Quartz has been a very durable and easy to maintain choice for a client of mine, who IMHO is dirty. As far as hygiene, science has shown over and over again that being "too clean" is actually harmful. Small bacterial challenges are good for the immune system. The polio epidemic of the 1950s exploded because babies were no longer born with antibodies to polio. This was the result of increasing levels of hygiene. Over use of antibiotics and antimicrobials has cause the development of superbugs. I am not promoting dirtyness but I grew up in the era of formica and linoleum counters and sponges etc and I don't think that anyone of my generation suffered for it.

It won't let me tag your name, so I'm hoping you're getting notified when I reply! That looks EXACTLY like mine, except mine are everywhere. My kitchen is surrounded by large windows so maybe that's why I'm able to see so many? Or maybe my guys just consistently rubbed too hard 🙄 Does your kitchen have a lot of natural light coming in from different directions? May be possible you have more but just can't see them. The small section near my stove doesn't get direct light and it's the only spot that looks normal. It's deceiving. Do you know if your fabricators guys have been wiping your counters with acetone or lacquer thinner after they install? That may be why it keeps happening? I've researched literally hours daily, even called other fabricators and it is VERY common for them to wipe the counters off with one of those cleaners to get rid of any epoxy, markings from cut lines, water spots made during fabrication etc. From what I've gathered most brand countertops aren't effected, HOWEVER, I believe Daltile's tops don't react well to it. I was able to recreate the streaks near identical by wiping my scrap piece with acetone and lacquer thinner (if you rub even a little too hard. Didn't take much pressure) I got the last slab in Houston apparently and I don't even know if they have gotten anymore in, so I may be in the same boat as you. I'm like you, the streaks were driving me crazy after saving and hunting down my tops for months. And even though they are gone now, it is annoying me that my top has lost some shine and doesn't look as smooth in raw light. Still debating with myself if it's worth a redo. Keep me updated! I'm very curious as to how your situation works out. Wishing you all the luck. I feel your pain 😔 Click pick and zoom in. You can see the streakiness I created.

I jut looked at a few and liked them but I am following this thread...

Please note that your fabricator is trying to mislead you, when they say there only are 7% of resin in that product. That's not what most people would think, when they look at the materials that go in there. Instead, you'd see two buckets of stone dust, and one bucket of resin. By volume, about a third of the "stone" is actually resin. But since resin is so much less dense, fabricators like to quote the ratio by weight. And that's how you get to numbers such as 7%. They are not technically wrong; but I feel it is intentionally try to confuse. And no, nothing wrong with a product that is resin and stone. Just be aware of the pros and cons that this entails. The biggest con is probably that this material isn't guaranteed to be heat proof. You can't set hot pots directly on there, and you can't mount it as a backsplash behind a stove unless you can somehow ensure that that area doesn't get too hot. Depending on model of your stove, an appropriately sized backguard might be available.