Did you know that kitchens are dirtier than most bathrooms? In fact a kitchen worktop has about 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. Near the drain there are about 3000 bacteria per square metre, but without nutrients and water, bacteria cannot grow. An impregnating sealer will make your worktop highly water and oil repellent. This doesn’t mean the surface won’t get dirty, but it will impede water and oil based liquids from penetrating into the pores and causing permanent stains, the ones germs cling to, making your worktop easier to clean and more hygienic. We recommend the use of STAIN-PROOF™ Plus. Once sealed, stone still needs to be correctly cared for and spills should be wiped up as soon as possible.

Composite quartz is non-porous but during the manufacturing process when the quartz is being polished, pores are formed on the surface which can fill with particles of dirt. Sometimes that dirt can stick to the pores and may require a good scrub to remove the grime. If these pores are protected with STAIN-PROOF™ Plus, liquids are repelled instead of being drawn into the material, meaning cleaning and maintenance becomes far easier. Tea (with white based quartz in particular) can appear to stain, sticking to the surface if it’s not wiped clean soon after a spill. It can be difficult to remove and if this occurs we recommend the use of Oxy-Klenza™ to form a special sort of poultice. View a video demonstration. QUICK SEAL TESTTo check if your surface is adequately sealed you can carry out the following water test. Place a tablespoon of water on the treated surface for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, soak up the water with a tissue, pressing hard to pick up any liquid within the texture of the surface. If a dark mark remains it means the water has been absorbed into the surface and so more sealer should be applied. DAMP PATCHESDamp patches or moisture build up are sometimes talked about with the granite work surface. The granite should be sealed and then the damp patches will be prevented. If the surface is sealed sufficiently, water will sit on the surface like it would when you apply polish to a car. This way if oil or anything is spilled on the surface the sealant acts as a barrier to protect the surface long enough to allow the spill to be mopped up. The reason why we don't find many issues with granite is that a lot of commonly sold granite has a very dense structure and doesn't allow liquids to penetrate the surface very easily. But not one block of stone has the same absorption as another one therefore we recommend all granite be sealed. SURFACE ETCHINGMaterials that are acid sensitive include marble, limestone, travertine, quartzite and onyx. Dolomite for example, also known as a quartzite Centuras Grey, can easily etch due to its composition. Impregnating sealers will not prevent surface etching. When an acid liquid such as lemon, coffee or cola comes into contact with an acid sensitive material it dissolves the calcium carbonate in the material, leaving physical damage (a rough, dull etch mark) called etching. You should never leave wet trays, cutting boards, bowls, vases or similar on the surface. For example, the water underneath a wet plastic tray or glass will evaporate very slowly, and if left overnight, for days, or weeks might stain the surface.

We pride ourselves in our honesty so the following is something we’d like you to be aware of. Before composite stones became a popular choice for use as worktops in the home, natural stone was the only premium choice for luxury work surfaces. All natural stone is porous and so applying sealer with a warranty is commonplace. In recent years however warranties have been heavily marketed as a selling point for composite stones, but in reality as it is already non-porous, if the stone is cared for correctly and installed professionally, having a warranty in place isn’t essential. Although not essential there are some acknowledged benefits from using a sealer on composite quartz such as easier cleaning and greater hygiene.

Block is the term used for the large mass of natural stone that slabs are cut from. The largest blocks produce up to fifty 3 cm slabs. The flow of character and movement within a block can be minimal or large dependant on the material. For example, Star Galaxy granite is uniform throughout the block but Cosmic Black granite often changes.

A typical rock is a mixture of solid chemicals, known as minerals, which are pressed tightly together. If you look closely you can see the separate minerals as grains or small crystals in a rock. Each different mineral is a naturally formed inorganic substance with a particular chemical composition. There are over 4,500 different minerals but only a small number of these are major constituents of rocks. TYPES OF ROCKGeologists can classify almost all rocks into one of three main types, depending on how the rocks form. The types are known as Igneous Rock, Sedimentary Rock and Metamorphic Rock. Over millions of years, each type can slowly change into one of the others in an endless process called the rock cycle. The rock in the Earth’s crust is continually being destroyed and recycled. Rock on the surface is worn down to fragments and eventually settles to become sedimentary rock. Rock underground is melted to form igneous rock, or compressed and cooked, by the heat of molten rock, to form metamorphic rock. Movements in the Earth’s crust force underground rock back to the surface. IGNEOUS ROCKAbout 90 per cent of the rock in the Earth’s crust is igneous. Igneous rocks form when molten rock cools and solidifies. When this happens underground, the molten rock (magma) solidifies slowly giving crystals time to form. The magma becomes a hard, crystalline rock with large grains such as granite. Igneous rock can also form on the Earth’s surface when lava escapes from a volcano. The lava solidifies quickly, especially if it flows into water. It forms with no or very small, visible crystals such as basalt. SEDIMENTARY ROCKSand, mud, and even the remains of living organisms can all turn into rock. These sediments settle on the sea floor, building up in layers. Over time, deep layers are compressed by the weight of the sediment on top and water seeping through the layers depositing minerals that glue the sediment particles together. As a result the sediment becomes sedimentary rock. Travertine, limestone and sandstone all form this way. The layers are sometimes visible as horizontal bands called strata. METAMORPHIC ROCKDeep underground, rock can be subjected to intense heat and pressure. These forces, while not melting the rock outright, can cause minerals to recrystallize in new forms. The result is a hard, crystalline type of rock called metamorphic rock, which frequently has wavy or stripy patterns. Metamorphic rock often forms in mountainous regions, where Earth’s crust is buckling and folding under tremendous pressure. Quartzite, marble and slate are examples of Metamorphic rock. ROCKS & THE STONE TRADEAs previous explained geologists name a rock according to its mineral composition and the environment in which it formed. The size of the grain is often important too. The stone trade uses just a few of the same names, granite, marble, slate, quartzite, travertine, sandstone and quartzite, but they have very different meanings. GRANITE & THE STONE TRADEGeologists use the term ‘granite’ for igneous rocks that formed within the earth’s crust, which are mainly made up of the minerals quartz, feldspars and mica. But the stone trade defines most hard rocks composed mainly of these silicon minerals as ‘granite’ irrespective of whether the rock is igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary. This means that ‘granites’ in the trade can include metaconglomerates (metamorphosed sedimentary rocks), gneisses (metamorphosed igneous or sedimentary rocks) and basalts (volcanic igneous rocks) as well as true granites. MARBLE & THE STONE TRADEIf a rock is composed mainly of calcite (carbonate mineral) geologists call it a limestone if it is unmetamorphosed and marble if it has been metamorphosed. The stone trade says a rock of this composition is ‘marble’ or ‘limestone’ depending on whether it will take a good polish or not.