Ways You Can Damage Your Countertops

One of the most crucial work areas in the house is your kitchen countertop. They’re custom-built, fabricated, and designed to endure stains, day-to-day use, food preparation, and routine cleaning. However, damages can still occur over time. This is particularly true if you aren’t careful.

A lot of homeowners don’t know that they’re slowly damaging their countertops. Even if you’ve got the most durable countertop out there, it’s best that you know all the ways that you can prevent damages.

Whether you’ve got epoxy countertops or granite ones, here are several things you should avoid:

Acidic Foods

Acidic foods are extremely harmful to your countertop. Several countertop materials are made from calcium carbonate. Particular countertop materials are pretty sensitive to acidic liquids and foods. You can easily create dull spots and etches if you splash tomato sauce, vinegar, wine, orange juice, lime juice, or lemon juice on it.

Even if you’ve got a stain-resistant countertop, it is still recommended that you should be careful.

Accumulation of Water

Water accumulation shouldn’t be a problem if you seal your countertops, right? Well, that isn’t the case. The truth is that sealing countertops only enables liquids to not leak through and avoid stains. There’s a high possibility of possible damages if you leave liquids spills on the countertop for a long period.

Water build-up can cause crusty and white stains when ignored. Though you do not have to run to wipe the spill up, you shouldn’t also allow the spill to sit there for a long period. Also, you’ve got to ensure you dry off the countertop when you wipe them. This will help avoid problems down the line.

Chopping, Slicing, and Cutting

A couple of individuals might think that because they’ve installed a long-lasting and durable countertop that they’re able to abuse them. Oftentimes, you can see homeowners chopping, dicing, cutting, and slicing directly on their countertops. However, what’s the actual problem here? You might have installed a stain and scratch-resistant countertop. However, you’re only increasing the possibilities of damaging the countertops if you’re continuously cutting and chopping on them.

It’s just better to utilize cutting boards. If small scratches occur, it can damage the waterproof sealant.

Hot Pans and Pots

There are a lot of countertop materials out there that are able to tolerate high temperatures. A lot of homeowners pick these countertops since they’re pretty convenient. This is particularly true when it comes to preparing meals, baking, and cooking. It’s a lot simpler to grab a hot pot and directly place it on the countertop rather than looking for something that can protect the surface.

While particular materials can handle high temperatures, a lot of professionals recommend still utilize hot pads, towels, or placemats. You should keep in mind that your countertops will last a lot longer if you know how to take care of them. On several occasions, directly placing hot pans on the countertop without protection can lead to discoloration or cracking. Also, you can utilize potholders and trivets as barriers.