wallybearmom

Baking Soda to Clean Caesarstone Counters

wallybearmom
8 years ago

Any advice on how to clean Caesarstone would be much appreciated and if anyone out there has tried baking soda.....


Comments (98)

  • User
    6 years ago

    Baking soda is safe (2.5 on Mohs hardness scale, vs Ceasartstone 7.0) but it won't remove stains.

  • Erika Wright
    6 years ago
    I just installed pure white Caesar stone what a nightmare to maintain
  • User
    6 years ago

    Maybe I'm having a bad experience ( its a constant chore and still looks like crap when certain light hits it ), but I'm seriously contemplating on removing mine and going with granite.. and that will be my last time with quartz..EVER

  • wallybearmom
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    At this point, I'm just sorry I went with a pure white one. Ugh. My designer swore to me that upkeep would be no problem! I don't know if I'd like the hassle of sealing?

  • Erika Wright
    6 years ago
    This is my pure white Caesar stone 2 weeks after install: chipped from a pan, permanent marker came out partially with acetone, and permanent marks from pans, anything ceramic stretches it. It is a total nightmare worst than laminate
  • wallybearmom
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    That's super annoying, Erica.

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    6 years ago

    We would strongly suggest anyone concerned about caring for and cleaning any stone including quartz from any manufacturer, finish, color or brand read this

    Care & Cleaning Essentials.

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Erika Wright the chip in your photo is not in the Quartz but the moulding which appears to be timber

    Acetone or any other solvent should not be used at all. For the grey marks which is from metals such as stainless steel being dragged across the benchtop that you have on the benchtop and also to address the permanent marker issue we would strongly suggest you

    1) read this Care & Cleaning Essentials for all stone and especially quartz

    2) Watch this video for the best way to remove general stains.

    3) The video for removing permanent markers

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    leslieap10 moh scale does have some relevance as like does scratch like more easily, but not all Quartz products are at their lowest 7 on the mohs scale. Also of note is how or what you are using to apply or scrub at the surface stain with the baking soda.

    As baking soda is a sodium salt most Quartz manufacturers warn against any sodium salts and may void the relevant warranty.

    Also in this case Baking Soda or Sodium Bicarbonate as it is chemically know has a pH greater than 7.5 and any chemical greater than 7.5pH are know to attach any stone surface finish over a period of time

    Of NOTE is the msds in Section 9 where the pH level of Baking Soda is 8.5 @ 1% dilution with water. Now we all know most people use it raw and undiluted. Where the pH would be extremely more an 8.5 which in itself is an issue on any stone.

    Baking Soda MSDS

    Our advise, if you are unsure ask an expert or refer to this document.

    Care & Cleaning Essentials - Stone & Quartz

  • Kirstin Keilty
    6 years ago
    I am having difficulty getting rid of some boiled walnut oil that got on the counter while my husband was adding it to a cutting board made my my Designer’s husband that she gave to us. It’s leaving a mottled look to the surface and looks to have been absorbed into the Cesar stone. Is there a way to remove? I was thinking very hot water but my husband says the care page says absolutely not to this. We have also tried barkeepers and cerama Bryte but that has not helped.
  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Kirstin Keilty Barkeepers friend should not be used as it is abrasive and also contains a couple of chemicals that are known to damage stone surfaces.

    We know that our Stone Power Cleaner will remove the oil or any other oil based products. It will remove boiled linseed oil and tongue oil which is a similar timber oil.

    We would highly suggest that you do not use Cerama Bryte as it contains feldspar and quartz and highly abrasive both will scratch any surface other than diamonds. Plus it also has citric acid in it.

    It is available on Amazon in the USA

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    6 years ago

    Caesarstone you guys do realise that your recommended product contains Lye and Sodium Salts both of which I understand void your warranties on the Quartz products you make??

    Also the recommended product for cleaning Soft Scrub Gel has a pH higher than most oven cleaners. - pH 12.7 which again according to your own recommendations will void your own warranties??

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    6 years ago

    CR Beck for any of the stains that you have residues of or trouble removing. We have tested our products across a huge range of common issues. Our Stone Power Cleaner which is pH neutral and all natural ingredients WILL REMOVE the stains first go.


  • k2nutrition
    6 years ago

    Quartz-Stone Care Cleaning & Repair Experts, My husband went to the Cesarstone website and was directed to USE these products. Ya'll need to get your messaging together!!!! Ridiculous!!

