You need an extremely hard-wearing worktop material if you do a lot of cooking at home and also if you have children. Fortunately, there are numerous kid-friendly worktops available in the market that you might want to consider.
These worktops can hold up to heavy use, resistant to microbe build-up and overall better and safe for your children. From laminate to ceramic to engineered stone to granite worktops, you’re bound to find the ideal surface that not only complements your kitchen’s décor but also works best for your household.
So if you’re considering remodelling your kitchen or just replacing your kitchen worktop, then consider the benefits each of these family-friendly surfaces offers.
Laminate
Highly popular for their affordability, laminate worktops are ideal for your busy kitchen because they’re easy to clean. Also, because laminate is non-porous, you would not have to worry about fruit juices or food colouring penetrating the surface and causing permanent stains.
Another great benefit of laminates is that it doesn’t inhibit bacterial growth on the surface. This worktop material has been designed to withstand damage and not to easily crack.
However, there’s a minor drawback. If you’re concerned with aesthetics, then you should know that laminates are not expensive- or luxurious-looking.
Other than that laminates are easily replaced once damaged and features hundreds of patterns, colours and textures, allowing you to find what you exactly want.
Engineered stone
If you’re a heavy cook with kids in the house, then the perfect material for your family is an engineered stone, commonly known as quartz worktops. They’re durable, built to last and doesn’t easily scratch.
Quartz worktops mainly consist of pure quartz crystals, making their hardness at par with that of granite. Like laminate, its non-porous surface prevents the growth of harmful bacteria, mould or mildew. The surface is also difficult to stain so long as spills are immediately cleaned.
The amount of use your household kitchen will receive, you definitely want a material that will stand the test of time.
Another great benefit offered by engineered stones is that you can even customise your kitchen worktop material, with some mimicking the look of natural stones like marble and granite.
Granite
Granite worktops have not been highly reputable for being kid-friendly. So you’re wondering why they’re included in this list.
Thanks to manufacturing advancements, new sealants are now available that help eliminates the problems plaguing granite surfaces, which have discourages parents from purchasing this stunning material.
Granite is very durable and hard-wearing, just like engineered stones. Although granite needs to be re-sealed regularly, these surfaces are highly resilient to damage.
When properly sealed, it’s almost impossible to scratch granite kitchen worktops. Additionally, they’re anti-microbial, and you can easily clean stains.
If there are teenagers in the house who frequently use hot hair tools, granite is also an ideal choice for bathroom worktops since they’re very resistant to heat. Don’t worry about facial cleaners or nail polish stains since you can easily clean them without having to leave any ugly stain marks.
Concrete
This may come as a surprise, but concrete is also an ideal choice for busy home kitchens. It is one of the toughest materials in the market and is extremely resilient to cracks, stains and other possible damages caused by everyday kitchen use.
Also, much like granite, you need to periodically re-seal concrete worktops so that they remain protected.
Final Thoughts
When you need kitchen worktops that are both built to last and aesthetically stunning, you can’t go wrong with engineered stone or granite worktops, if your budget permits. If not, laminate is always a good option.
