I have only using my new kitchen for a few weeks now so I certainly am no expert in this area. However, surprisingly, I am having a problem keeping my granite counters looking clean. With two teenagers and a houseful of their friends, I am constantly wiping down and buffing those counters. They seem to be much harder to maintain then my old laminated ones but maybe it is just that polished granite shows the mess more.

We actually did our remodel about 8-10 years ago.

Here's what I like that we did, and what is a pain.

Like-Boos block oiled finish maple island counter. If you like to spread out and prep, it is like having a 7 foot cutting board. I can put hot pans right from the oven on it, and after all this time I don't have any stains that show. We cut right on the board. Because it's the oiled finish, if you get a bad stain, you can literally use some fine grit sandpaper, and sand it down and re-oil.

I have only lightly sanded and re-oiled the whole thing 1 time after 5 years.
Daily upkeep is to wash and dry with dishsoap. That's all. Really think this is the most functional counter I have ever used.

Some stains like berries and wine come right out with baking soda and vinegar and a bit of a scrub.

To me this is so worthwhile. I feel so bad for people who have a beautiful quartz or stone counter and end up prepping on a tiny 12x18 cutting board.

PITA to clean. I love it, but if you don't love a bit of lived-in look., you won't like a gas cooktop. I like mine a lot, and it doesn't bother me that it is usually a bit streaked and messy on the top. If you are someone who wants the counters and stove top to be sparkling clean every day, then I would get induction instead.

I have always enjoyed the butcher block counters too and am surprised they are not more popular. I have found them easy to keep looking good and it is nice to be able to re-surface them easily by sanding -- may-be once every 5 or more years? I like that they are a softer surface than stone. The only thing I have found as a caution is you have to be careful not to put the plastic ammonia bottle on them -- ammonia leaves a dark stain which is really hard to get out. But anything else -- berries, wine -- if they stain at all can be bleached or sanded out. If kept oiled, stains really don't happen. We used mineral oil before and and we will probably use a combination of waterlox in some areas and mineral oil in the new kitchen.

What about wood counters and water? I would love to be able to chop on the counter especially if there is a sink nearby to wash the veggies. I was lusting after that walnut island that the poster had been chopping on.

But, I'm not going to lie, I splash, and I don't always wipe it up after. I have visions of rotting mildewy spots around the sink. Maybe a deeper sink would help? Or what if we left a glass on the counter overnight, would it leave a ring?

Attygirl - what color are your granite counters?

I love my real linoleum floor. it's swirled beige and never looks dirty.
I am going to replace it in an upcoming kitchen re-do and haven't found anything I like better than linoleum, although I want to jazz up the colors.

I love my central vacuum system. It makes clean up a snap.

I don't like my one long work counter. It is cluttered all the time. Any job gets spread out over 10 feet and the whole thing has to be cleaned.

Counter materials: does anyone have stainless steel or quartz?

Our sink in the island is stainless with a drainboard. I like this a lot.

The drainboard is good for draining produce, or food in a colander like pasta or shrimp. This directs the water back to the sink.

I have had not problem getting out red wine or other stains. I have even gotten sharpie off this counter. (did I mention we have 2 kids)

I do not baby this counter at all, and I really think it looks as good as when it was new.

Here's a picture

Here is a link that might be useful: sink in island

I'm certainly no neat freak (nor even a decent housewife), but our stainless fridge is a nightmare to keep clean. I chose a panelled dishwasher specifically to avoid the awful stains my old stainless dishwasher got, but the fridge we really wanted (it's a Liebherr 30" and we adore it otherwise) only comes in stainless.

I just hate the stainless finish. There are always smudges and fingermarks and you can't clean just one section, like the battlefield that appears around the handle - you've got to wipe down the entire front panel or you see marks where you began and ended. Ugh.

The dishwasher, on the other hand, is a dream to clean, just wipe off the panel along with the other cabinets.

