my coworker has granite in his home and they are not the cleanest of people (his words) (ie leaving messes on the counter for days). He has never had a stain on their countertop. Also, the granite is "supposed" to be sealed each year I believe but sealing it is supposed to be as easy as wiping down the counters with the sealer. The above co-worker also mentioned that he never sealed the counter tops at his home.

I have been told that darker granite counter tops show water stains.

We are in the process of also looking into granite / quartz and so far the granite has been much cheaper.

some granites require a fair amount of maintenance - some granites are prone to stain.

There are a number of granites that do not stain nor require a 'lot' of maintenance. If you and/or your DH want granite you will need to select one that doesn't have the staining/maintenance issues.

without knowing which granite you might want no one can really comment on it. There are a number of nice surfaces other than granite, for example, soapstone, stainless steel, recycled glass, etc.

Many dark granites such as Blue Pearl, Black Pearl, Absolute Black, Uba Tuba are generally bullet-proof - they are dense and don't require sealing and don't stain. I've had Blue Pearl for nearly 10 years and it requires no special maintenance.

Different granites require more or less upkeep, all depends on which one. For ex., our Labrador Golden Flake doesn't stain.

We have moderately hard water which leaves deposits on our granite in addition to our sinks. If a good rub with the microfiber cloth doesn't remove one, I take a piece of very fine steel wool (000 generally but have used 0000 or 00, depending on what's handy), lightly buff the mineral deposit "stain" and it goes away, 1-2-3.

I haven't sealed ours in ages (which is as simple as wiping on and wiping off) because it really doesn't seem to be necessary (on our granite).

I love natural stone and would use granite again or quartzite or even soapstone in a heartbeat.

Ironically DH and I are in the process of looking
into Quartz or granite for our bathrooms. At first I was
a 100% for Quartz until I realzied that acetone is a part
of my teen girl household.

I have had quartz (Past bathroom), corian, formica, tile,
butcherblock and granite in my kitchens. Each has good and
bad.

Hands down, Granite has been the easiest to care for.
The Winner!

I have heard that much of the negative hyperbole has been
the industry that makes synthetic countertops.
"If we say granite is hard to care for look at the
business we drum up." Beat up the competition.

Each countertop is going to have it's pros and cons.
But the cons that often listed for granite are inaccurate.
For example, let say you had nail polish remover (acetone)
spilled and left out on your granite countertop.
With granite you can still have it repaired. It might
mean having someone come reseal, sand, or repair it
but it can be done. If this happend on your quartz
it might only be possible if it was still under warranty.
Note the link below Posted by lbsea (My Page) on Mon, Jul
20, 09 at 21:26

Why did I choose granite for my kitchen?
I wanted something natural. I love granite. And I know
that life happens. For me knowing that a stone can be
repaired even if it comes out of my pocket was more
appealing to me than having a synthetic subtance that might
not be easy to fix. I do not want to be at the mercy of a
legal warranty by Caesarstone, Cambria,
Staron Zodiaq, HI-Mac, ...
I want the freedom to get my counter fixed by any granite
fabricator. And yes, happy to pay out of my pocket.
Resanding, resurface of granite is far cheaper than
having the entire counter replaced by Dupont.

The residential warranty of Cesearstone said this.
"This warranty does not cover any chemical damage."

Whoaaaa that is a broad statement.
I know this means they won't come into my house to replace
my countertop but I started to panic. What if someone
spilled nail polish remover on my Quartz counter?
Could it be repaired? I am happy to pay but can it be
repaired. This is where I am at right now trying to find
out the answers to this very question.

This is what had me go with Granite in my kitchen and
is swaying me toward granite for my bathroom. I really
thought Quartz concentto would be the best option for my
bathroom but I am re-thinking the entire project.

Soapstone is now in the running. Who can forget their
chemistry lab with the old soapstone tables. Soapstone
in my girls bathroom will be able to withstand heat,
chemical spills and Gawd knows what else.

