Happy Friday! 😀
Seems like more and more folks are asking how we’re liking our Frosty Carrina countertops, so I thought I’d blog a little bit about them here today.
We have really enjoyed them so far, BUT, I have learned (the hard way) that, like me, white quartz loves to soak up some half sweet/half unsweet tea. It doesn’t seem to dig coffee, or juice, and or paint, or anything else we’ve throw at on it so far, but if you leave a ring (or puddle) of tea sitting on it long enough, it just seeps right down into the stuff.
We had a cup spill overnight recently (*cough Kit-Cat cough*) and after it didn’t wipe up, I thought we may just have to live with the stain. Fortunately though, I found a whole message board full of folks who had figured out how to successfully clean white quartz countertops. So, here my go-to cleaners, for anyone else who is curious:
Soft Scrub with bleach and Fish Foam work like a charm. (And, no, this is not a sponsored post!)
As far as regular day-to-day cleaning, Fish Foam is the best. Just like on windows, it leaves absolutely no streaks, and a can of it lasts so long. I’ve had that sucker for two or three years now and there’s plenty left inside of it. As for the tea stain, well, that’s where the Soft Scrub with bleach comes in. All I had to do is squirt a little bit on the affected area, pour some water onto it, mix it up to create a puddle, and let it sit. I wiped what was left of it off an hour later and BOOM. The tea stain was gone!! It didn’t change the texture of the surface or color of the quartz…it just removed the stain. #Radiculous
Now then, a few folks asked if they could see some closer photos of the veining, so I snapped some at a lower exposure this afternoon so that it would show up better here online:
I hope that helps for those who have asked about it! 🙂
And since we’re in the kitchen, I wanted to thank those of you who encouraged me to reach out to Whirlpool via their Facebook page. I took your advice and wrote them there last Wednesday. After some back and forth messages, I finally received a call from a gal named Jordan today. She was very pleasant, and said she was going to try to get to the bottom of what was going on with our fridge. She told me she was going to call S&S (the repair company that diagnosed the issue a few weeks ago), and promised she’d call me back after she talked to them. I was so surprised to hear back from her in less than 15 minutes! She said the technician from S&S has to call in to their Technician line and give them a detailed report of what’s wrong with our fridge. After that, they’ll determine how to proceed with it.
I really did like our fridge, so I’m hoping they’ll change their minds about it being a lemon. 🙁 I don’t expect them to replace it if we didn’t purchase the right kind of warranty, but we’re going on week 4 without it, so needless to say, I’m getting a little antsy to get something (anything!) figured out. In the meantime, it looks like we’ll be toting bags of ice for at least another week. #Sadiculous
PS- Here is a video of the fella who tipped over the tea that shows how the tea got tipped. 😉
I call him the Straw Bandit. Found no less than 8 of them under the sunroom rug the other day- ha!
Ha!! Cat’s – funny little buggers. 😀
Layla–You HAVE to try Barkeeper’s Friend. It works AWESOME on lighter color quartz (ours are a whitish gray color). The first week after our tops were installed, some yellow/orange pollen from some Lillie’s vase left a stain. Barkeeper’s Friend took the stain and a tiny rust spot from a old tool right off. It even takes scratches off my cream color everyday dishes. It is a miracle product, I tell you!
Layla – thanks for the cleaning tip! I’m so glad Whirlpool is responding to you…hopefully it turns out all positive 🙂 I’m sure they want a happy customer! And your blogging about it reaches a lot of potential customers.
Happy Friday!
Your “straw bandit” is adorable. Our cat takes a liking to water bottle caps. Loves to knock them off of a table and then bats them around. I find them everywhere. 🙂
Where do you get the fish foam.
http://www.FISHFOAM.com !
Ha! My Grand-cat will upset any glass left sitting too long. I think he just likes to see the liquid move, because he never drinks the spills.
Maybe you should get one of those mini fridges – we keep one in the basement family room for beverages. A few more bags of ice could pay for one! Hope the fridge issue gets resolved soon!
Thanks so much for posting this!! We are renovating 2 bathrooms & have ordered misty carerra honed quartz countertops – very similar to yours I think! Just ordered some Fish Foam- hoping that will work on my dark kitchen granite counters – nothing seems to get those clean.
Where did you purcase your countertop?How much did it cost? What was the total square footage? Thanks!
i have never heard of fish foam…
We installed Frosty Carrina Quartz and LOVE IT! So beautiful Just the other day my daughter left red-dyed ricing on the counter for 1/2 hour.. I freaked but with the help of Bar Keepers Friend and getting my elbows to it.. no stain. whew..
