Tag Archives: quartz countertop company

Can I Put A Toaster On A Quartz Countertop?

best kitchen countertop contractor

If you love toasted bread, you must be wondering whether you can place your toaster on your quartz countertops. After all, you don’t want to damage your countertops, right?

Well, you shouldn’t place your toaster directly on your countertops without a protective barrier such as a trivet, glass cutting board, or ceramic tile to prevent the heat from transferring from the toaster to the countertops.

What happens when you place the toaster directly on the countertops?

Placing the toaster on the countertops without any form of precaution will bring about a number of issues such as:

Heat from the toaster will damage the polyester resin on the quartz

Quartz is an engineered stone created largely from tough minerals, usually consisting of 90% quartz stone and 10% polyester resin. The polyester resins hold or bind the quartz together, helping quartz to be one of the most durable materials on the market.

Unfortunately, the polyester resin in quartz can be easily damaged by heat from the toaster oven, electric frying pan, oven, crock pot, or any other appliance that produces a lot of heat.

The heat weakens the polyester resins when you place the toaster unprotected on the countertops. In the long term, the resins swell or even swell.

The toaster oven harms indoor air quality.

As you use your toaster, the heat produced by the appliance gets transmitted onto the countertop’s surface, where it emits harmful pollutants into the air.

This happens due to synthetic polyester resins releasing chemicals into the atmosphere.

The pollution from these chemicals can be anything from carbon monoxide to hydrocarbons that can cause respiratory problems, especially for people with asthma, pregnant, and infants, still in their growing stages.

The toaster dulls the countertops.

In most cases, when you use the toaster directly on the countertops, it makes the countertops duller. In some cases, the countertop begins to form stains, which, as you can guess, isn’t a good look.

How can you protect the countertops?

To prevent the dangers of placing the toaster directly on the countertops, you should protect the countertops from damage. How do you do it? Here is how to go about it:

Trivets

Trivets are an excellent way to avoid direct contact with your countertops with the toaster. Trivets are made from steel, ceramic, and even silicone.

The best and most affordable trivets you should go for are silicone trivets. They can tolerate the same high heat as the other trivets made from ceramics and cork.

At the same time, they stay cool, and you can leave your toaster on them for a long time without worrying that they will get too hot to the extent they damage your countertops.

When buying the trivets, ensure that you buy them from a reputable store. This way, you have peace of mind that they are high quality and will give you a long service.

Ceramic tile

Ceramic tiles come with an in-built protective coating that enables the tiles to withstand daily use without showing signs of damage.

The beauty of the tiles is you don’t need any special tools to install them, which makes them an excellent and cost-effective solution to the hot toaster. All you need to do is to align the tile around your appliance, and once you complete the four sides, you are good to go.

Cardboard or wood

You can always use cardboard if you don’t want to invest in a trivet or ceramic tile. Be cautious of your safety when using a board, as the plastic board can melt fast.

As much as a wooden board won’t melt, it is risky to staining, especially when exposed to high temperatures.

Steel baking sheet

Steel baking sheets don’t scratch or damage the surfaces and, at the same time, remain durable enough to withstand heat from different appliances, including toasters.

When buying the sheets for your quartz kitchen countertops Durham, pay close attention to how wide and deep the coaster is. As a rule, ensure that the sheets perfectly fit your appliance.

How Do You Keep Your Countertops Looking Like New?

Every homeowner’s dream is to keep their kitchen countertops looking new for as long as possible. After all, the countertops don’t come cheap, do they?

If you are one of these homeowners, you should know that there are plenty of ways to do it. How you keep your countertops in top shape depends on the nature of your countertops. To help you out, here are some of the ways to keep the various countertops looking new.

Marble

Marble is one of the hardest materials to maintain. Since it’s naturally porous and highly susceptible to etching, you should be cautious when preparing your meals. As a rule of thumb, don’t cut directly on the countertops.

You also should make it a habit to seal the countertops at least once a year.

If there is any surface damage or stains, move with haste and fix them as soon as possible. If there are oil stains on the surfaces, remove them using ammonia, mineral spirits, or hydrogen peroxide. For the food stains, lift them using water-based dish soap and baking soda paste.

Do your surfaces have chemical corrosion? Buff it out with marble polish.

