How Can You Tell Quartz Countertop Quality?

Quartz countertops are currently one of the most popular materials in the home decoration market. It is solid and durable, easy to clean, maintenance friendly, and has many styles, which makes the quartz countertop favored by many families. Whether it is applied to the kitchen table, bathroom table or indoor windowsill, quartz stone is a good choice. Majorities of people do not know how to distinguish the quality of quartz stone when buying quartz countertops. It is a waste of money and time if someone buy a low-quality quartz countertop, and the gain will not be worth the loss. Following are the four tips to help you quickly identify the quality of quartz countertop. Hope you can buy the good quality quartz countertop for your lovely home.

Stain Resistance

The surface and internal structure of high-quality quartz stone are equally dense, so it has very low water absorption and high penetration resistance. The imitation of quartz stone which produced by backward production technology and equipment is often limited to a similar appearance, but the internal structure is loose and porous, with weak anti-permeability, high water absorption and pollution permeability. Therefore, the finish is a very important point to judge the quality of quartz stone for it represents the stain resistance.

The easiest way to check is to use a marker to draw on the quartz stone to see if it can be erased. If it can be wiped off, it means the stain resistance is high, if it can’t be wiped off, it means the stain resistance is low which is not recommended to buy.

Wear Resistance

Quartz stone is made of 94% quartz and 6% resin, with a hardness of 7 degrees, while granite is synthesized from marble powder and resin, so the hardness is generally 4-6 degrees. Simply put, quartz stone is harder than granite, and is more scratch-resistant and wear-resistant. So a simple way to identify hardness, that is, wear resistance, is to use a steel knife to scratch the surface of the quartz stone. With a steel knife cut across, the imitation of quartz stone will leave a white mark for the hardness of the imitation is not as good as steel. If it cut by the steel knife, the surface will reveal the white inside. On the other hand, with the real quartz stone, it will leave a black mark for the steel knife cannot scratch the real quartz stone, it will leave traces of steel which is black. Please note that the key cannot be used for identification. The simple difference between black and white will let you distinguish between genuine and fake.

Chemical Reaction

In order to maximize profits, some manufacturers will adulterate calcium carbonate into the raw materials of quartz countertop. And calcium carbonate is easy to react with acid. If you choose this kind of countertop, it's easy to deform it in later use. Therefore, when purchasing, you can take a sample and soak it in dilute hydrochloric acid or other acidic liquid. If the product contains calcium carbonate, it will react with the acid.

Heat Resistance

The resin content in poor quality quartz stone will be higher, and the heat resistance will be reduced as well. According to this point, use a lighter or other controllable fire source to slightly burn the surface of the sample, and then see if it will leave any trace on the sample.

Where to Buy Quartz Countertops?

There are still majorities of ways to distinguish the quality of quartz countertops. If you want to learn more about the professional knowledge of quartz countertops, please feel free to contact us at sales@vivaquartzstone.com. 

VIVA is a professional manufacturer of quartz stone countertops and has long served many customers at home and abroad, including some distributors, wholesalers, and engineering companies. We look forward to hearing from you!