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    k2nutrition Thank you for your comments, but you need to contact Caesarstone and have them verify what pH is NOT TO BE USED... you will find it is all the products. Read the warranty from Caesarstone and see what is allowed and not then apply that to what you are using... Caesarstone recommend even their own branded cleaners are way above what they allow.... it has a pH above 8.5 which is what Caesarstone CA have on their website as the limit.... Caesarstone USA and Australia is so vage it is not funny, just say any high pH which to me is anything over neutral which is pH6.9-7.2

    So who is RIDICULOUS?????

    We see people using what they recommend and then having issues with the warranty claims....

    Check the information yourself


    https://www.caesarstone.ca/customer-service/care-maintenance

    http://www.caesarstone.com.au/Portals/0/Documents/2015%20Caesarstone%20Warranty%20Guide.pdf

    http://www.caesarstoneus.com/customer-service/residential-warranty/

    Points 4 & 11 if you can tell us exactly what that is and not open to interpretation by the manufacturer we would be very pleased.

    Australia's products

    http://www.caesarstone.com.au/Portals/0/Documents/2017%20Warranty%20Registration_WEB.pdf?utm_source=CD_CSA&utm_medium=CD_CSA&utm_campaign=CD_RegisterWarranty&utm_content=CD_DownloadWarrantyReminder_NLB2B&_cldee=YXlzaGFAcWNob21lcy5jb20uYXU%3D&recipientid=contact-c8e5e7291d38e711aa0e005056010184-c462cb01937e45d29b641feff6dbdd63&esid=23d9c13a-db7b-e711-b704-005056010184

    Spray Cleaner by Caesarstone

    Download

    Cream Cleaner by Caesarstone

    Download

  • Kimberley Ryan
    6 years ago

    We have white caesarstone counters in the kitchen and main bathroom and would not recommend that colour as it has stained where we placed a tile down that we were using as a cutting board for meat, (something a chef friend recommended). I haven't found anything to remove it and have decided to live with it. The other caesarestone colours we have in the house are lovely, mangrove and a super dark chocolate in bathrooms. I use enjo to clean around our house and have to say the Green General Purpose Enjo with just water (thats how you use Enjo, no chemicals) brings up the counter top beautifully with no streaks, it also the only way to get our burgandy coloured laminate cupboards looking clean and streak free.

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    6 years ago

    Kimberley Ryan please send a photo, we would assume it is a yellowish brown colour stain?

  • Teri White
    6 years ago

    Someone else here suggested glass cooktop cleaner. By golly, it worked. My stains were very faint. Don't know what they were. Left by previous owner.

  • Stephanie von Dehn
    6 years ago

    So citric acid is bad?! I have been using my dish soap when I clean it and it is a Eco soap so has citric acid in it. What soap do they want us to use when the cleaning guide says "soap and water". I'm very unhappy with the durability of this product. I'm getting brown mark's everywhere despite daily cleaning and never letting stains sit. I don't know what could Ben causing them. The cutting board? Yam peels that sit on it for a few minutes? The coasters? It's making me crazy! -and to have to use chemicals to spot clean goes against me trying to keep a low chemical home. What "soap and detergent" do other people use?

  • Judy Mishkin
    6 years ago

    oh gosh what is IN yams that make them so nasty. every time i have a cut yam on my cutting board it's stained for a week.

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    6 years ago

    Stephanie von Dehn please post up a photo and also what brand of eco soap you are using. How old is your countertop and also what is the make and or color if known

    You may wish to read the Care and Maintenance Essential in the post above.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    6 years ago

    Y'all need to give up on engineered stone in white. Stick with a pure white with a 50-year record of not permanently staining: Corian.


    Won't come off with scrubbing and you can feel it.


    Gone and can't be felt or seen.

  • Stephanie von Dehn
    6 years ago

    It's hard to see in these photos but there are brownish marks all over, especially in areas where we do food prep. We always use cutting boards, pot coasters, and wipe immediately after use. Some food scraps may touch the surface (like yam peels) but we always wipe up within minutes. we use seventh generation free and clear dish soap at the sink for hand washing dishes so I've been using a drop of that on a microfibre cloth with cold water to wash the surface. The mark's are subtle but are starting to add up and look worse in some lights. Short of having nothing on the counter and levitating while doing food prep, I'm at a loss for how to deal with this product (ceasarstone frosty carina). I have the manual of care downloaded and in a binder and have tried the vim and water, bleach method and method daily granite care. Nothing will take out these marks.