Wood countertops

For elegant-looking butcher block countertops, apply mineral oil at least once a month. If your countertops aren’t butcher block, apply marine oil to keep the stain fade resistant.

Are there marks and burns on the countertops? Sand them out, then remove the stains using lemon juice or hydrogen peroxide.

Stainless steel

If you have stainless steel countertops, you know that scratches are inevitable on the surfaces. Thankfully, you can buff them out with an abrasive pad.

To protect your surfaces from rusting, prevent cast iron pans from contacting the countertops. If there are already rust stains, remove them using lemon juice and baking soda.

Quartz countertops

Quartz countertops are known to be heat, stain, and scratch-resistant. They are also nonporous and don’t need sealing. If your surfaces develop stains, apply a paste of hydrogen peroxide and flour, then let it sit for at least 24 hours.

Soapstone

Soapstone is also naturally nonporous, so it doesn’t require sealing. Unfortunately, nicks and scratches are common, so you should be cautious when working around them. Like marble, don’t cut directly on it. Also, avoid placing hard items on it.

If your countertops have slight discoloration from oil or any other material, rub out the discoloration using mineral oil.

Laminate countertops

The most common problem with laminate countertops is stains. Thankfully, you can remove them using baking soda paste. Leave the paste on the countertops for 3-5 minutes, and the paste will lift the stains out, leaving your countertops spotless.

If you have difficult stains that are hard to remove, get rid of them using bleach.

Concrete

You should start thinking about concrete countertops before you even install them. As a rule of thumb, seal the countertops before you install them. This is to prevent them from staining.

Besides this, make it a habit of applying tung oil a few times a year to keep the surfaces stain resistant. For a glossier look, apply wax regularly.

Solid surface

If there are stains or fine scratches on the surfaces, you can buff them out using a mild abrasive. The most common problem with the countertops is a plastic-like patina developing on the countertops. This patina is difficult to remove as you rarely have the right materials.

To avoid damaging your countertops while trying to remove the patina, let a professional handle it.

Ceramic tile

It’s easy to keep your ceramic tile countertops in top condition. Clean the surfaces regularly with a toothbrush and mildew fighting solution and fight occasional stains with diluted household bleach.

Granite countertops

The most important thing to do to your granite countertops NC is seal them. To prevent the countertops from stains, make it a habit to seal them once a year.

To find out whether your surfaces are properly sealed, splash some water on the surface, and if the water isn’t absorbed, the surfaces are properly sealed, but if the water absorbs fast, you need to apply another layer of sealant.

Thankfully, you can professionally seal the countertops without the input of a professional.

Why Quartz Countertops Are the Hottest Kitchen Trend

When it comes to aesthetics, every homeowner wants to make their space unique. Kitchen is a focal point of the home. It is a place where family gathers for meals and other social activities. This is the reason why homeowners do not hesitate in splurging money on kitchen remodeling. Kitchen countertop is one of the important parts of the kitchen. The countertop has to be functional as well as beautiful. It should provide practical benefits and look good.

Importance of the right kitchen countertop material

There are many countertop materials available on the market. Choosing a countertop material from the crowd of hi-tech and natural-stone countertop materials is not an easy task. Every kitchen countertop material has something different to offer. Among all, granite, marble, soap stone, quartz, bamboo and tile are trending these days.

Know about Quartz Countertops

Marble and granite have been ruling as the kitchen countertop material since a longtime. These countertops have been found in all types of kitchens. However, if you have noticed the recent kitchen countertop trends, you might have come across quartz countertops.

Unlike high-maintenance marble and granite countertops, quartz countertops are stain repellent and invulnerable to acidic foods. This material is resistant to chips and scratches. Also, quartz does not require any sealing. It looks stunning for a long period of time.

One of the biggest reasons behind increasing popularity of quartz countertops is aesthetics of man-made stone. Quartz countertops have unnaturally uniform patterns that create the variations and swirls of natural stone. This stone is way cheaper than granite and marble. Also installation of quartz is really very easy.

Quartz countertops are available in variety of colors and textures. It means you can have countertop complementing your kitchen décor. Quartz countertops look scintillating in the kitchen. With this countertop, you can give rich and royal look to your kitchen without spending a lot of money.

Since quartz is a man-made material. It is important to buy the quartz countertop from a reputable quartz countertop company. You can get all the benefits of quartz countertops only if you purchase it from the right source.