BTM Care and Maintenance Advice

Stubborn Stains or Dried Spills
To Clean Quartz or any stone, BTM recommends using warm water and a mild detergent or a quality spray-and-wipe-type cleaner. If, however, you wish to give your Quartz or stone counter-top surface a thorough cleaning, BTM recommends using Massimo Piraccini products or equivalent, which can be used without damaging the surface.

Note: Do not use cleaning products that have high ph (acid) level (over 4), such as oven cleaner or paint remover as they etch and damage the surface.

To remove adhered materials like food, gum and nail polish, first scrape away the excess with a sharp blade or plastic putty knife. If there are any grey marks on the surfaces, Massimo Piraccini cleaning agents should remove it.

Heat Resistance
Quartz can tolerate moderately hot temperatures for brief periods of time. Prolonged exposure will result in discolouring or other types of damage.

Please inform your customer that they should avoid direct contact between very hot pots and the stone surface. Excessive localized heat may damage the surface or cause hairline cracks. We always recommend using an insulator/Hot Pad/Trivet, especially when using cooking units like electric frying pans, woks or kettles.

Tough:Yes, Indestructible:No
As with any surface, Quartz can be permanently damaged by exposure to strong chemicals and solvents that undermine its physical properties. Do not use products that contain trichlorethane or Methylene chloride, such as paint remover or strippers.

Avoid any highly aggressive cleaning agents like oven/grill cleaners and dishwasher agents that have high alkaline/ PH levels. Products containing oils or powders may leave a residue and should be rinsed off thoroughly. Should your surface accidentally exposed to any of these damaging products, rinse immediately with water to neutralize the effect.

Scratch Resistance
Quartz is highly scratch resistant surface; however, avoid abuse using sharp objects such as sharp knives or screw drivers directly on to the surface.

Honed Finish Cleaning and Maintenance
Please understand that Honed Finishes will require more daily maintenance than our polished finishes. Since there is more exposed surface area with honed finishes, metal marks, finger prints and other signs of daily living will show on hones material. Most of these marks can be easily removed with little effort and cleaning products such as Massimo Piraccini Cleaner. For tough Stains, gently work the area with the cleaner and a green Scotch-Brite pad.

Honed materials may obtain slight surface markings during transportation, fabrication, or installation. These marks can usually be removed using the above mentioned cleaning methods or with Acetone. It is possible to use Massimo Piraccini colour enhancer on the surface of Quartz honed materials to help minimize the appearance of fingerprints and make due to normal use.
Note: Under no circumstances should any type of stone impregnating sealers be applied to any Quartz surface, When fabricating any Quartz material with a honed finish take care not to over-polish any edge details beyond the honed finish on the slab face surfaces. This can normally be obtained by wet polishing using diamond granite or marble pads progressing only to a 400 grit level.

All Quartz Fabrication requires the avoidance of modifying the factory polish on the face of the slabs. It is recommended for the honed and polished finishes that a protective layer, such as tape or plastic, be applied to the slab face to prevent accidental damage to the factory polish during fabrication.

Stone Care Tips
Granite differs in their texture but they all have similar properties such as resistance to the invasive action of most substances found in the house. Unlike marble and limestone, granite is the least affected by acids or alcohol. It shouldn't be damaged from standing hot utensils on it or by sharp knives.

Please read below some of our recommended stone care tips. For further information please don't hesitate to contact us.
We also have a recommended selection of Stone Care Products for purchase.

Stones Are Porous - Sealing
All stones, due to their granular construction, are porous to a greater or lesser extent and most granites fall into the latter category. To reduce the slight ability of granite to absorb liquids, the surface is treated with a proprietary sealer that penetrates the surface and fills the microscopic voids between the crystals. This process is done in the factory at the completion of manufacture and again when installed.

We recommend that you re-seal granite every 6 month to 1 year, depending on the use and porosity of the stone. Marble, Limestone and other natural stones will also have to be re-sealed every year.

Staining
With the lighter coloured granite you may notice a slight darkening of the stone in areas where water has been allowed to stand, but this should fade away as it dries out.

While Granite is highly stain resistant, substances such as oils, grease, and products that contain these substances can stain or darken your granite if not wiped up quickly.

Other natural stones other than granite have a much higher chance of staining. Please use the utmost care and wipe up spills immediately.

At BTM Marble & Granite you can purchase specially formulated Stain Remover Products to take extra care of your stone and remove unwanted stain professionally.

Acids and Alcohol
Marble and Limestone are susceptible to the aggressive action of acids and alcohol. Care should be taken to remove spillage of fruit juice, particularly lemon, wine and vinegar, beetroot etc., e.g. the residue of red wine on the base of wineglasses will leave its mark. Nail varnish and any other solvent or oil based products will stain if not wiped up immediately.

Materials not to be used on Granite: Formic acid, Hydrofluoric acid, Nitric acid, Sulphuric acid, Phosphoric acid, Hydrochloric acid.

Routine Care
We recommend that you clean your granite worktops with either a mild soap (or a non-abrasive light neutral detergent (PH7)) and water or a cleaner specifically made for stone surfaces (please view our stone care products for more information). To dry your granite, you can use a chamois leather or similar. Drainer Grooves can be cleaned using a wire wool.

Do not use glass cleaner to clean marble, travertine, slate, limestone or onyx under any circumstances!

Scratching and Chipping
Under normal use Granite should not scratch or chip. It is safe to occasionally cut and slice on your worktops. However, we recommend using a cutting board to keep from dulling your cutlery. Dragging very heavy objects, such as a tool box with dirt, grit or sand on its bottom may cause the granite to scratch.

Heat Resistance
Pots and Pans taken directly from your oven or stove top can be places directly onto your granite worktops. Burning or marring will not occur. Natural stones other than granite are not heat resistant.

Marble, Travertine, Onyx and Limestone are highly porous materials that can stain, scratch, etch, chip and crack if not taken care of properly.