I was surprised to hear you had a stain! Good info…I had not checked out your blog for too long as we just gutted and remodeled our new 1/2 duplex. We chose the London grey quartz…LOVE it…but the frosty carina was my second choice. I would love to share pics with you.. If you’d like to see…send me an email to end to you! So happy to connect again…bradenton, florida
I have a straw bandit who lives at my house, too! His name is Trooper, and the moment I walk in the house with a to-go cup sporting a straw, he KNOWS it! He is right there, wherever I put the cup, ready to pop that straw. My secret? The cup goes right in the ‘fridge the minute I get in the door. (But I guess you don’t have that option right now, sorry!) 🙂
We have white counter tops similar to quartz. I’ve found Soft Scrub bleach GEL has just the perfect consistency to stay put without mixing any special concoctions.
That video cracks me up! What a stinker!
lol, cute! But why do cats like straws so much? I’ve had one (or 3) cats since the early 80s & all of them have had a thing about straws. Even had a male cat, Ralph, who would play fetch, but only with a computer mouse cover that looked like a mouse–hated that thing.
As a former Caesarstone professional, the company actually recommends much less abrasive cleaners that are equally effective. While Barkeepers Friend might work on lighter countertops, I would hate for someone to ruin their beautiful new darker countertops, due to the wrong cleanser. Please follow the link to the recommended cleaning products.
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/en/Customer_Service/Pages/Maintenance.aspx
Thanks for the info on cleaning the quartz! I am about to have it installed. I originally chose Frosty Carrina, but apparently it can get back-ordered very easily. Soooo, I went with a product called Vicostone. They have about a 99% match to the Frosty Carrina and I actually think I like it more. Just something people might want to know if they run in to the issue I did. And it’s a bit cheaper. Not much, but a tad. 🙂
I have a cat that acts that way with pencils.
Hello! This is off topic (!!!) but are your t-shirts being mailed anytime soon? I bought two of them a few weeks ago and am impatiently awaiting them. They’re just so cute! 🙂
Hi Shelley!
The last batch went out yesterday afternoon, so if yours was in that group, you should see it very soon! XO 🙂
You are wonderful! I love your work and your style and your heart. And, that is why I’m suggesting you check out Norwex or something less toxic. Really, you have the chance to help educate people about chemicals and how they can clean well without them! I want you to stay healthy! And, with your sweet guy coming to you soon, you’ll really want to figure out a way to clean those beautiful countertops without toxic chemicals. It REALLY is possible. Find a Norwex rep in your area or feel free to contact me. Sounds like a sales pitch, but it is a call to cleaning healthier! Here’s to a beautiful kitchen with no fumes!
We have LG Viatera quartz in our kitchen and bathrooms and one year later we’ve yet to have a single stain set in. And we have coffee, tea, all kinds of liquids that sit on it overnight (or longer). That really worries me about the quality of your brand. The biggest reason we chose quartz was the low maintenance of it.
I don’t know if you know, but in the mobile version of your site you have been having these really annoying floating ads for the last few months that don’t even have an x to clos them. They show up over your content now, and I just have to wait a few seconds for them to disappear before I can continue reading and then they show up again a few seconds later. I enjoy your blog, but these ads make reading it frustrating. I know other bloggers have been able to figure out what service is putting them up and get rid of them.
I too have white quartz and love it, but I am VERY frustrated that all you hear on tv is how durable and indestructible and unstainable quartz is. TV shows say it is the best out there now. After having it installed we were told, no metal as it will leave marks (and it has), no hot pots cause it can damage the surface.
Will have to order some fish foam now! Thank you.
Layla,
Good luck with your fridge. Keep us posted! I love the Kit Kat video!
Hi Layla! What a pleasant surprise to hear about this post and see so many orders come in for FISH Foam. THANK YOU!
Love your posts and ideas! I have had quartz for about eight years and rarely have I had to do much in the way of heavy maintenance. Mine is darker, but my daughter has had the white with same results. Love your kitchen redo, especially the colors! Keep up all the wonderful inspirations!
Do any of the products mentioned hurt the seal/coating on the Quartz? We have all white Quartz countertops and I have some dark marks from pan handles around the sink thay I can’t get out!
They’ve haven’t at our house, Mary. 🙂