I agree with circuspeanut, I had originally planned for a paneled fridge but ended up with stainless and really do not like the maintenance to keep it clean. Also, our black gas cook top with heavy grates that has to be cleaned after any splatters is a little more of a PITA than I would like but I do not think that there is any option that I would have liked better. Everything has to be cleaned at some point and at least I like the new stuff enough to know that the effort is worth it.

Either I have become immune to the smudges, or the finish on ours is different, but I don't find our stainless fridges that much of a big deal to keep clean...and we have 2 stainless fridges and 1 stainless freezer. Just a damp cloth followed by wiping dry and they're fine, just like our stretch of stainless counters, which I love. Now the black mirror finish glass we had on one of the 3 ovens we've gone through...that was HORRIBLE.

The only other thing I consider a big challenge to keep clean is our 8-burner Wolf gas rangetop. Black shiny pans under the burners are like black shiny cars or anything else...Everything shows. Oh, and I also have trouble getting the inner corners on our island's cream cabinet doors completely cleaned out. The wood cabinets are more forgiving, and stay nicer looking between cleaning.

We have a Waterloxed wood top on our island...No babying, no problem to clean. Other than the stainless by the rangetop, and wood on the island, we have laminate countertops, which are easy to care for and use. Our Marmoleum floors are easy to clean, tough, and the swirly pattern on the gray flooring is pretty forgiving in between cleaning.

I don't know that I have anything in my kitchen that I'd consider easy to ruin with reasonable treatment, and even some carelessness when we're not right on top of things...which can happen a lot with a family the size and age ranges of ours. We are not a family to choose things we'd have to baby...because it won't happen. The materials and elements are supposed to serve us, not the other way around. ;-)

Our black glass cook top is a PITA to keep clean--Streak City! Next one will be a light colored glass.

Also, the Wilsonart laminate flooring I just had to have, shows every single drop of liquid, etc. and after being mopped takes way too long to dry--it is wearing beautifully, though. Wish I'd gone for the real linoleum like I'd originally wanted.

The off white Swanstone kitchen sink is totally annoying. It stains at the drop of a hat and needs to be Softscrubbed frequently keep it looking nice.

I hope to get granite and wood counter tops and an undermount Ticor SS sink this next year! I'll live with the floor and stove, though LOL

This is a great thread! Very timely! Based on what I'm reading here perhaps will get some kind of textured stainless for the fridge rather than plain.

One surprise for me in the new kitchen has been the amount of distance I have to dust on the countertops. I'm not compulsive and so I need to retrain myself to do a dusting run on kitchen surfaces in this expanded space. Lotsa space means lotsa dust and stuff. Frankly, in this kitchen the countertops are rarely clean everywhere, just some places. I knew that this is a camouflage pattern which would hide dust, which is a mixed blessing. Unlike my old white countertops which showed exactly where the dirt was, now I have to run a hand over the counter to find whether it needs a washing. And when I do find grit, etc, I try to attend to as much additional countertop real estate as possible while I'm at it.
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It's October and I've just washed the filters for my Broan Allure III range hood for the first time. They are dishwasher safe, but there is not much more room in dishwasher for other stuff because each has to ride horizontally in our unit. They emerged clean and I've reinstalled them not noticing any griminess. They've seen only gentle service since July, mostly while I cook for myself since DH has been having adventures. Much easier to clean than the old filter, which I scrubbed in sink with ammonia water. Remarkable how greasy these filters were, esp. the one by my favorite back burner. I will need to keep up with them, not letting gunk build up so that it becomes hard to remove. Just gotta give myself permission to run them in a nearly empty DW.
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Am pleased to find how nicely the tray plastic bottoms of our dehydrators cleaned up in our Kohler large basin "Mayfield" prep sink. Plenty of room for them to soak and get scrubbed. (We used to take them to basement to soak in laundry tubs because they wouldn't fit in a proper cleaning position in our two-bin sink.) This second sink also works well for broiler pans, large pots, etc etc. etc. also. I'm more likely to attack the problem immediately after dirtying the pans, because I can put 'em in for a soak without hogging the main sink.

