Tips to Prevent Cracking of Quartz Stone Countertops

Like other materials, quartz requires special care and cleaning to avoid scratches, losing its shine or staining due to the action of certain products and cracking in the long run. The necessary care is very simple, starting with continuous cleaning with a damp cloth or paper towel. If necessary, to remove stains from some products or foods, small amounts of a non-abrasive cleaner can be added.

 

What can you do to prevent cracks on your quartz stone countertop?

 

To ensure the installation quality of quartz stone countertops, the following points need to be paid attention to before installation:

1. When designing plane splicing, the physical properties of quartz stone should be taken into consideration, and the plate force must be fully considered when selecting the connection position. Avoid connecting at corners or furnace openings.

 

2. When designing table corners, stress concentration should be fully considered. Therefore, all corners should be kept at a radius of 25mm or more during processing.

 

3. When designing the hole position, the hole position should be greater than or equal to 80mm from the edge of the table to prevent the hole position from cracking, and the corner of the hole should be rounded with a radius of more than 25mm.

 

4. When installing the countertop, there should be a 2-4mm expansion gap between the countertop and the wall to effectively ensure that the countertop does not crack due to thermal expansion and contraction.

 

In the process of daily use, also avoid cracking caused by external factors:

 

Use supports for hot pots and boards: Quartz surfaces have high resistance to heat and scratches. However, they can be affected by extreme or prolonged heat and pressure. For this reason, when using them as countertops, mainly for kitchens where sharp tools and very hot materials are used, supports or trivets should be used for hot pots. And always use a cutting board.

 

Avoid stains and clean spills: Liquids are primarily responsible for staining quartz sheets, so they must be dried and cleaned before liquids dry. Most quartz-based materials are resistant to liquids, such as wine, vinegar, tea, coffee, or soda, but leaving spill or food on quartz countertops for long periods can cause stains that will be difficult to remove.

 

Avoid corrosive products: Quartz kitchen countertops do not require wax or sealants, as it is not a porous material. Therefore, to stay shiny and with a suitable finish it does not need to be polished, except some visible damage. Also, it is important to avoid certain products for cleaning and maintenance. Among the products to avoid are cleaners that contain bleach, which despite being very effective at removing stains and whitening surfaces, is also highly corrosive.

 

Clean immediately: Grease and oils are the main products that cause stains in kitchens. To prevent them from becoming a problem on your quartz countertops, you should clean it immediately, before it dries or uses a non-corrosive degreaser to help loosen and remove grease from the surface.

 

Avoid chemicals: Although quartz has a high resistance to chemicals, the resins used to make the sheets can be affected by constant interaction with strong chemicals, solvents, paint removers and other common chemicals in kitchens. These substances can enhance the formation of cracks. So, avoid using nail polish removers, permanent markers, chemical inks, oil soaps, among other materials that may be or contain corrosive materials.

 

The less we stain the quartz stone countertops daily, the less effort we will have to make to clean them thoroughly. If we wipe with a damp cloth to remove splashes and food debris every time we cook, we will be prevent dirt from getting embedded. To avoid limescale marks and to prevent cracking in the long run, you must keep the surface from pressure and heat.

 

It is also very important to know if our countertop can withstand contact with direct heat sources, that is, hot pans, pots or containers. If not, we can spoil it. To avoid cracks, it is best always to use supports such as cloth and cutting boards.

 

In any case, the safest thing to do is always ask the manufacturer of quartz stone countertop to find out how to clean it and, if in doubt, first clean a small part of the countertop and observe the result.

 

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