This article addresses the issue of whether our Summit Stone Quartz worktops can be stained with turmeric – read on to find out how we tested this.
We were recently challenged by a customer who said:
“I really like your new range of Summit Stone Quartz Worktops, but if turmeric stains them permanently, I am not interested!”
This customer had previously experienced the problem of permanent staining caused to their supposedly non porous quartz worktops and understandably they did not want this to happen again.
We decided to put this to the test, to demonstrate the quality of our Summit Stone kitchen worktops.
Quartz worktops are a manmade stone, manufactured from combining ground quartz particles with resins, polymers, and pigments. This forms a very hard, granite-like surface. Summit Stone quartz is 94% quartz and 6% resins and polymers. Different brands have slightly different makeups. Due to the resins and polymers, quartz kitchen worktops are technically non porous, which is one of their main selling points over granite. Despite this, and with our extensive knowledge of stone and quartz, we still recommend a ‘belt and braces’ approach where quartz is concerned.
At Stoneworld, we normally seal all our worktops before installation, regardless of whether they are granite or quartz.
We have our own product for this:
Rob Parker’s Best Quartz and Granite Sealer
We find this is the only way to guarantee against staining, and the potential spoiling of the polished surface over time.
The Turmeric Challenge:
Turmeric is a very potent spice used in many Indian cooking recipes. It is also increasingly used in healthy lifestyle plans as a daily supplement. The curcumin within it is insoluble in water making it difficult to remove from many materials – including kitchen worktops.
We selected 4 samples to test:
- 2 samples of our own Summit Stone Calacatta Fine Vein, one of which we treated with Rob Parker’s Best Quartz & Granite Sealer.
- 2 samples of another high street name white quartz material, one of which claims to have stain repelling properties.
Turmeric solution was spilt on all 4 samples. They were all left with the turmeric solution on the surface for 10 minutes.
All the quartz samples were then washed and left to dry for 2 hours.
All 4 samples show noticeable staining. After this all the samples were cleaned with Dettol Surface Cleaner.
The results:
We are delighted to say that the Summit Stone Calacatta Fine Vein samples were the easiest to clean, leaving no staining, whilst the other samples remained stained.
If you have any questions, please call us on 01844 279274 or email us at sales@stoneworld.co.uk and our team will be happy to help.