Easy to clean: My Silgranit sink is much easier to wipe down and keep clean than my old stainless sink. My marble backsplash is also easy to wipe down...I told the installer to seal it thoroughly and make it ''bulletproof.''

Hard to keep clean: The black glass top of my Elux induction range shows every fingerprint and speck of dust.

catkin - don't buy a light colored glass cooktop either! Ours is white and I can't even boil water without getting brown stains - from shiny stainless steel pans. It is so unfortunate that I bought this stove thinking that it would look clean and bright (I scrub it a lot).

The other thing that is has much of my arm strenght is the white porcelin sink. If ever my DH would rinse the sink after dumping his coffee it might not be terrible, but as it is the sink is always stained. I have to use clorox and a scrubber. Next sink is stainless.

Wow, so far, nothing in my kitchen is hard to clean--except, like Florantha, the miles of new real estate. Not complaining, mind you--I'm just not used to it yet.

Easy to keep clean: The Silgranite sink, the induction cooktop, and the stainless and glass on the E'lux oven. I use a microfiber cloth on the induction and stainless/glass and it's really pretty effortlesss. I like that in an appliance--like Rhome, I wouldn't be happy with things that had to be fussed over. It just wouldn't happen, and then it would look nasty and I'd be unhappy.

Warmfridge, have you tried a microfiber cloth on your induction cooktop? I give it a wash with a soapy dishcloth, then wipe it dry with a microfiber cloth (the cheap ones from Sam's Club) and it's streak free. Or if it's already clean but just streaky, a polish with the microfiber will do the job easily as well.

Cj

My previous kitchen turned out to be easy to ruin :)

I'm not liking the wood near the cleanup sink - part of the problem is the sink design (tends to trap water under the rim) and part is dh just does random stuff (copper pot + some tomato + water left on the counter all night = green stains). It was finished with tung oil and waterlox but now wears an acrylic finish. I thought of it as a test and its just ikea wood.

On the other hand, my prep counter you'll have to pry from my cold dead hands. It's finished with mineral oil and food safe wax and nothing has managed to stain it. Just having that space to spread out has led to more interesting cooking.

Finally, most everything is easy to clean. For years I dealt with a textured (bumpy) vinyl floor, wide-grouted ceramic tile counters, and a huge electric coil cooktop which was a bear to keep clean. We've now (almost) completed a kitchen "facelift" including hardwood floors, painted cabinets, soapstone counters, an induction cooktop, and stainless steel appliances. (Except for the HW floors, which we did a few years ago, most of our choices came as a result of much lurking on GW.) The stainless steel appliances do require some elbow grease, but compared to "before," my kitchen is now a dream to keep clean. I was a bit worried about keeping the induction cooktop clean, since it's a shiny black with no texturing. It turns out it's really easy to polish up quickly.

Catkin, we found with the Wilsonart laminate floor in our last house, that we were much happier with the results if we wiped the floor dry after mopping. It still looked brand new after 6 or 7 years with 8 kids and 2 dogs on it...and no babying. It took the occasional toy truck, roller blades, and even some baseball cleats. I'd have it again. :-) If someone wanted to exchange the Brazilian Cherry we have in our main areas for it, I'd probably let them!

The only hard things to clean in my kitchen are the brasses. There's no spot cleaning. It's all or nothing. And people will put their hands all over even when you yell at them not to touch. I do wish they would have turned up the powder coated hood instead of messing the whole thing up so badly. Sigh.

The easiest thing to clean is the soapstone island top, followed closely by the tile counters. The only reason I don't rank them equally is that I did get a pot mark on a tile and it needs to be scrubbed off. The textured tile floors aren't hard to clean, but take more care because soap scum can get in the grout lines if one isn't careful, and occasionally something icky gets in the texture that requires a little attention rather than just the mop. The varnish on the bamboo cupboard doors is very hard. They don't get gunked up very often, but clean up really easily with a wet barmop.

