In short
Wipe spills quickly, clean with a mild pH-neutral soap and dry the surface afterwards. Keep abrasive pads and harsh products away from porcelain and quartz, use boards and trivets, and follow the maker's advice for your slab. Keep oak dry, refresh the oil when it looks tired and mind the steam from the dishwasher.
Care is mostly habit
Sintered porcelain, quartz and solid oak are not fragile. They are made to be lived with. What they ask for is a little attention, and the right kind. A few habits, practised without effort, do far more than any product. This guide covers the habits, and the occasional job that goes with them.
One note before we begin. Every surface, oil and finish has its own instructions, and the maker's advice always comes first. What follows is general good practice, and it will serve most kitchens well.
How do you clean porcelain and quartz every day?
Wipe up spills when they happen, especially oils and coloured liquids such as coffee, tea, red wine and tomato. Both materials are hard-wearing, but a spill left for hours is always more trouble than one wiped in a minute.
For daily cleaning, use a soft cloth with warm water and a few drops of a mild, pH-neutral soap. Rinse with clean water and dry with a second cloth, which prevents streaks and water marks. That is nearly everything these surfaces need. They do not call for heavy sprays or special potions.
Around the sink and the tap, a quick wipe after washing up does more than any cleaner. Soap film and limescale build up slowly, and removing them early keeps a surface looking clean. Good ventilation helps, because a room that dries quickly stays fresher and easier to clean.
What should you keep away from them?
Avoid abrasive pads, scouring powders and harsh products such as bleach and limescale removers, especially on matt finishes, where they can leave marks or change how the surface looks. Use chopping boards, because a knife blade will mark any surface and the surface will blunt the knife.
Use a trivet or mat under very hot pans. Quartz is bound with resin, and very high heat can damage it. Even a hard surface can crack if it is heated or cooled too quickly. Coasters under glasses, and a tray under bottles of oil and vinegar, prevent rings. Wipe the area around the sink dry after washing up, so that soap and water do not sit on the surface.
Stains, marks and chips
Quartz and sintered porcelain are generally low maintenance and do not need the regular sealing that softer surfaces do, but check the maker's advice for your slab. If a stain does appear, act early and gently. Warm water and mild soap come first, then a non-abrasive cleaner that the maker recommends. Avoid anything harsh until you have checked.
A chip at an edge or corner is the most likely damage, and a hard knock with a heavy pan is the usual cause. A small chip can sometimes be repaired by a specialist, and a deep one may mean replacing the piece. Take particular care with corners, edges and cut-outs, which are the most exposed parts of any top.
How do you look after oak every day?
Oak is kind and easy to live with. Clean it with a soft cloth that has been wrung out until it is only slightly damp, and then dry it. Water is the main enemy, not because it harms oak at once but because it sits. A pool of water left around a sink or a tap will darken the grain and lift the finish in time.
Take particular care at the sink and the dishwasher. When a dishwasher finishes, steam escapes from the door, and over many months this can swell a timber panel above it. Leaving the door ajar for a few minutes, and using the protective strip that is fitted beneath the worktop, prevents the problem. Wipe the area around the sink every day.
When should oak be oiled, and how are marks repaired?
An oiled surface should be refreshed from time to time. Busy worktops need it more often than a bedroom wardrobe. Clean the surface, let it dry fully, then apply a thin coat of the oil recommended for your finish with a soft cloth, working along the grain. Wipe away the excess after the time stated by the maker. A thin coat is better than a thick one.
A scratch or a mark can usually be dealt with by sanding lightly along the grain with fine paper, wiping off the dust and oiling the patch. Because oak is solid or thickly veneered, such repairs blend in well. A lacquered surface behaves differently. It resists water better, and repairs are more difficult, so follow the maker's instructions closely.
One safety point. Cloths soaked in some drying oils can heat up and catch fire as the oil cures. After use, lay them flat to dry outdoors, or soak them in water before disposing of them.
Heat, moisture and light
Three things deserve respect. Heat, in the form of hot pans, should be kept off oiled timber and quartz with a trivet. Moisture, in the form of standing water, damages oak and leaves marks on any surface that is not dried. And strong light changes colour, so oak warms and some timbers fade, while a surface near a bright window can look different through the day.
Steady conditions matter as well. Timber moves with the humidity of a home. A room with heating on all winter and doors open in summer will see small movements, and that is normal. Keep the environment reasonably even and the movement will remain slight. When you receive your kitchen, we explain the care for the particular materials in it.
