[Boomer]

Well, I did it. I did not think I would. But I did.

I picked granite for a new countertop.

I had no intention of picking granite. I told myself it was not practical. I told myself it was a trend that would soon wave goodbye. I told myself I did not want to spend that much money. I told myself that I really did not like it that much anyway...uh huh...

But then...there it was...a little square...with my name on it...there it was...

a beautiful little sample of granite that was all in the colors of a turtle sundae. You know turtle sundaes...vanilla and butterscotch and chocolate...all swirled together.

It will arrive soon in a kitchen near me...right around the corner from where I am writing this.

So now, I need to know some stuff from people who already have granite countertops.

A couple of friends have told me to be really careful about oil and mayo spills.

And somebody told me that she shines up her granite with "Pledge"???

But basically, I am clueless about this stuff. And I want to take good care of it.

So I thought I would ask the TOTVers if they have any advice for me on how to take care of granite countertops.

Thanks for any help you can give me on this.

Boomer

[Ohiogirl]

And thanks for the reminder that I need to seal it. As I recall, you're supposed to do that yearly, but I haven't. Can't tell that any harm has been done. I'm not especially careful about oil or mayo - am sure I spill some occasionally, but just wipe it off. Maybe staining is worse on a more solid pattern. After 3-1/2 years, can't see any wear and tear on it and it just brings me pleasure to look at it.

Sounds like you picked a color very similar to ours - usually I just wipe it off with a sponge or paper towel, sometimes use Zep brand countertop cleaner & polish (got it at Lowe's or Home Depot, might be sold at grocery stores or Walmart as well, not sure). It's very hard to even see crumbs on it - we have a couple of stairs from our kitchen entrance which puts me at eye level when I walk in the kitchen, which helps - otherwise I might not even realize it NEEDS cleaned.

We remodeled our kitchen in Ohio about 3.5 years ago - I too didn't want to spend that much, etc. etc. But I love it. Just plain love it. When we move to the Villages this fall, as soon as I am sure we can afford it (I'm pretty uptight about being absolutely SURE and want to let the new retired lifestyle and budget shake out), I plan to replace the countertops in our CYV.

Now - my problem - we did an undercounter stainless steel sink - which I also love, but I apparently haven't kept it polished/cleaned as well as I should have and it is showing some stains. It's a good grade (gauge) of stainless, so that's not the issue. Looked up on the internet what to do and it said to clean stains with white vinegar. Did that and hasn't helped that much. Anyone have any advice about that?

[l2ridehd]

Congratulations, you will never regret making that choice. I have had granite in a couple homes and will put it in TV home when I reach the same place as ohiogirl. Have had black, gold, another one that I can't recall the name and loved them all. Our rental property in TV has granite as well and even that is great. In our kitchen in VA I have Corian (there when I bought the home) and there is just no comparison. Corian looks nice, does not stain, easy to care for, BUT looks like manufactured counter top. So when I remodeled the bathrooms in VA, chose granite and love it. Granite has a look that makes you glad to walk into the room. One bathroom has a color named Avaya Gold that is the most beautiful stone I have ever seen anyplace. Every where you go, they have different names for the same color stone so it is impossible to know what I am describing. And no two are the same, only similar variations of the same ones.

There are only two things that will stain granite. Olive oil and red wine. Makes sense I guess as they are both natural products as well. Any good granite cleaner polish works well to maintain it. I also like the Zep products. You will find they are very easy to care for and will always look nice. As for the stainless steel sink problem, I am at a loss. I have one that is a Kohler brand I think, 10 years old, and still looks great.

[graciegirl]

We too did granite. We have black galaxy in the kitchen so it doesn't stain, but the stainless steel sink does. (Use bleach.) The bathrooms have some sort of blue irridescent shelly looking granite.

I like the granite because you can sit hot pots on it. You must have it professionally sealed every three or more years. BUT it is a royal pain in the neck (or lower down) because ours is dark and it shows every palm print, water spot and smudge. I know I wipe down every counter in the kitchen at least three times a day. The ones in the bathroom show dust, especially the bathrooms you don't use much.

I love to come to our Camellia in TV that has some kind of formica that you never see anything on. (No, I clean it, but not as often, so you don't have to be afraid to eat at our house.)

It is very pretty though, granite. And it is eons old, as the salesman told us.

[Halle]

BUT it is a royal pain in the neck (or lower down) because ours is dark and it shows every palm print, water spot and smudge. I know I wipe down every counter in the kitchen at least three times a day. The ones in the bathroom show dust, especially the bathrooms you don't use much.



The smudges and hand prints drive me crazy!

[moongirl]

I also have granite, was in the house when we bought (TV). I would never choose it again. We have the brown/beige/cream (mostly cream background) color. It has yellowed on the right side where my husband does most of his "food fixin." I wash it constantly (dish soap on a sponge). I'm thinking the soap has yellowed it. Any acidic food will etch the surface so keep those cleaned off promptly. I'm going to try one of those "poltice" concoctions to try removing the yellowing. Anyway, if given a choice I would go with formica - there so many beautiful patterns and colors now. And it is much cheaper to replace/update in the future.