Actually, the hardest thing to clean is the garden window behind the clean-up sink, because it takes crawling up in there! ;)

I know I will not get a dark shiny granite again. We have Antique Brown granite. While beautiful and not common, it's a pain to keep clean. I have to spray granite cleaner on it after every meal and polish it with a microfiber cloth constantly. Food and fingerprints show all the time. I will choose something different with our upcoming house.

We do get smudges on our stainless but it doesn't bother me.

Our gas rangetop is black. I dread cleanup after every meal between cleaning the grates and getting the black clean. IS there a cooktop that cleans easily? It appears that light and dark are equally as troublesome.

My smooth black refrigerator and black painted island are both pains to keep clean. My oak flooring dents much more easily than I would have expected. The area around the dishwasher and behind my son's chair (he has a bad habit of rocking on the chair) are all full of pockmarks and we've only been in the house a little over a year.

On the other hand, my granite hides crumbs and spills so well I have to remind myself to clean it.

Totally Confused

I'm not so sure that only dark granite presents a problem when you are trying to keep it clean. Mine is a lighter ghibli beige and it can be a pain. However, after reading another thread concerning how to keep granite clean, I did purchase something called Granitegold the other day, and it seems to have made it much easier to clean that darn counter. You still have to spray and wipe but it doesn't require as much buffing - one spritz and a quick wipe - and you are done. Then again, many people seem to get by with just soap and water, so I don't know what my problem is, other than just being counter-obsessed. As for stainless steel, I don't seem to have much of a problem. I do use the wipes that are specially made for SS a couple to times a week and my appliances always seem fine.

My dark granite counters and SS appliances are a hard to keep looking good. I use a stone cleaner but wll try the Granitegold you recommend, attygirl. Otherwise every fingerprint shows. One great thing about dark green granite though (verde esmeralda) is that it doesn't seem to etch or stain at all.

Yes, on the plus side, I don't have to regularly seal my granite as it doesn't etch or stain. So I guess there are pluses and minuses. Well, I have to run...DH just ate some boiled shrimp at the island. Must go spray, wipe and buff now! ;P

I worried that my brand new stainless Liebherr 30" freestanding refrig would be tough to keep clean and shiny, but before purchase I had read that the manufacturer made changes to the composition of the SS. My 2010 model is very easy to keep clean and free of fingerprints. I use a microfiber cloth and a tiny bit of water daily around the handles, and it's almost no effort to look for a fingerprint on the front and swipe it right off.

The unexpected nightmare is my Kenmore induction range. It is constructed so that the controls are in front of and a bit lower than the "burners." Cook anything, greasy or not, and stuff gets onto the control panel. Try to clean the control panel, and the thing starts buzzing and shrieking as the various controls are accidentally activated. I have to shut down several sections of the range in order to clean it without inadvertently turning on the oven cleaning cycle or the timer or the warming drawer(and so on). This was so unexpected!

I had read that one of the chief benefits of an induction cooking surface is the ease of clean-up. Nowhere did I see any arning that the location of the controls was an important consideration for ease of clean-up.

I don't want to scare people off induction. The cooking capabilities are fabulous, and clean-up is indeed simpler than cleaning all the parts of cast iron grates. I would just encourage people to take the cleaning of the control panel into consideration as they research induction cooking. I didn't expect that cleaning the control panel area was going to be such a chronic hassle.

One more thing: Ceran glass is incredibly streaky no matter what products you use to try and get it to shine!

Hope this helps,

rc

Yikes! RC, I'm sorry for your troubles!

My black induction cooktop is pretty easy. I just use mild dish soap and water with a sponge, rinse with clear, and if I want it to look pretty, I dry it with a clean, dry bar mop (terrycloth rag).

Maybe the products are causing your problem? Maybe give it a good scrub with plain hot water and dry with a soft cloth a few times to remove whatever product residue there is?

