Looking After Laminate Kitchen Worktops

Laminate worktops are very durable for the most part. However to expand the lifetime of you worktops you can do a few simple things. The single most important thing would be to your worktop protectors/savers where possible.

These are useful for appliances that get dragged about a lot and can cause scratch marks. While matt style finishes a more scratch resistant you will need to be more careful with any gloss worktops. You will also want to use chopping boards when preparing food as a sharp knife can easily create scratches and damage the worktops.

Another thing people don’t really think about is water damage. The biggest problem area with water damage is at worktop joins and also the back side of the worktop. Usually the backside of the worktop is sealed with a silicon sealant so as long as this is the case you have nothing to worry about. But if after time the silicon starts to fail and holes appear. It is a good idea to remove the old silicon and reseal.

Many people have the problem of their worktop joints blowing over time and this is more common when the worktops joint are close to the sink area. You should do your best not to let water lie on the joints as it will get into the join and expand the wood. This is why especially on old kitchens people wonder why the joins have raised and become uneven.

If you are thinking about changing your kitchen worktops and this was a problem with your previous worktops. It is always best to see if its possible to either move the join or the sink. Of course this is not always possible and you will have to be extra vigilant.

August 1, 2011 at 8:27 am | Worktops | No comment