Everyday cleaning: Any detergents usually used for polished surfaces may be used. Coloured liquids that come into contact with the surface should be cleaned immediately, when the stain is still fresh. The agglomerate material of quartz does not absorb liquid substances and the dirt that might be retained by the micro-knurling does not penetrate the material and can therefore always be removed. In the case of more persistent dirt, acid-based aggressive detergents may also be used. Avoid cleaning the surface with denatured alcohol which leaves streaks that are difficult to remove when it dries. For more care and manteinance tips visit http://www.palladiostone.co.za/quartz-care-manteinance-countertops/

I went through this too, but will never let Katie go. She is more like a friend than a cleaning lady. My kids adore her. She was a doctor in Albania and came to this country and had to start over doing anything she could to make money, including waitressing, babysitting, and cleaning houses. Cleaning is where she found she could make the most money, but in the meantime she put herself through nursing school, while working fulltime cleaning houses. She graduated last spring and now has a full time nursing job but still comes to help me when she can. Some weeks she can't come at all and every week the day changes, but she always comes in the afternoon so that on that day my son can take his nap in his bed instead of in the car (since I have to pick my daughter up at 3 ). She loves to cook like me. She brings me recipes and I share mine with her. She lets my son follow her around the house and gives him little jobs to do. When my daughter is around she does the same for her ... she'll have my daughter pick up her stuffed animals, etc or bring laundry downstairs. I like this, because I too worry about the kids thinking they don't have to pick up after themselves. Anyway, post renovation, I researched different products and am using different things now, but it was just a one time short conversation about the new stuff we are using (most particularly, this Bonax wood flooring cleaning system). She knows that the new house is my baby and I did tell her that I would take care of certain aspects (like cleaning the Butcherblock counter). She'll move on eventually. She is still cleaning because she is saving up money for her wedding next year. She is such an impressive young woman. So personable, hard working and caring. She is so there for me when I need her. She babysits in a pinch (or gets her sister to babysit for me). I hope I won't have to do without her until I am done with the classes I am taking because she is part of the infrastructure that is allowing this to happen for me. sorry so long winded but I feel so fortunate for the situation I have and wouldn't give it up.

practigal: Your theory sounds good, but doesn't work in practice. The big box stores negotiate directly with quartz and other manufacturers. You can do that when you buy by the train car load. The manufacturer concedes prices, allowing the big boxes to remain profitable and still be less expensive than local fabricators. This doesn't only happen with the big boxes. I fabricated the Corian in a McDonalds 20 years ago. I picked up my material at the distributor as usual, but McDonalds had negotiated a price with DuPont that was considerably lower than what I would have usually paid. Then there are the sink promotions. The big boxes will negotiate a free sink that would cost a local fabricator $400.00 or so. This makes competing against them on price a tall order.

For daily cleaning of our granite and one quartz counter, I use either Glass Plus (which is ammonia free) or a solution I make with 1 part rubbing alcohol/2 parts water and a few drops of lavender oil in a spray bottle (lavender oil optional). I buy rubbing alcohol in bulk at Sam's Club or Costco. (I'm not sure if rubbing alcohol kills all germs though.) Then, once a week, the cleaning lady uses Weiman's granite cleaner & polish on all the granite (I tried several granite cleaners/polishers and that was my favorite.) She might even use it on the quartz too, who knows. For cleaning of our one little bathroom quartz counter, I will also sometimes use Fantastik Heavy Duty which is my go-to all purpose bathroom cleaner, except for the Toto toilets we clean with a 1:1 Fabuloso/water solution in a spray bottle which is a neutral cleanser so as not to destroy the Toto sanigloss finish. (No, Fabuloso isn't a germ killer but I don't want to ruin the sanigloss finish because it makes cleaning the toilet easier in general).