  • PRO
    Stoneshop
    5 years ago

    Hi Stephanie,
    Have you tried using Soft Scrub? That usually works for us to get rid of stubborn marks on white quartz. Sometimes even a combination of Soft Scrub and a stone cleaner will do the trick. You definitely need to use some elbow grease, but it is usually successful. Best of luck!

  • PRO
    Caesarstone
    5 years ago

    Here's a link to our website which includes a manual on countertop care: http://www.caesarstoneus.com/customer-service/care-maintenance/ 

  • Geanie
    5 years ago
    Just spent thousands for Caesarstone Piatra Grey countertops. Biggest mistake ever. Everything that touches it be hands, water, or cooking oil leaves very dark spots that a simple washing won’t remove I chose to pay much more for this than granite due to being low maintenance. This product is a nightmare
    Buyer beware...,quartz is anything but low maintenance.
  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Firstly Caesarstone your link is not working. Secondly the products you are recommending are outside of your pH range for your warranties (6-8)

    A simple google of the product followed by MSDS will give you the pH in section 9 of the Safety Data Sheet

    HU-6928067922494774712385 Piatra Grey and any darker colour can fingerprint. Though the only product that will actually clean any stone and not leave it fingerprinting is Stone Power Cleaner also available on Amazon

    We would suggest you look at our Care & Maintenance Essentials for stone and our videos on youtube. This particular video will show you the only other pH neutral products on the market, but you will notice they dull off the surface which causes them to stain, fingerprint etc.

    For note, any quartz that is lighter in colour will yellow overtime if any cleaning products containing any type or family of sodium salts or surfactants are used for an extended period of time. NOTE: that the new marble looks are more susceptible to this in a much shorter period of time. They go patchy instead of yellowing evenly.


    The uses of Window or glass cleaners will etch your stone or any stone in-fact over time. It is more caustic than drain cleaner.

  • Geanie
    5 years ago

    Engineered quartz should not be marketed as low maintenance.

  • hopingtogetfit
    5 years ago
    Omg! I had honed Carrara marble countertops installed 6 weeks ago in my kitchen, and it has held up beautifully so far. (And it’s gorgeous!) I’m so glad I did not pay double the price for quartz.
  • Geanie
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    hopingtogetfit.. Good choice with the marble. I think it has to do more with the dark colors and Piatra Grey specifically. I have a marble look quartz on my island and it does not show the same problem spots.

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    5 years ago

    All stone will etch from chemicals or cleaners outside the range of 6-8 though it will generally take about 4 years to see. We repaired a Granite Blue Pearl top last month and the gloss had been effected by 60%.

    hopingtogetfit Honed Marble does not like any bleach nor does it like lemon juice or anything with citric acid in it.

  • Andrew Bell
    5 years ago

    Not sure how we ended up where we are, but is this recoverable? I see some commentary on yellowing, is this UV, or wrong cleaning product?


    Existing benchtop that we were hoping to leave in on an existing renovation when compared to a new fresh sample piece.


  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    5 years ago

    Andrew Bell you can recover this yellowing and it is caused by the wrong pH level cleaning products. Namely any product over the pH of 8. Yellowing is enhanced by UV light which will come from fluros, led and natural light as they all have the right spectrum of UV to active the compounds in 99% of most cleaners to cause this effect.


    There is a product that will reverse the yellowing without affecting the stone. It is easy to use as a DIY product.





    It is not a cheap product but will save you replacing the caesarstone or quartz which in general is about $4000 to do so.


    As you can see below it is generally the highly cleaned area and around the sink




  • PRO
    Aqua Kitchen and Bath Design Center
    5 years ago

    Caesarstone has their own cleaning products -- Caesarstone Cleaning Wipes and Caesarstone Spray Cleaner. But even wiping the countertop surface with warm soapy water (mixture of a mild detergent and warm water) and drying it with a clean damp cloth, is often enough. No sealing is needed, ever.

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    5 years ago

    https://www.houzz.com/user/aquagranite

    Caesarstone state in their own warranty that NO SOLVENT or HIGH PH Cleaner are to be used


    Yet Caesarstone Cream Cleanser is a pH of 11 which is drain and oven cleaner territory. With their spray cleaner around 10.7 and again caustic. As for soap and water, ues it can be used but will add a microscopic film over the surface of soap. Similar to your shower screen if left uncleaned.

  • Steven M
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    @quartz - stone care

    what you think of the Weimar Granite cleaner? I know it’s a product from a competitor but im in Canada and the Weiman is easily available, seems the ph is 8.2 also.

    https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/weiman-granite-and-stone-cleaner/6000196096793

    i used baking soda and some Windex in the past which got out most stains but don’t want to destroy my new quartz. Thanks!

