Can a Quartz Countertop Take the Heat?

Does your stone countertop research leave you feeling like you’ve lost your marbles? Knowing how to best care for your counter surfaces will keep you from taking them for granite. Of quartz, you need to consider all of your options!

All puns aside, quartz stone countertops are a great option if you’d like to keep the classic, elegant look of marble or granite without maintenance or high price. Quartz counters don’t need to be sealed and etching isn’t a concern. 

One of the best qualities of quartz is that it’s heat resistant. This claim does have limits. In order to best understand how quartz countertops hold up to your kitchen’s heat, we have to understand a few more things about them.

What Are Quartz Stone Countertops?

While quartz itself is a natural stone, quartz countertops are not 100 percent natural. Quartz countertops and surfaces are made from 93 to 95 percent natural stone material instead. The remaining material is used to bind and add style and/or color. 

This is one of the reasons quartz counters are so appealing to homeowners. The colors and styles are more customizable and tend to be more consistent throughout the countertop. If you have a specific taste in mind for your remodel, chances are pretty good there’s a quartz countertop to match it!

How Does Quartz Compare?

Because quartz countertops are engineered, they are, by nature, more durable. But what kind of heat can you throw its way?

By comparing quartz to other common countertop surfaces, you may find it’s a great solution for you in style and function. 

Granite vs. Quartz Countertops

Granite is a popular countertop surface for many reasons. Its classic look and durability, to name a few. Depending on your needs, both granite and quartz countertops can be a great fit for you.

In an arm-wresting match, granite would win. Granite is the most durable and heat-resistant countertop available. Granite is almost impossible to scratch or damage. 

Quartz can scratch, but not easily. Overall, quartz will hold up well to regular life-in-the-kitchen ware and tear. 

Granite is the surface that calls to all others, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” Granite is actually heatproof. Even a fresh-out-of-the-oven pan won’t ruin your granite countertop.

Quartz, while heat resistant, is not heatproof like granite. Since quartz needed to be melted in the engineering process, it does have a melting point. Heat contact with quartz counters has definite temperature limits.

Quartz hollers back to granite, “I can stand the heat!” while setting up a fire ladder just in case an escape is needed. 

Marble vs. Quartz Countertops

Marble is an extremely popular countertop choice. Rightfully so, it’s a beautiful natural stone. The biggest downside to marble is, it’s a little higher maintenance.

Quartz would be the clear arm-wrestling champion in this ring. 

Since marble is all-natural, it’s porous by nature. This requires frequent sealing and caution with cleaning materials. Anything too acidic, such as vinegar or ammonia, and marble will let you know it’s not ok.

Since quartz and marble have so many similar designs, many homeowners are opting for quartz countertops. 

As a kitchen countertop, marble requires immediate clean-up of oil, juices, wine, or similar liquids. It’s also best to keep a barrier between marble and any kind of heat, just to be safe you don’t end up with discoloration or etching.

If you enjoy using curling irons, flat irons, and a lot of beauty products, marble may not be the best fit in your bathroom. Quartz, however, could be a good alternative for holding up to regular product use and spills.

Just be careful about any small electronics that emit heat. Quartz and the flatiron may not be best friends. 

Concrete vs. Quartz

Concrete countertops have risen in popularity lately. They’re great for indoor and outdoor spaces and are fairly hefty!

In the arm wrestling ring, quartz and concrete would have to call it a draw. That’s right, the two are essentially tied in heat handling ability.

As far as general durability goes, quartz is the winner. Concrete requires a sealer coat. Over time and with continued use, the concrete sealer coat will likely stain.

Concrete also takes longer to install due to the setting and pouring process. While concrete offers a lot of great qualities, it’s matched up with quartz for almost all the good ones.

If you like a softer look similar to marble or a style more like granite, quartz is for you. If you’re in the market for an outdoor bar or dining area, concrete is your answer.

Stainless Steel v. Quartz

Stainless steel is a great option for a modern, industrial, or vintage kitchen. Clean freaks love stainless steel because you can clean it with almost any material. Scratches do happen on stainless steel but overall, homeowners find it a very durable metal.

While quartz and stainless steel differ drastically in looks, they are surprisingly similar in care. Stainless steel wins the heat match, but not by much.

Place too much heat here and you’ll end up with stains and damage to the surface of the countertops. It’s always a good idea to use a trivet or hot pad on the countertop when taking a pan out of the oven. 

Crockpots, coffee pots, and hot bowls of soup won’t hurt your stainless steel counters one bit. It can definitely handle that kind of heat without leaving the kitchen. 

Butcher Block/Wood vs. Quartz

Butcher block and all other types of wood make beautiful countertops. There’s no doubt the endless options of grains, stains, and planes make wood counters unique to each kitchen they call home.

When it comes to durability, beauty is only skin deep with butcher block countertops. Any amount of excessive heat or moisture can damage the surface. The good news is, with a little work, most damages to wood counters can be fixed by sanding and refinishing. 

While they wouldn’t stand a chance in the ring with quartz, they deserve a solid consideration for anyone considering a unique and custom kitchen design.

Because butcher block would be used as kindling for the fire, it would run at any mention of heat. Wood countertops cannot handle the heat, and they would absolutely get out of that kitchen!

Laminate vs. Quartz

Laminate is a great economical option for any kitchen or bathroom space. Laminate countertops can hold up to a lot of daily use without much scratching or staining.

When it comes to heat durability, laminate and quartz are tied. While laminate can stand quite a bit of heat, too much will leave marks or bubbles, damaging the surface. 

With laminate, feel free to skip your placemats at mealtime, but remember to put a trivet down before the oven-fresh pan hits the surface.

Caring For Quartz Countertops

Now that we’ve compared it to other surfaces, let’s explore how to best care for your quartz countertops.

Quartz is a highly durable material. Because it has heat-resistant properties, many people assume it is also heatproof. This is not the case.

Quartz countertops and bathroom vanities can be damaged by excessive amounts of heat.

In the Kitchen

Quartz countertops are stunning and versatile. They don’t scratch easily and don’t need to be resealed. 

When it comes to heat, proceeded with reasonable caution. Your coffee pot, a bowl of soup, or mug of hot tea won’t damage quartz surfaces.

It’s best practice to place a barrier of some kind between a slow cooker or pressure cooker and your quartz counter. While these things may not cause immediate damage to the surface, they could cause fading of that area with continued heat exposure.

Always place a barrier between hot pans coming out of the oven. The same applies to hot pots coming off the burner. 

Sudden exposure to extreme heat could cause the quartz stone countertops to crack. The resin (non-stone) component of a quartz surface will become damaged at temperatures hotter than 150 degrees Fahrenheit. 

If you can get into the habit of keeping protective material around, quartz countertop maintenance in your kitchen will be a snap!

In the Bathroom

Quartz is an excellent option for your bathroom vanity. This is a surface that can withstand a lot of different products without staining or scratching. 

You don’t need to worry about exposure to excessive moisture, either! 

Protecting quartz from the heat of curling irons, flat irons, or hot curlers is a must. These electronics may be small, but they all pack a hefty temperature punch! Get in the habit of placing a safe barrier between your heat and your quartz vanity.

Of Quartz It Can Stand Some Heat

Don’t discount quartz stone countertops, due to their lack of extreme temperature tolerance. There are still plenty of advantages to quartz countertops.

Check out our selection of quartz, granite, and marble. Give us a call at 314-899-2999 or stop by our showroom to see our materials first hand. We’d love to answer any questions you have about which surface is right for your countertop.