Silestone care and maintenance
Silestone is a scratch and stain-resistant worktop material that’s easy to keep clean and maintenance-free. It’s also a durable and long-lasting material, but there are a few things to avoid to ensure it stays looking its best.
Follow the Silestone care and maintenance instructions below to keep your worktop in tip-top shape.
How to clean Silestone worktops
General cleaning
To clean Silestone, we recommend using warm, soapy water or Cif Actifizz cleaner with a green-and-yellow washing-up sponge.
Removing stubborn stains
Silestone worktops have a non-porous surface, which means nothing will permanently stain them. However, some substances may require more than just soapy water. For stubborn stains, dilute some bleach in water (around 15%) and rub it on the stain in a circular motion. Leave it to soak for two minutes, then rinse. If the stain remains, repeat the process until it disappears.
Please note that matte and concrete finish colours need a little more care than polished colours.
Do not use the following chemicals:
- Water repellents or sealants
- Paint strippers
- NaOH – Caustic soda
- Products with a pH of more than 10
- Bleach and solvents (they should only be used when diluted with water and must not be left in permanent contact with the worktop, as they can continue to affect the surface for up to 12 hours)
- Chlorine-based products such as dichloromethane (present in paint stripper)
- Hydrofluoric acid
- Degreasing agents such as oven cleaners
- Polishing chemicals — Silestone must not be re-polished
Don’t use specialist worktop cleaning products
Many specialist worktop cleaners claim to enhance shine and protect your work surface. However, when it comes to stone worktops, we recommend you don’t use these, as they can lead to a build-up of chemicals on the surface that may damage your worktop over time.
How to maintain your worktop
Do not expose to heat sources
Although Silestone can withstand high temperatures for short periods, its performance can vary.
Therefore, we recommend always protecting the worktop from hot saucepans, baking trays, deep-fat fryers etc. with a hot pad or trivet.
Not suitable for areas with high UV light
Over time, UV light will fade the colour of your worktop, so we recommend that Silestone isn’t used in areas with a high concentration of UV light.
Avoid scratches
Although Silestone is scratch-resistant, it’s not scratch-proof. So, while it will withstand everyday scratches and scrapes, we recommend using a chopping board when cutting with sharp knives.
