Not OT -- kitchen work

What does that mean: taking care of granite? All I do for mine is wipe
with a sponge. Maybe add a little dishwashing liquid if it looks
really dirty. And once a month or so, I blast it with the steam
cleaner to kill off anything the sponge missed. The only thing that
sometimes annoys: the mottled colors make it hard to see the dirt!
What am I failing to do that should be done? So far, it has been
absolutely indestructible despite DH's best efforts.
Roberta in D

On Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:46:07 -0700, Tia Mary
wrote:

On 1/10/2012 3:13 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
Mary, before you get into the next major mess, please re-think the
Corian. Maybe you are a careful and gentle cook and that will be fine -
but a friend of mine's son slid a hot pot over onto her Corian counter
and burned it. Badly. Another dropped a lightbulb (don't remember if she
was changing it or merely getting a new one from a top cabinet shelf).
It cracked the Corian. It's been many years since those accidents and
we'll hope that the product has been improved. Just wanted to give you a
heads up.
Tell us about the venter hood. Did you choose a great beauty or one big
enough to really work or what? Polly

Well, I've had solid surface counter tops -- not Corian but one of
the copycats made by one of the other counter mfgrs. -- in the house
since we bought it twelve years ago. Never had a problem with hot stuff
or marring, etc. Sure, breakable things dropped on it tend to break
but there has never been any effect to the counter top.
I chose solid surface counter tops because I liked the fact that it
cleans easily and nicks & discoloration can be easily sanded & buffed
out. I'm paying for it now. We've decided the main reason the house
hasn't sold is because of the counter tops -- they are not the highly,
currently desirable (and hated) granite -- YUCK!!! Eight or ten other
houses in our subdivision have all been put on the market since ours
(back in mid-April). All of them sold within a few months while ours is
still just sitting there! The only common difference is that ALL of the
other houses had granite counter tops and ours has the solid surface!
DH took the house off the market and the hated, nasty granite counter
tops will be installed in a few weeks. I'm sooooo glad I'm not living
there and don't have to take care of granite counter tops! CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary /\___/\

Neighbor has been in her new home just one year. She mentioned Sunday that
she needed to empty her counters and do something - maybe it was clean and
glaze? Emptying her counters is going to be slightly more difficult than you
can imagine. She has lotsa good stuff. Polly

"Roberta" ...
What does that mean: taking care of granite? All I do for mine is wipe
with a sponge. Maybe add a little dishwashing liquid if it looks
really dirty. And once a month or so, I blast it with the steam
cleaner to kill off anything the sponge missed. The only thing that
sometimes annoys: the mottled colors make it hard to see the dirt!
What am I failing to do that should be done? So far, it has been
absolutely indestructible despite DH's best efforts.
Roberta in D

On 1/11/2012 6:57 AM, Roberta wrote:
What does that mean: taking care of granite? All I do for mine is wipe
with a sponge. Maybe add a little dishwashing liquid if it looks
really dirty. And once a month or so, I blast it with the steam
cleaner to kill off anything the sponge missed. The only thing that
sometimes annoys: the mottled colors make it hard to see the dirt!
What am I failing to do that should be done? So far, it has been
absolutely indestructible despite DH's best efforts.
Roberta in D

Well, special cleaning & surfacing & sealing products are now made
for granite. If you go to the home improvement store, they have a whole
shelf stocked specifically for products to take care of granite.
Besides regular cleaning with something like warm soapy water, this
special cleaner is recommended to be used every 3 or 4 months. When it
needs to be "resurfaced" -- once or twice a year, you're supposed to use
something different -- not sure if it has alcohol or not. You "prep"
the granite with this stuff and then finish it with a different product.
Wayyy to much work for kitchen counter tops IMNSHO! Now, whether or
not most people actually do that with granite is anybody's guess, but
enough do that it keeps the cleaning product companies in business
making the supplies!!!
With the solid surface counter tops, I use warm soapy water. If
there was a stubborn stain, I put a little soft scrub on it and that was
it! No special products, no required special cleaning or preparation of
resurfacing. CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary /\___/\

DS was happy that her granite doesn't show dirt or messes. That kind
of turned me off on darker colored granite. She is a real sweetie but
not known for her cleaning skills or interest. ; )
Taria

"Roberta" wrote in message
...

What does that mean: taking care of granite? All I do for mine is wipe
with a sponge. Maybe add a little dishwashing liquid if it looks
really dirty. And once a month or so, I blast it with the steam
cleaner to kill off anything the sponge missed. The only thing that
sometimes annoys: the mottled colors make it hard to see the dirt!
What am I failing to do that should be done? So far, it has been
absolutely indestructible despite DH's best efforts.
Roberta in D

Ohh, you are so right about dark granite. I asked our cabinetmaker to give
me one, just one, granite countertop on the little cabinet that sits to the
right of the stove. Just an experiment to see if I liked it and very easy
to replace.
The piece of granite he put there is quite a beauty but it is black with
all sorts of happy sparkles in it. It is grand for hot skillets and such
but I have to get down eyelevel with the light just right to be sure that it
is really clean. Polly

