I’ve always had laminate counters in the past, and used 409-type all purpose cleaning spray to clean and disinfect my counters.
We have granite countertops in our home now and I feel like I’m not getting them really, truly clean. We bought Granite Gold Daily Cleaner. It never occurred to me that it wasn’t disinfecting my counters until I read the label.
I started looking online for other cleaners and I can’t find any granite countertops cleaner that disinfects. There is even one made by 409 and that doesn’t disinfect either.
What do you use on your granite countertops to get them really clean?
We do same on our formica counters. Once in a while if they seem grungy we use 409. Admittedly we should probably do more disinfecting when meat juices are involved (though mostly they get caught on dish or cutting board… .go into DW).
Quartz counters here. I use soap and water to clean. Soap is the first line of defense against bacteria and viruses. I try to limit the use of cleaners containing quaternary ammonium salts.
Sometimes I think people are too obsessed with disinfection. If I am cutting raw chicken and some liquid splashes on the counter, then yes, I am going to use something strong. But otherwise, soap and water will remove most any substance (water = universal solvent!)
I use a method granite spray for shine.
My current house has soapstone which is wonderful. You can let vinegar sit on it with no ill effects etc. Just wipe it down and it looks great!
Are we not supposed to use bleach for some reason? Usually just soap and water but raw animal products then bleach. No ill effects I’ve seen in 15 years.
I also use a spray bottle that has about 2/3 of a cup of water and about 1/2 cup of Dawn and then I add a little hot water to it when I’m spraying down the counters. I was told not to use any other abrasive cleansers on the quartz. We do have the Weiman, but I’m more comfortable with the Dawn/Water. Plus the Weiman gets expensive. I use the plastic cutting boards, which seems to catch most of the liquids and then the cutting boards go directly into the dishwasher.
My kitchen is 27 years old and I’ve got a large granite island and Corian countertops. I clean the granite with Dawn and water. Once. Week the cleaning person uses Granite Gold cleaner. I’ve never thought about disinfecting it. Granted I make an effort to not have raw chicken on the island. I prep vegetables and fruit on the island and do my raw chicken on a cutting board on the Corian. I do use a bleach cleaner on the Corian with no issues.
I use a gentle cleaner/resealer. I don’t disinfect them. Honestly, I would strongly advise against using anything like a disinfectant on them. I have been using the same product for years, on both granite and quartzite. It’s by Aquamix. I get it from Home Depot, but you can also get it online.
BTW, people erroneously assume granite is indestructible. It definitely isn’t. It can chip, it can crack, it can show heat marks, etc… Never put a hot pan directly on a stone countertop. I always use cutting boards.
Yes, granite seals can be damaged (not likely the stone underneath), particularly by heat (we got a hairline crack from an iron for example).
However, unlikely by bleach or ammonia or most household chemicals. When we did our kitchen, I took samples of all our materials into the lab. The only notable damage was with strong base (5M NaOH IIRC) on the onyx tile we got for our backsplash. Nothing else made any kind of mark, even after several time-varying trials. (Not a guarantee for anyone else!)
We use Windex, either the regular or the ammonia-free, many times daily on all our kitchen surfaces including ceramic tile, onyx tile, granite, glass, stainless steel, applicances, finished wood, etc. We use bleach spray whenever necessary on any granite, stainless steel, ceramic tile, glass, or appliances.
p.s. MARBLE, on the other hand, is totally susceptible to damage from various solvents, cleaners, acids, etc. (Granite is a much stronger metamorphic rock and it takes a heck of an attack to damage it. “Quartz” is even better. It’s a human-made substance that is even more impervious. I wanted quartz but the supplier ran out of our color and “upgraded” us to granite and we accepted that in the end.)