I have a love/hate relationship with keeping the black ceramic top of my E'lux induction range clean.

Hate that I can't even touch it, which of course I have to do to turn it on, without getting a VERY noticeable fingerprint smudge on it. And as warmfridge mentioned, dust and crumbs show horribly, too.

But, I LOVE that a quick wipe with a soapy cloth followed by a dry microfiber cloth gets it looking like new.

missmuffet--what would you trade yours in for?

oh catkin, I wish I knew what kind of stovetop I will choose this time. I do know that I would choose a black top over a white one anyday. Every little mark just looks so dark. Strange how boiling water turns into brown streaks.

I do know that I probably won't do another glass top, as this one broke after two months when a basil jar fell on the corner of it. The small basil jar made a very small crack that spread across the entire top when I turned the heat on (UGH - $600 to replace after two months)

I also don't think I'll get gas - as several college roommates used to leave the pilot lights out and gave me a few nights of panic.

So, although I'm not really excited about electric coils - I may end up buying them once again. We'll see . . .jury is still out.

I've lived in 8 kitchens in the past 13 years. We're currently remodeling now, so when it's done, that'll be 9. So this info is from what I've expereinced overall, not my current kitchen.

Ceramic floor tile grout. The tile itself doesn't show dirt, but the grout is another story. In my current house, the previous owners installed the tile to sell the house. I was pretty certain the grout hadn't been sealed, but I didn't do it when we moved in. It also has a couple of gouges from dropped cans or pots in a few tiles even though it's not quite 3 years old.

Ceramic glass/radiant heat electric cooktop. UGH. Everything boiled over, then proceeded to cook to a hard gunk on the top. To clean, you have to get a razor blade to scrape up the mess. NEVER AGAIN! I second the person who said, if you have to go electric, go induction. My single induction unit has the same type top, but since the surface itself doesn't heat, it stays relatively clean. Anything on it just wipes away easily.

For those trying to acheive that streak free shine on ceramic/glass, you can forget windex or anything of that ilk. Use Weiman's cooktop cleaner and the red scrubbies they sell at Walmart. Apply the cream with the red scrubby, allow to dry to a film, and wipe off with either a microfiber or plain ol' paper towel. The cream turns an icky greige color, but once it's been wiped off, the cook top really shines, at least until the next mealtime.

Another stainless fridge hater here. Ooh, that's a strong word, I know. Well, I've got 4 kids, um, I mean, 3 kids and DH and between the lot of them they can't seem to wipe their drips from the in door water dispenser. Or use the handles even though they're huge and conveniently mounted right on the front of the doors. If I had the money, I'd definitely go paneled.

Downdraft. It just doesn't capture as much as an overdraft, if that's the right term. So, it causes more grease to settle on cabinet doors, backsplashes and walls.

Cabinets that don't reach the ceiling. They're huge dust collectors. I don't really like the display idea, and really can't abide the fake ivy. It's just a personal thing, please don't flame me if you like that look.

I'm a bit worried about what others have said about polished granite. I got a bunch of it when I bought my kitchen display cabinets. I'd just assumed we'd use it. It's a dark-ish, spotty stone called Baltic Brown. It's not my favorite color but, I've never had granite before, so it was kind of an upgrade from the tile, laminate and BB I've had in the past. I'm wondering if I should just sell it on CL and get butcher block. I've had it once before and loved it. I'm defintely not a great housekeeper. I want something that can take a quick swipe and look half way decent.

For Swanstone sink owners - one great trick is to keep a bottle of bleach/water mixture and give the sink a quick spray. It works like a charm to remove stains and just keep the sink looking clean in between scrubbings.

Wood floor....what a breeze to keep clean. It rarely ever show dirt. I sweep it every other week and hardly ever mop. It just stays so nice looking! Granite...a BREEZE! The wild pattern hides crumbs so well! lol! I have to run my hands over it to find if I missed anything. Stainless....also a breeze. I use Weismans stainless polish and the stainless stays nice looking for weeks. Ticor sinks....love 'em. The only thing that is even moderatly a pain to clean is the gas cooktop and it's not even hard to do.

