When choosing new kitchen worktops, a lot of us will just factor in aesthetics, durability and price, but you may want to consider how hygienic the material is, and how easy it is to keep clean and safe to use for food preparation. So let’s look at exactly how hygienic are granite and quartz worktops.
We all know that infections from certain bacteria and viruses can cause lasting and serious health issues. To prevent cross-contamination and the spread of these germs, our food preparation habits are possibly the most important factor to take into account.
Different materials play varying roles when it comes to the spread of harmful microbes, and we will look at the best material to use for your kitchen worktops based on their susceptibility to harbour germs and their effectiveness at stopping them.
The average person will spend at least 20% of their day in the kitchen. Whether it be to make a morning sandwich, pour some cereal, cook some dinner or prepare the supper.
At the weekend, when we are usually home, carrying out various chores, this can extend to up to 40%. This means we spend many hours at a time in one space. In that time, when we cook, wash up or clean the worktop, we want to make sure that it’s carried out in an efficient manner, and cleaning effort is easy and maximised.
It’s now known that the key factor in how easy it is to keep a surface clean is its porosity. How porous a surface is will usually tell us how much they will collect and harbour germs. In a nutshell, the less porous the better. We have found that solid materials such as granite, quartz and stainless steel come out on top and natural porous materials like wood will need meticulous cleaning to ensure a hygienic preparation area for food.
GRANITE
Granite is formed from years and years of compressed molten rock forming together, and it’s this high pressure that leaves the granite almost impregnable to germs, once polished and sealed. As a natural product, it is not completely non-porous and therefore doesn’t stand up to germs as well as quartz, but is still a very effective material due to its easy to clean surface.
QUARTZ
Quartz is considered almost as effective as stainless steel (which is the material of choice for surgical settings) at repelling germs as it is highly resistant to staining, sticking and damage. This worktop choice will not only look great and perform great, but you can rest easy in the knowledge that once cleaned, your worktop will remain as non-hospitable to germs and bacteria as it gets! Quartz is a great choice for a functional kitchen where durability and hygiene is needed.
As always, If you’re looking for a solid stone surface for your job, get in touch using one of the contact methods below:
📞 01684 592777
📧 sales@goforgranite.co.uk