  • Marlene and Jim Newby
    5 years ago

    I would never recommend Caesarstone to anyone!!!!! It always looks filmy and streaky and plus i have a couple of watermarks that I can't get rid of. Never had any of these problems with Silestone.

  • sharon
    5 years ago

    getting nervous

  • sharon
    5 years ago
    we just had ceaserstone sleek concrete installed yesterday, finishing around 5pm
    this morning even my finger prints where I touched it were leaving marks, and also rub marks, first world problem I know but not what I was expecting......
  • Mina Shachmurove
    4 years ago

    I was born and raised in Israel, just like Caesarstone. What a fraudulent advertisement they commit. I live in the USA and from my knowledge of caesarstone being a good NONPOROUS product I had it installed in my kitchen, What a disappointment when I found a stain on my white countertop and was told the stone is DAMAGED and the lifetime warranty started only in 2008 while I bought mine in 2006. I wander what changes they did in the stone in those 2 years. The company will not stand behind their product. I called their US headquarters, I emailed the company in Israel and was told to try putting oil for 3 days and change it every 24 hours. The stain is still there. I am going to call the Better Business Bureau as soon As i have some time. Like I said I was born and raised in Israel so I know when I am mistreated and will fight for my rights. Caesarstone if you read this comment you better provide me with a solution, even if it means replacing the countertop. You got more to lose than gain by ignoring me!! Outrageous company. DO NOT BUY!!!!!

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    4 years ago

    applegumone Domestos is bleach based and will void all the quartz manufacturers warranties.

    It is a high pH cleaner and hence highly corrosive - pH of 13 which is more than oven cleaner, its not food safe and the pH or corrosiveness is the same as a leaking battery.


    It will destroy any surface and especially stone. In a bathroom, you have to keep using domestos once used as it pits the surface and makes mould etc adhere to the surfaces easier. Why nothing else will work once it has been used.


    Just be very aware when using or advising to use this product. Obviously your friends kitchen is white. On any darker colours it will bleach out the surface, colour and damage the polish and stone.




  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    4 years ago

    "Just be very aware when using or advising to use this product. Obviously your friends kitchen is white. On any darker colours it will bleach out the surface, colour and damage the polish and stone."


    Maybe, but severely stained Caesarstone is ruined Ceasarstone anyway, so you've got nothing to lose.

  • PRO
    Quartz - Stone Care, Cleaning & Repair Experts
    4 years ago

    Not correct, as it can be repaired if you know what you are doing. Stains are not always stains but damage.

    Yellowing stains to Caesarstone is generally yellowing causing the stone to yellow as will corian


    Both can be fixed with Quartz Refresh, which will return the surface back to the original colour without damaging the stone at all.

    Quartz Refresh Link

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    4 years ago

    Corian doesn't yellow.

  • Peter Shearer
    3 years ago

    Got dark coloured caeserstone countertops and they mark with oily fingers very easily - anything to prevent this from happening?

  • HU-911650109
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Bicarb and lemon juice worked a treat for me... Coffee stains vanished in minutes..

  • HU-961759586
    2 years ago

    I just had medium gray, honed caesar stone countertops put into my remodeled kitchen. It was marketed as an easy care product, which was my number one goal. It is very hard to keep clean looking. It absorbs hand oils, water marks, grease, an ink pen mark - and all are very difficult or impossible to remove. If you cook at all and grease gets on the ”back splash” behind the stovetop it is impossible to remove - I’ve tried a quartz cleaner, bar keepers friend, dish soap, etc. . The marks remain. I made a pot of hot tea without putting a hot pad under it, and it left a mark I can’t remove. I’ve been so dissapointed, given the hype and the cost of this stone. If you don’t cook but just want something pretty to look at, this may work for you, but in the kitchen of people that love cooking, I’d avoid this particular stone.

    After living with formica for 35 years and thinking I was upgrading with this quartz, I’d go back to formica in a heartbeat - at least you know what you’re dealing with!

  • rinnia
    2 years ago

    has anyone as a consumer had real life experience (good or bad) with Diamond Quartz Refresh in fixing yellowed caesarstone benchtops? It is expensive and reviews online are mixed- It is $50 just to have a tiny sample delivered - Help please!

  • kculbers
    2 years ago

    My Silestone Quartz, color soap stone , countertops are very low maintenance. I clean them with dish soap and water or Mrs Meyers multipurpose soap. No chips, no stains, no issues❣️