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| We absolutely want white countertops in our kitchen. We had decided on quartz because they are supposed to be the most durable and low-maintenance option. However, one of the dealers I spoke with said that even though they are not supposed to stain, in her experience the lighter colors stain anyway. So now we are not sure what to do. We aren't the kind of people who would spill red wine on the counter and then just leave it for days on end, but we won't wipe up after every single spill or drop of something on the counter, and we will have kids around the apartment, and we will have to sublet on a fairly regular basis to people who may not be super careful because we often have to travel abroad for many months at a time for work (and we can't afford to pay for an empty NYC apartment when we do that).
The color we particularly liked was Zodiaq Snow White. We're not willing to go with a darker color, but we have started to wonder if we should go with something like Caesarstone Organic white, which has a kind of pattern/texture to it, with the idea that if it does stain a little, it would be less obvious with the color irregularities. (We'd really rather have just a solid white, but on the other hand, we don't want to spend the money on a countertop just to have it look crummy as soon as it stains.) So here are my questions: 1) Anyone out there with white quartz countertops who has had them for a while and can comment on whether or not they stain, and if so, how bad the stains look? 2) Anyone have experience with either the Zodiaq Snow White or the Caesarstone Organic White specifically, and if so, what has been your experience with the stains showing over time? Thanks in advance for any advice or experiences shared! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I left turmeric and curry on my white quartz. It picked up the color. I put powdered Ajax or Comet on it, and a few drops of water. Some time later, I scrubbed a bit but found it was unnecessary. The "stain" was gone. All quartz products have a plastic or resin in them, called epoxy. I think this is what can pick up some color and stain. Bleaching it out with Ajax or Comet seems to work. I also have a steamer. I have used it on epoxy grout in my bathrooms. Not yet tried it on the quartz. (If you have never heard of a steamer for household cleaning, read up on them. They are great.) |
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Fri, Dec 17, 10 at 14:37
| Can you get some samples of the material and play with them at home? Splash on the red wine and curry powder and see what each sample does. I don't have quartz so I can't help you there, but I've seen others suggest this technique to folks concerned with etching and staining of different materials. |
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| Here comes my first post - hope it is going to be a useful one! We just got organic white caesarstone installed about a month ago. Even through it has a grey hue to it, it still looks very white comparably to everything else. And it does stain as you would expect from a white counter top. But the stains are easy to clean with baking soda solution. One of our friends wiped counters with a colored paper napkin. He was cleaning up a spill. Thanks bro. The dye from the napkin stained our 3 day old countertops at the time. Bright sky blue. But I got it out. Caesarstone recommend using Method granite cleaner for daily cleaning. But it is only good as a polish, it does not really get stains out. For stains I just put some baking soda in water and gently work the stain using a microfiber cloth. In our old kitchen we had white laminate counters. Stains were much bigger issue. |
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- Posted by chocolatebunny (My Page) on Fri, Dec 17, 10 at 16:18
| I have a sample of Cambria Snowdon White here and I left ketchup, spaghetti sauce, olive oil and a few things on it overnight to test it out. My family is pretty messy and because I don't get home from work until midnight, I don't get to see the messes until morning. The spaghetti sauce was the only stain that was a bit harder than the others to remove (probably b/c of the acidity of the tomatoes) and it there was a slight haze on the sample afterwards. I still like the white quartz but it has made me think twice about actually getting it. We now have white laminate and I agree that stains are much harder to get out of it than the quartz. |
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- Posted by londongirl_2009 (My Page) on Fri, Dec 17, 10 at 19:14
| I have had Zodiaq quartz Carrero Bianco for more than a year now and I have not had any issues with staining. Red wine, ketchup and bbq sauce and numerous other things have been left on it and I still have no stains or discoloring. I think it is the best counter I have had. I also have Hanstone quartz on the perimeter and it is great as well but a darker color. If you love it, I would say go with it. My laminate counters were always staining. I have no regrets |
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| In a quickie defense of white laminate: our counters and peninsula, installed circa 1970, have had no issues with staining. Crayons, markers, food, it's all come out easily. My current favorite for berry stains is the Clorox spray (watch your shirt tail!), but over the years I've used lots of different things. Honest, it's still white as white. |
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- Posted by marble_com (My Page) on Sat, Dec 18, 10 at 14:41
| The best advice is to receive a sample of the quartz and test it out yourself to see if it holds up to your regular kitchen usage. |
