Caring for Sintered Stone
Why no sealing is required, how coffee, wine and iodine come off, what genuinely needs attention in service, and what you can stop worrying about entirely.
The short answer: ordinary cleaning, with no sealing and no special products. Below is why that holds, and where attention is nevertheless needed.
No sealing required
Sealing exists to close pores. At 0.02 % water absorption there is nothing to close. This separates the material from natural stone, where sealing is renewed every one to three years, and it means a maintenance cost of zero across the whole service life.
Stains
Stain resistance is Class 5 to EN ISO 10545-14, the highest class. Coffee, wine and iodine do not penetrate the structure and come off with hot water. For stubborn soiling an ordinary household cleaner is enough; aggressive chemistry is not needed, though it would do no harm either — the material is chemically inert.
Everyday cleaning
- Day to day — water or a neutral detergent.
- Matt surfaces — a medium-stiff brush for ingrained dirt.
- Polished — a soft cloth: marks and streaks are more visible on a mirror finish.
What genuinely needs attention
Joints. The body of the slab is inert, but grout and sealant are consumable parts of the system. With epoxy grout the question is largely settled; cement grout is not used in large formats.
Point impact on the edge. Flexural strength of 55 MPa is no protection against a concentrated blow to a corner. A 2 mm chamfer cut during installation reduces the risk to nearly nothing.
Abrasive grit. Only a harder material will scratch a matt surface. The real risk is sand tracked in from outside, which is why entrance areas justify a barrier matting system.
What you can stop worrying about
- Hot cookware — the service range runs to +300 °C.
- Ultraviolet — no fading, colour stays stable.
- Frost and freeze-thaw cycles — there is no water inside the slab.
- Mould — neither a nutrient medium nor moisture in the pores.
Joints need attention; the body of the slab does not. Everything that concerns the material itself comes down to a cloth and hot water.
Frequently asked questions
How is sintered stone maintained?
Water or a neutral detergent. No sealing is needed and no special products either: the material is chemically inert and has no pores for anything to soak into.
How do you remove a wine or coffee stain?
With hot water. At stain resistance Class 5 to EN ISO 10545-14 the pigment does not penetrate the structure and stays on the surface. For stubborn soiling an ordinary household cleaner is enough.
Can the surface be scratched?
Only a harder material will scratch a matt surface. The real risk is sand tracked in from outside, which is why entrance areas justify a barrier matting system.
