Top hygiene tips for your stone kitchen worktop

Whoever thought that putting the shopping away would become such a gargantuan task? Not to mention one fraught with hygiene issues!! For many people during the coronavirus pandemic, wiping down the shopping has become a kind of normality that they never, ever expected. And as part of this, the hygiene of your stone kitchen worktop is a primary concern. However, use the wrong products or process and you could damage the worktop. So how do you ensure that you’re maintaining your worktop hygiene whilst still caring for the surface?

Stone Properties

One of the reasons that many people choose granite, quartz or marble for their kitchen worktop is that, when sealed, these surfaces are very low maintenance. When it comes to cleaning, it helps to understand why this is.

Granite

This is a naturally dense stone, however it still requires sealing to render the surface super durable. Maintaining the seal will prevent any liquids being absorbed into the surface.

Marble

Although a more porous stone than granite, the sealing process protects the worktop from the effects of daily use.

Quartz

Engineered from fragments of stone mixed with resin, there is no separate sealing process for this stone worktop. The surface is entirely non-porous so there is nowhere for germs and bacteria to linger once the surface is wiped.

Sanitising

When you return home from your weekly shop, or receive your online shopping order, it all tends to go straight on your worktop. So you may feel more preoccupied with sanitising than before. Helpfully, for granite, marble and quartz worktops the process is really very straightforward!

To Wash

All your stone worktop needs is a wipe down with gentle dish soap and water. The key here is to make sure your sink and cloth are clean. So if you want to ensure more stringent hygiene processes during this time, simply keep a good supply of clean microfibre cloths on rotation.

To Disinfect

If you want to take that extra measure to disinfect your surface after wiping it down, make sure you never use abrasive liquids. This includes bleach and natural sanitisers like lemon and vinegar. You can make a spray solution using 50/50 water and isopropyl alcohol, which you should rinse off with water. Again, a clean cloth yields the most hygienic results.

To Dry

For a shiny, streak free surface, drying is key. Turn to your stock of clean, soft microfibre cloths to make sure that you’re not compromising on hygiene here. Buff the surface with the cloth and your worktop will look like new!

Spills, Dried Food and Smears

Being prepared is the best way to ensure the longevity of your stone worktop. So when spills occur, food dries and finger marks overtake your worktop, what action should you take? In all circumstances, prompt attention will bring with it less effort!

Large Spills

Leap into action and soak up as much of the spill as you can with an absorbent cloth before taking a clean cloth to wash with dish soap. It’s worth the effort to remove appliances from the stone worktop to make sure that none of the spillage escapes.

Dried Spills

Resist the temptation to treat these with abrasive cleaning products or sponges. The dried food should chip off using a hard spatula. Plastic cake mix ‘scrapers’ are a wonderful multi purpose tool here. Then you can turn to your trusty warm water to remove the remaining spill.

Smears

Regular drying is the best way to prevent the build up of smears on stone worktops. Whatever you do, avoid using vinegar. Even if you have it to hand to treat windows and glassware.

Granite, marble and quartz surfaces are very straightforward to maintain at a high hygiene standard. You shouldn’t need any special kit, as the durable properties of the stone works with you to prevent any lingering of germs. So it’ll come time to put the kettle on before you know it!