~boxer

Quartz Cleaning recommendations (says nothing about if
your granite is damaged)
http://www.cuttingedgegraniteandtile.com/quartz-cleaning-recommendations

Warranty of Quartz
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/customer-service/warranty/

Here is a link that might be useful: Acetone and Quartz (this gw post sacred me )

I was about to post, but then read Boxerpup's message, and she said everything I was going to say, so perfectly. I only want to add a comment about soapstone, which I think is gorgeous. But we have had many posts here from people with soapstone counters who talk about how easily it chips and scratches. They are fine with chips and scratches because it's part of the nature of soapstone, and the counters are so beautiful. Also soapstone varies tremendously in softness/hardness, even within soapstones of the same name. While with granite you can either look up online the porosity of the granite (i.e. how easily it might stain), or post on this forum to hear from others who have it, soapstone is more variable. So keep that in mind when looking at counters.

I too have had other counters (I've moved a lot), like corian, formica, caesarstone, marble, butcher block, and stainless steel. For me, hands down, granite is the most no-care, and other than marble, the most beautiful.

Usually the lighter-colored granites, like Imperial White, are the ones that need frequent sealing. Though my friend has a whiter granite, called Alaska White or White Delicatus, with its big chunks of gray/black and taupe, and it is bullet-proof. Also the granites with a lot of movement and swirls usually are not porous. My granite counter is called Piracema aka "Wave" (aptly named), and it looks like the day it was installed though I have never sealed it and don't baby it.

Anyone worried about radon coming off of granite? I want granite countertops also but theres all this talk about radon. Is this just the competition drumming up fear for more business?

OMG, don't get the radon trolls out again! If you don't know anything about this, do a search if you must but don't hijack this thread and start a religious war.

No I'm not a radon troll! I read some things online and just wanted to get peoples opinion. I'm redoing my kitchen and I have 2 small children just a worried dad. I mean no offense!

I just got a Caesarstone counter. After they installed it, they cleaned it with acetone! A week after installation it still felt gritty and the fabricators said they'd come out and clean it with more acetone. Maybe not all acetones are the same. I have no intention of using it on my counter in the future. My toenail polish removal process happens elsewhere. ;-) The only thing they told me to avoid using is anything with ammonia. That would be Windex. No problem.

I never have had "real" granite, so I'm not an expert, but my quartz has a granite vibe if that's what you're worried about. I'm pretty religious about keeping my counter clean (the gritty feel went away after a couple of weeks). Simple water with a few drops of Dawn and a microfiber cloth make it sing.

I've never understood the argument not to get granite because--horrors!--you have to seal it. Once or twice a year clearing the deck and wiping your counter down is so worth taking care of a beautiful, expensive part of your kitchen.

I don't want granite in the kitchen just because I am a contrarian and everybody else in the neighborhood who has renovated a kitchen has it. Also I don't love any of them enough to spend that kind of money on it (we have a lot of counter to cover). However, we put granite in our master bathroom 14 years ago and have never sealed it. It's had nail polish remover and liquid silver cleaner and I don't know what all spilled on it, and it looks great. OK, it does get darker where something wet has been sitting on it, so maybe I ought to be sealing it, but I figure why bother? It dries looking just the way it always did. So yeah, our little bit of granite in the bathroom is completely maintenance-free except for normal cleaning. Hmm, maybe I ought to rethink granite for the kitchen. :) p.s. The bathroom granite is giallo veneziano (can't believe I still remember that after 14 yrs); maybe the type of stone makes a difference.

The stone industry does not categorize stone well.

Many of the 'granites' are anything but in actuality.

True geological granites are pretty bulletproof.

They also tend to be dark and rather plain.

The 'fancy' stone is often not granite but other types of stone, and the color and marking in the stone can even be other types of stone.

Testing a sample of any stone you are interested in for water absorption, acid attack (lemon juice), cooking oil staining, and other common things in the kitchen (mustard, ketchup, etc) is worth the effort.

Even soy sauce can stain some type of stone.

