrow strips in terms of style. The wide plank style is more apt to warp.
5. Be sure to use only food-grade mineral oil to prevent the wood from warping and drying out. Avoid vegetable or olive oils for your butcherblock countertop — these oils can turn rancid.
6. Reapply mineral oil whenever the wood looks dry. You'll want to use a generous amount of mineral oil — continue reapplying until you see the wood is no longer accepting any more oil.
7. Cooking oil bottles can actually leave ring marks on stone surfaces that can be difficult to remove. Use coasters or a tray under bottles to prevent marks.
8. Protect the counter from lemon, vinegar, tomato, and other acidic foods, which will etch marble.
Article originally published on Houzz.
