I agree. Stay clear of black galaxy granite because it shows fingerprints and water marks. I love this granite in new house, and just because I am germ aware, I cut on a cutting board that goes into the dishwasher. Granite is beautiful and cleans with soap and water.

I read Heloise today and she is just wrong. She says not to put a hot pot on granite? Why will it burn or melt? No.
Water does not spot it like she says. Ours has never been spotted by wine or oil. We just wipe off the granite with a wet dish cloth.
Sealing it is very easy, just wipe on, that's it.
Pretty much the only thing that can hurt it is a hammer.
The manufactured stone is great too.
Marble is much softer and and will stain so stay away from marble for the kitchen.
We do use a cutting board and do not cut on the granite, it will really dull a knife.

Granite countertops
 

The secret is to have granite sealed well. We had ours installed and sealed by ARS Granite and Marble, Fruitland Park, and despite my, for ex., allowing soy sauce to sit on the counter overnight, no stains have resulted. Just wipe daily and enjoy, that is my take.

My wife read Heloise and said she was right. since my wife can never be wrong then I will have to say my wife is spot on.

Having said that granite is not difficult to maintain. Sealing it perodically is key and i believe dripping waer at the time of sealing is waht Heloise may be saying as you need to keep water off ofit while the sealant dries.. We seal our granite annually. We have granite in the kitchen and bathrooms. They hold up well

We had silestone i our home in Minnesota. It is great stuff. The only drawback on silestone is that it will show scratches

I may take the sugeestion from the poster who recommended Simple Green

Granite
 

I have granite and it came pre-sealed. I do nothing extra for it. I don't do any of the things Heloise does and mine looks great. This is the second home in which I've had it. I LOVE IT! :pepper2::bowdown::a040::MOJE_whot:

I have been told that the sealers used on granite today are much better and last longer than before. Maybe some of the bad news was from earlier products that were not as effective or long lasting.

We have granite countertops in our 4th home now and I wouldn't have anything else. They are easy to care for and we have had no trouble with water...if you miss a little splash or something it soaks into the stone and disappears. We had them sealed when they were installed and the installer told me to wipe them down with windex and a soft cloth so that's what I do and I've never had a problem. If you do have something soak into the stone there is a product that you can use to pull it out.

Are granite came with a 15 year sealer already applied. We just wipe are spills and have never had any problems.

THANKS! That is exactly what I am thinking of!

Connie

THANKS! I love the options you all are giving me!

So, it's the sealer on granite that makes all the difference. I didn't realize that.

I wouldn't cut on granite, but the article in the newspaper did shake me up a bit, since I planned to put granite in my new house. I am a messy cook, I NEED to clean my counters! Good to know that a coat of sealer will do the trick.

Connie

I think Heloise may be getting a bad rap! I just read the article and didn't see a comment that "no water can be dripped on granite". Nevertheless, this has been an interesting discussion.

Oh, I forgot about a cutting board...

We kind of did the same thing but used a thinner tile that matched our granite and you can put sticky felt on the bottom so it doesn't scratch, we also had a friend make wooden frames around some of them so they looked nice for trivets...you can make matching coasters the same way...but smaller :)

I didn't make one for this house though, I use a flexible cutting mat for chopping things.

We just picked up our new bathroom vanity top yesterday and the second one has to be custom made for the wonky little sink in that bathroom...so, there is no issue with granite and water. Oh, you can actually get a kitchen sink made from real granite too so water can't possibly be an issue...you have to build up under your sink for extra support and they are quite pricey but they sure look nice!

BS ALERT!!! :rant-rave::rant-rave: There are absolutely no problems like this with granite. It's absurd to say granite burns. Stone burns?? We have had granite for 7 years and have had none of these problems. The only precaution we take is to use a granite cleaner. It cleans and seals. We buy it at the grocery store. Our granite is as beautiful as the day we bought it and I set hot pans on it all the time. We have ordered granite for our new home in TV. Black granite will show fingerprints and can be a problem if fingerprints concern you but so will stainless steel. Quartz is very nice too but a little more pricey. I agree with the Villager who said to talk to the professionals in counter tops, ask about the advantages and disadvantages and then make your best decision.