[BeeGee]

I, too love granite, but a few years ago when we were renovating our kitchen, we chose Avanza (a quartz product that was distributed by Lowe's) it's beautiful all the time, never needs sealing/polishing and the fear of olive oil and mayo doesn't exist. The color/style is a tan/gold/brown natural looking w/a few specks of copper in it. We have undercabinet lighting and it just gleams beautifully. When hubby and i move to TV, we will definitely look for something similar.

[KathieI]

My last house in Los Angeles had a huge counter in formica and it had been there for probably 10 years or more. I bought the house with it and it was the best. It always looked good, wasn't hard to clean, and spray a little Pledge on it, and the shine would blind you. I don't think I would ever do Granite.

I also had a slate floor in that house and I would never do that again. Awful to clean and it never looked good.

[Whalen]

Had granite in our home on Long Island since 1997. Never sealed it, easy to maintain. Looked brand new when the house was sold.

Ohiogirl
We also gad a good quality sink which was imported from Germany. The manufacturer recommended Bar Keepers Helper to clean and polish the sink and also warned against using bleach or harsh abrasives.
The sink looked beautiful but was high maintenance

[another Linda]

We have a dark green Corian here in Syracuse (difficult to keep looking good) and I just put a lighter color granite in TV (wonderful!). We haven't had the granite long enough to know whether or not it will discolor, but it has had both red wine and olive oil spilled with no effect (Christmas was a bit chaotic.) The people who installed the counter sealed it and left me some stuff to seal it again. They said do it every year.

[Boomer]

Thank you for all of the great information.

And ohhhh, that red wine thing. How well I know that one. (says the woman who has a yellow couch)

And about those stainless steel sinks, the Bar Keepers stuff that Whalen mentions works really well on lots different things. It is an old product and can be found at the grocery store usually.

And Linda, my bathroom vanities are Corian and I use Windex on them.

I have always been a fan of the practicality of Formica counters. They look nice and are the easiest thing in the world to take care of. But this time..... I saw that butterscotchy-chocolaty-vanilla stuff and ....it was all over for me.

(Now, do I dare to tell TH that the cabinets I have picked out are almost exactly like his that he showed us over in that thread about the under-cabinet lights? And then, do I dare to ask TH to take another picture with all the kitchen lights on so I can see his cabinet hardware better because I think those are the kind of handles I am going to pick, but I need a closer look to see the drawer fronts better? I cannot tell if there is a raised panel in the middle. Do you think that maybe if I tell TH he has the most exquisite taste in kitchen cabinets, he will show us a picture with brighter lights? Do you think maybe? And I think his wall color and his countertop might be almost like mine, too. Do you think TH might truly be "The Nice Administrator" and will show us another picture of his kitchen so I will know how much alike we are?)

Boomer

[Ohiogirl]

Thanks all - I will try the Bar Keepers friend next - I have some under the sink!

I too had Corian before - a sand color - with a bisque Corian sink. Only had it for a few months before I moved and would never do it again. In the right light I could see some scratches where someone (unnamed) put their keys and probably wasn't careful about putting other things on the counter.

I hadn't decided what color granite to do in TV, but now will for sure avoid the dark stuff. My sister has a granite called Mahogany (I think) which is kind of dark and shows a lot, but she is also probably the worst housekeeper I have ever known (she has other good qualities, but being neat is not among them). I thought maybe all the stuff that showed was just because she is who she is.

I'm not Mrs. Clean, but the gold/black/cream granite I have is pretty wonderful and doesn't show much. It was called St. Cecilia (if I am remembering correctly) and was pretty close to Venetian, which a lot of areas seem to have - am pretty sure it's a standard Home Depot color nationwide. Boomer described it pretty well - kind of like a Turtle Sundae, although she's right - lots and lots of variations. Picking out the color is tough, but you've put me back on the right track.

If there wasn't a snowstorm outside today, I'd go get my sealer right now - however, it will have to wait a few days.

[Pturner]

I considered granite a while back for a kitchen. It was even more expensive than I initially realized though. I was told that I would have to improve the floor foundation because of the weight of the granite. Has anyone else had to do that?

[Whalen]

When we bought our granite the supplier told us the stone was polished and didn't have to be sealed. If it ever showed any wear they would come and polish it for us. (at a price of course).
So never sealed it and it always looked beautiful and was so easy to care for.

[GMONEY]

Granite is very heavy.. if you live in a mobile or manufaact.. Home you might need to beef up the floor for support if you have like a big island you are doing. Or if you are making you counter top wider for like a bar area, you would have to have supports place under the counter attaching to the wall.

We have it in our house. Love it, woud never go back to formica or laminate. Best move we made. Price wasnt that bad either. Even got a upgraded color free. soap and water will clean it good. Just go online an google grantie counter top cleaning. find all you need to know.

as for sealing, we got the Stonemark from Home Depot. suppose to last longer with out sealing. But we keep it cleaned and put wax on it.