Forgot to add, the reason we did granite in the bathroom back then was because it was a natural material, as opposed to Corian, which would have been the other solid surface option. I'm glad we did it -- I feel absolutely no desire to update or change it. In fact I practically never think about that granite top at all, which is pretty much what I want in a functional surface.

akchicago, did you think granite was easier to deal with than stainless steel countertops? I always read that SS is the most durable/functional (and I wouldn't mind having it if I could afford it) but I suppose you have to have a high tolerance for scratches.

@linelle -

Funny, they told us to clean our quartz with Windex! (which I have been doing with no problems so far.)

oasisowner, hilarious. Maybe it's just a Caesarstone thing. Essentially they told me "no ammonia!" which led me to the Windex conclusion. Maybe Windex makes a no-ammonia formula.

I'm amazed at the simple cleaning power of plain water with a bit of Dawn and a microfiber cloth. Other than for grease on the stovetop, it's virtually all I need in the kitchen.

No one told us no ammonia with our Caesarstone. I have a feeling our cleaning person may have used Windex on it from time to time. No bad results, and it has been a year.

Whew! Thank you for all the insight!

DH built the house we currently live in and no he is not a contractor, but very handy about a lot of house stuff and is a master electrician. He wanted granite then and didn't get it to save money.

We are probably going to go with a dark color. Will it leave water marks when I wipe it like marble does it you don't go behind and dry it?

I believe that the mis-information I had is propaganda from another source. I "heard" that you have to get granite sealed every 6 months and it costs around $500.00 every time. I am assured with the comments I get here. You have real life experience. Thank you so much

We have honed black pearl granite.
No water marks, no sealing, no problems.
Just a solid, sturdy surface.

Most granite yards will give you a good sized chunk of granite to experiment with.
If you are concerned, get a piece and live with it.

LOL. Whoever told you that is flat-out lying. You buy a bottle of sealer and seal it yourself.

I've had dark brown granite in two places. Pretty sure both are true geological granites. I do not even like the way granite looks, but I have to admit I've cleaned it with everything short of burning gasoline, and it would take a direct thermonuclear hit to damage it.

Our dark Jet Mist granite has been incredibly easy to maintain. I love it.

To deal with radon trolls-- If you do your research and want granite but have lingering anxiety about radon, you can do what we did, and just test for radon after installation. There was none. I was sure enough to pay to have the granite put in, but having then done the testing (showing no radon issues at all) was even more relaxing and very inexpensive. You can buy radon tests at Lowes etc. quite cheaply.

We got a sealer on our granite that's (theoretically) good for 10 years. We paid the fabricator to put it on. My husband was surprised when they just applied it, let it soak in an hour or so, then buffed it off. We checked around later and found out you can buy the stuff on Amazon for under $100, definitely less than we paid the fabricator :)

I think if you hunt around, there are instructions somewhere about applying water to the stone and waiting to see if it soaks in or not to tell if your stone needs re-sealing.

I'm really happy with our granite.

Northcarolina - in answer to your question, I had stainless counters about 20 years ago in an older home, so the stainless I think dated from the 60's. And yes, the scratches bothered me, even though at that point they were all over and were just a general patina. I also didn't like cleaning the stainless counters, because you had to be careful to wipe with the grain, and they showed fingerprints. I don't know if stainless counters now are made differently. I just know that I said at that time that I wouldn't have stainless counters again.

My granite is so easy care, I just wipe and go. Also, although Brickeye and a few others have said the very dark granites are the most bulletproof, I want to emphasize that there are some lighter granites, like mine, that are also bulletproof. Mine is a light-grayish-blue with tons of swirls (as I noted before, it's called Piracema or "Wave"), not dark at all. And, if you choose the darkest of granites, Absolute Black, it is so dark that fingerprints and dust show up easily, and it is very reflective of overhead lighting. That's why I like granites with pattern - they don't show dirt, they are tough, and they are lovely.

I had granite in my kitchen for 6 years and it was fantastic, it's only cost that is steering me towards a butcher block countertop in my new home and now I am worried about how well butcher block performs.