Some for you, and some for me. Some for you, and some for me.
By “some” I mean red wine, and by “you” I mean my countertop. I just re-sealed my granite countertop, and I figure red wine is one of the best ways to test it out. Sealer is designed to prevent things (like red wine) from seeping into the stone’s pores, and if it’s working right, the red wine will completely wipe away even after sitting for a while.
Sealing your countertop is important for maintaining porous surfaces like granite, marble, slate and travertine. It’s also a good way to keep grout and masonry looking nice too. Most sealers wear off in 1 to 2 years, and you have to repeat the process. If you start to notice dark spots from sitting water, you know it’s time to reseal. I’ve also recently learned that acidic cleaners (like a water-vinegar solution) can degrade the sealer over time and possibly etch the surface of the countertop.
DuPont sent us two products from their Stone Care line– Granite and Marble Cleaner+Protector and Granite and Marble Sealer. The sealer boasts a 3- 5 year expected duration for internal surfaces. If that’s true, I’ll be impressed, because in my experience countertops need to be resealed after 2 years or less. The Cleaner+Protector product is designed for several surfaces and is “specifically formulated to help you properly care for your stone and grout.”
Sealers and cleaners are tough to get excited about, and they all seem to work the same. When I asked DuPont what made their products different from all the rest, they told me it was all about the active ingredients. DuPont claims they use more active ingredients than anybody else, and many of their competitors use cheap alternatives to the active ingredients which result in their products being less effective.
So I grabbed the sealer I’ve been using for the past 5 years and compared the ingredients to the DuPont sealer. They are indeed different but I can’t comment about the quantity or quality of the ingredients. Any organic chem. professors reading? If so, help us out.
I cleaned up my countertop and let it dry. Next I applied two coats of DuPont’s sealer and let it cure. Here are detailed instructions for sealing your countertop if you’re interested.
And now let’s see about that red wine. I setup a little test area with the camera on a tripod and kept all the lighting consistent. Next, I poured some red wine (such a waste) on the countertop and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Here’s the countertop after the cleaning and before the wine.
The initial pour….
and thirty minutes later. I guess my countertop isn’t 100% level.
Finally, here’s the countertop after I wiped it clean with a paper towel- no cleaning product.
I looks pretty good to me, and I can’t find any discoloration. We’ll try this test again in six months and see how the DuPont’s holding up.
Have you ever stained your countertop? How’d you get the stain out? What’s your experience with sealing countertop?
Good to know! Thanks for playing with fire and testing wine on your own counter top. We’re thinking about getting granite in our bathrooms and kitchen. It’s nice to know a good brand of sealer.
All of this sealing business makes me like the idea of soapstone counters even more!
Yours look nice and shiny though, lets see how this holds up.
We have laminate counters in the kitchen. We just couldn’t afford granite when we did our kitchen makeover. Granite is sure gorgoeus! But our faux-granite counters do fine.
I only wish we would have chosen a different finish. Live and learn.
On the cost of granite countertops, this reminded me of a post on Oh Bungalow from a long time ago where they installed granite tile to save cost… a MUCH cheaper solution for a countertop if you want granite but cannot afford the slab. You can sometimes find these tiles for $1.00/sq. ft. Unfortunately, you end up with small grount lines and it’s not quite the same as granite, but I thought it was an innovative solution.
http://ohbungalow.blogspot.com/2008/05/our-long-awaited-arrival.html
You guys are brave! I would be putting the “test” in a less conspicuos spot 🙂
We had a stain in our bathroom countertop and this artcle helped: http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/09/counter-intelligence/
Good tip from them on the Clorox. John and Sherri come up with the wittiest names for their articles…. It’s part of the YHL experience.
An unruly soap dispnser left an awful rust stain on our brand new (and sealed no less) granite kitchen counter. Luckily Mr. Cleans magic eraser and some elbow grease took the stain right out without any scratches. I might give DuPont sealer a try, since we clearly need something else.
Hi KellsBells! First time I’ve seen your name around these parts. Welcome to the site! We have a lot of fun around here, so I hope you’ll check back often.
We have a DuPont Zodiaq counter and accidentally stained it with the bottom of a pan that had been sitting on our grill. Zodiaq isn’t supposed to require sealing, and we were able to remove the stain with a baking soda / vinegar combination. I think the slight abrasiveness of the baking soda is what did the trick in that case.
I find Chinese food Sweet & sour sauce stains up really good if you are up for it maybe try that test. Wouldnt want to see that counter top ruined though.
Hmm… haven’t considered S&S but maybe that’ll be a good follow up in a few months.
Wow I didn’t realize granite had to be resealed — I learn so much from you guys! 😀
That said — thanks for taking the time to test the counter yourselves with red wine (!) no less! Braver souls there never were.
Hello!!!
Now we are two. I installed a granite counter in my kitchen and nobody told me that it needs to be sealed.
Again, another coincidence!!! My kitchen’s countertop looks like the tested(?) one in this article.
I have Zodiaq countertops in Storm Grey and a month after they were installed (we hadn’t even used the new kitchen yet) I left a bottle of Lestoil cleaning solution on the counter. I came back a few days later and saw that the bottle had leaked. The Lestoil completely took the color out of the countertop! It looks like a white ring, almost like you get when you leave a glass on a wood table top. DuPont said it can’t be fixed. luckily it is right next to the sink and where the drainboard/cutting board would go. But it is heartwrenching to ruin brand new countertops! Caution to all readers — don’t leave Lestoil anywhere near your DuPont countertops.
Michelle, super helpful tip since we do have Zodiaq countertops. I’m surprised that they can’t be fixed at all – that is super sad – especially since Zodiaq (like almost all countertops these days) ain’t cheap. I haven’t seen your name / picture around before (but maybe I’ve forgotten). If I did forget, welcome to OPC!
overall, pretty worthless, link to ‘detailed instructions’ returns a 404 (link not found)