I had 2 stovetops with black smoothtop Ceran. I think all your streaks are caused by residue from the cleaners/polishes you are using. I did not use the cleaners recommended. Just a wet sponge, microfiber cloth, and the occasional wipe-down with Barkeepers Friend for big messes. No streaks, no problem.

I have a gas range now with big black grates over stainless pans. Once a week I take everything off and wash each piece quickly in the sink. When I bought the house, the grates were caked with gunk and looked like they had not been cleaned in years. I had to scrub them with SoftClean and a brush. Now it's just maintenance.

The floor is killing me. A textured beigey-browney ceramic tile. I can't tell what's dirt and what's the color of the tile, which is a mixed blessing. The grout is terrible. When I moved in, I scrubbed the grout with SoftClean and a brush, then steam-cleaned the entire floor over and over for like 3 hours. I hate it. It's hard on my feet and legs, and cold as well, so I can't ever go barefoot.

In my last kitchen I installed Quickstep laminate flooring that looked like slate. It was heaven on my feet and easy-peasy to clean. And no grout.

The trick to cleaning the kitchen and baths is to stock all cleaning materials close at hand, and clean as you go instead of waiting until it is really dirty.

We have a small kitchen, so my counters seem to always be clutered with stuff! Kids stuff, paper stuff, it drives my crazy.
I love my large corian sink. It is the almond finish and I can put cookie sheets, or eve the stove grates in there to clean. Just a little soft scrub and a sponge and it is good as new.
We have a gas range black with stainless, the black on the stove top is a PITA to keep clean. One little water drop and you have a spot. Always reminding DH to use a grease screen. Next time something easier to clean.

missmuffet, it's pretty rare to find anything with a pilot light these days. I WANTED one and couldn't find a range that had other things I wanted so I had to choose between pilot and window. Almost everything is electronic now. You have to shop specifically for a pilot light.

I reallly tried to make my kitchen maintenance free. I have so many other things I want to do that I won't give up that time to cleaning. I have lots more counter and cabinet space now and an actual baking area! My white laminate counter attracts clutter and I wish it didn't. My white appliances take care of themselves. My white walls show the usual ick but I see it right away and take a wet paper towel to it. Easy. Vinyl floor. Feels Out Of This World in the summer on bare feet ;-) Love it. Farm sink. Love it. Will never go back to a double bowl! Lights. I went nuts with lights. Worth it. Ranking very near the #1 spot is my microwave/toaster oven/cookbook/baking pans/cookie sheets cabinet. It's divine! Eeked out of the space over the basement stairs which before was the great wasteland. I just love everything about my new kitchen. It makes me smile just to think about it and I actually enjoy doing domestic stuff in it. I don't "cook" but I love to bake and now I can.

Easy to keep clean - my polished granite countertops. I have Piracema granite (aka "Wave"), and it is very dense. Lots of wavy movement. It was sealed when it was installed, but it's been in for 5 years, and it was never resealed. I've spilled all kinds of things on it like wine, lemon juice, tomato sauce. I just wipe and go. My granite looks like the day it was installed.

Hard to keep clean - my stainless steel sink. It has water spots all the time. The sink only looks clean in the few minutes after I've cleaned it, but the minute the faucet is turned on, even for a second, I will have water spots. If I don't clean it daily, it not only has water spots, but gets dingy. If I had to do it again, I'd get a Silgranit sink in the black or brown color. My friends who have them (and those on this Forum) say they always look clean.

What I swear never to have again, or it'll make me swear - tile floors. I used to have them, and the grout got stained. And the grout was sealed. The problem with sealing grout, is that if there is even a microscopic break in the seal, and anything seeps under the seal, then that stain will be trapped under the seal forever. I think sealing almost made my tile's grout worse. Never again for tile floors!