"Taria" ..
DS was happy that her granite doesn't show dirt or messes. That kind
of turned me off on darker colored granite. She is a real sweetie but
not known for her cleaning skills or interest. ; )
Taria

Way too much work for me too! Our counters are about 5 years old, and
never had any TLC at all. They still look like new. Nothing ever
leaves a stain, nothing scratches, it never looks dull. Makes me
wonder if the stores are trying to sell unnecessary cleaning supplies
to make up for not ever needing to buy a new counter top. We haven't
ever hit it with a sledge hammer, but only because there isn't one
among the kitchen equipment.
Roberta in D

On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:28:40 -0700, Tia Mary
wrote:

On 1/11/2012 6:57 AM, Roberta wrote:
What does that mean: taking care of granite? All I do for mine is wipe
with a sponge. Maybe add a little dishwashing liquid if it looks
really dirty. And once a month or so, I blast it with the steam
cleaner to kill off anything the sponge missed. The only thing that
sometimes annoys: the mottled colors make it hard to see the dirt!
What am I failing to do that should be done? So far, it has been
absolutely indestructible despite DH's best efforts.
Roberta in D

Well, special cleaning & surfacing & sealing products are now made
for granite. If you go to the home improvement store, they have a whole
shelf stocked specifically for products to take care of granite.
Besides regular cleaning with something like warm soapy water, this
special cleaner is recommended to be used every 3 or 4 months. When it
needs to be "resurfaced" -- once or twice a year, you're supposed to use
something different -- not sure if it has alcohol or not. You "prep"
the granite with this stuff and then finish it with a different product.
Wayyy to much work for kitchen counter tops IMNSHO! Now, whether or
not most people actually do that with granite is anybody's guess, but
enough do that it keeps the cleaning product companies in business
making the supplies!!!
With the solid surface counter tops, I use warm soapy water. If
there was a stubborn stain, I put a little soft scrub on it and that was
it! No special products, no required special cleaning or preparation of
resurfacing. CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary /\___/\

Well, I don't think mine is particularly dark either, sort of light to
medium gray on a cream background with peachy pink bits. But it does
camouflage bread crumbs and pepper sprinkles.
Roberta in D

On Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:30:03 -0800, "Taria"
wrote:

DS was happy that her granite doesn't show dirt or messes. That kind
of turned me off on darker colored granite. She is a real sweetie but
not known for her cleaning skills or interest. ; )
Taria

"Roberta" wrote in message
.. .

What does that mean: taking care of granite? All I do for mine is wipe
with a sponge. Maybe add a little dishwashing liquid if it looks
really dirty. And once a month or so, I blast it with the steam
cleaner to kill off anything the sponge missed. The only thing that
sometimes annoys: the mottled colors make it hard to see the dirt!
What am I failing to do that should be done? So far, it has been
absolutely indestructible despite DH's best efforts.
Roberta in D

Howdy!

Another quilter's house makeover: I love it!

Kardean; won't have anything else for vinyl. Definitely top quality.

http://www.karndeanusa.com/site/home.cfm

R/Sandy

On 1/11/12 2:00 AM, in article
, "Mary"
wrote:

THANK YOU everybody for the information about countertop materials! I
haven't made any decisions yet, and will definitely look into the
quartz!

Now, about flooring . . . My house is 120 years old, kind of
"bouncy", and not a good candidate for any sort of stone or tile.
I've been thinking about some sort of top quality vinyl. Your
advice?

We got old fashioned linoleum in our kitchen and really, really love it.
Not off gassing of nasty chemicals like from vinyl. But still easy
care, comes in about 100 colors and any pattern you can think up they
can do with it. Very comfortable underfoot too.

http://www.forboflooringna.com/

marcella

On 1/11/12 2:00 AM, in article
, "Mary"
wrote:

THANK YOU everybody for the information about countertop materials! I
haven't made any decisions yet, and will definitely look into the
quartz!

Now, about flooring . . . My house is 120 years old, kind of
"bouncy", and not a good candidate for any sort of stone or tile.
I've been thinking about some sort of top quality vinyl. Your
advice?

* * Tell us about the venter hood. *Did you choose a great beauty or one big
enough to really work or what? * Polly


I got a REAL hood, and since the stove is on an island the hood hangs
from above. It was made by Broan, and has 5 built-in lights and 3
blower settings. It is supposed to automatically kick itself up to a
higher blower level if it senses too much heat from below. It can be
vented or not vented, and if not vented it recirculates the air after
cleaning it with the 3 regular filters and a special charcoal filter.
The charcoal filter can be replaced when necessary -- they estimate
every 2 or 3 years -- and the 3 regular filters pop out and go through
the dishwasher. The hood will fit with 8' ceilings or 9' ceilings,
but with special-order extenders can hang from higher ceilings. You
can have the bottom edge of the hood 22" to 36" above the stovetop.
It does take solid overhead bracing added to the studs in the ceiling
to hold it securely, and it does take two men to hang it. Appearance-
wise, it is stainless steel on the underneath surface that faces the
stove, but the rest is brushed stainless with rounded rather than
sharp corners. I am very happy with it, which is good because it was
NOT inexpensive.