Welcome to Myth-Busting Mondays where we DEBUNK the myths surrounding popular products used around the home!

For our fourth post, we’ll be discussing the likelihood of stains occurring on your Engineered Stone benchtop and the best way to matintain

Myth #4 – Engineered Stones will never stain

Engineered stones such as Caesarstone and Essastone are virtually non-porous meaning the surface will not require regular sealing as natural stones would. An engineered stone is a man made product, created using a combination of quartz, pigments and resins to achieve a high quality and durable stone surface that will not give you the same drawbacks of natural stones. Marble for example, is a porous natural stone, which although is very beautiful, does require regular maintenance and sealing to keep it in tip-top shape. To learn more about the benefits of engineered stones, click here to read our blog post.

Although it is generally said that engineered stone benchtops will never stain, there are a few notable excepetions to be wary of. In any case, it is always important to keep in mind that with any product or finish you select for your home, nothing is bulletproof!

Engineered stones offer you the luxury of allowing a much larger window of time to wipe up any spills, whereas a natural stone benchtop only allows a small window of time for you to mop up messy spills before they stain the stone.

That being said, there are certain products that can stain an engineered stone surface if they are not wiped clean fairly quickly: acidic products (such as lemon juice), food dyes (of course!), red wines and even coloured spices such as curry powders are all key items to look out for. Ensure you clean these spills up fairly quickly to keep your engineered stone clean and stain free.

Brands of engineered stone do offer their own ranges of cleaning products that are specifically designed for everyday maintenance. Caesarstone for example, offers a convenient spray cleanser for everyday use as well as cleaning wipes that will help protect your benchtop’s surface.

Although engineered stones are much easier to maintain than a natural stone benchtop, ensure you’ve tidied up messier spills quickly to avoid the chance of staining.

Filed under: Kitchen Design, Materials & Finishes, Myth Busting Mondays