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| Thanks everyone for your responses (and in particular the cleaning tips!). We have had all the samples in our kitchen on the countertop for a month, with all kinds of stuff getting spilled on it and no regular cleanup (although I haven't gone out of my way to spill stuff on them), and none of them have stained. (We've also had white laminate countertops in tons of rentals, and never had a problem with those staining either, as long as we were willing to do a little scrubbing with the right cleaners.) It's interesting that no one here has actually had stains that couldn't be cleaned out. Now we'll just have to decide by tomorrow whether we should go with the solid white Zodiaq color which we prefer, or whether we should go with the Caesarstone organic white color with its pattern in case some milder stains do end up appearing eventually and resisting cleaning. I'm going to sleep on it and then try to decide in the morning. Thanks again! |
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| Just a short update: I put a bunch of stuff on the samples overnight as one last test - catsup, pomegranate juice, coffee grounds, cranberry juice - and left them overnight. This morning everything came off with just soap and water, and there were no stains at all. So I'm inclined to risk going with the more pure/solid Snow White Zodiaq tile, since we like it better. (I'm just hoping that the feature of having stains pop up isn't something that simply happens when the countertop gets older...) Thanks again for all the responses! |
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- Posted by Lisa Jacobs(lisajacobs8@hotmail.com) onSat, Feb 19, 11 at 22:41
| I love opaque solid white look. I got the White Zeuss silestone color installed and after installed it there was a 2 inch material on the straight edge. I was told a belt buckle can rub off onto the stone. I love the white but only the serious cambria representative was honest to say that there is a white disclosure that normal use will cause staining on the white. I have read a ton of negative stuff re: ceasarstone how it stains and chips, etc. I won't put stuff on their samples to see how the stuff comes out. But after I saw the 2 inch line on the solid white then I have gotten bianco carrerra, rain forest brown and am not getting natural refections ceasarstone. But I think ceasarstone is full of lies in that the warranty was not stood by for a customer who was shafted. Plus the stuff does not look pretty or great. What does anybody suggest re: bathroon vanities and tile on the floor? I have pink tile on the walls and white vanity, toilet, and bianco carrera marble vanity top in bathroom number one and need a floor? I have a second bath with pink tile on the walls, white vanity toilet, etc. and need a vanity top I am thinking about natural reflections ceasarstone; but I don't like it. I also need a floor for that bathroom too. I have a third bathroom with tan tile on the walls and brown forest marble that I need a floor for? I also need a new kitchen and cabinets. Ideas? I like light and open feel. I don't like dark. I am a white lover. Would like a good husband too. Single and available too: lisajacobs8@hotmail.com |
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| I installed Samsung Radianz (Everest White) counter tops in my kitchen 8 weeks ago & w/in days after install it started getting stained. I had no idea Quartz would stain & so I wasn't even being careful... tomato sauce ring, drops of tea, etc. There was a stray ball point pen mark that came up using 100% chlorox. Oddly enough, I've found some areas of the stone (to the left of my stove top) don't stain as easily as others (to the right of my sink). Also there's a yellow ring appearing around the sink faucet that I can't scrub away with a toothbrush. ??? There are certain meals where my kids are restricted from eating at the bar... spaghetti, mustard/ketchup, hawaiian punch. I thought I was buying a low-maintenance item but am sorely mistaken. I'm going to try the soft scrub. :( |
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| I have Cambria Dovedale. Red pasta sauce,red wine,lemon juice,tumeric tandoori sauce,etc nothing has left a stain. Mild dish soap and green scrubbie sponge clean everything. |
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| I have Caesarstone Blizzard and we had a close call with a black sharpie bleeding through some felt...AAAAAAH. But put a little puddle of bleach on the spot and and left it there for 20 minute intervals and it worked! WHEW! Caesarstone told us to use SoftScrub with bleach. IT has been great! My husband reads the newspaper at the counter every morning and never fails to leave newsprint on the counter, Softscrub works like a charm! |
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| It doesn't really matter what brand of quartz countertop you buy. Every brand is made on the same machines from a company in Italy and they all use the same resins so from brand to brand the material is virtually the same. quartz countertops are roughly 30% resins and 70% rock chips and other inclusions. The "90 some percent pure" number you see in the quartz OEM advertisements is based on weight, not volume. regardless, it is actually difficult to stain a quartz top. wine, juice, and other typical staining agents normally will not stain quartz. In fact, in several 1000 jobs I've only seen quartz wrecked twice, once by dye which bled out of a childs paper school folder and another when some "Kilz" paint primer was spilled onto the counter. in my experience the real risk for quartz is heat damage. it's not that difficult to scorch the resin component of the material. this happens at least as often as a stain in a natural stone. Every single quartz manufacturer specifically excludes heat damage from their warranty. Get your white tops, be reasonably careful, protect them from heat, and you should have beautiful counters for a long time. |
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