Stainless Steel Countertops

Aside from being a beautiful way to accent your kitchen, stainless steel countertops serve many other useful and practical purposes. They are extremely hygienic, heat resistant and stain proof. They are often made from sixteen gauge grade 304 steel and tend to have edges that help keep spilled liquids from spilling onto the floor. Stainless steel countertops help kitchens maintain their style and are a preferred material for kitchen counters by many professional cooks.

Steel has always been seen as the best surface for food preparation because of its strength. Many modern kitchen designers add painted tiles and warm hues in kitchens with stainless steel countertops because they counter the cold look of the steel. Stainless steel countertops are made and installed in two different sites. They are made from a template and, once at the installation site, are mounted onto plywood. Soundproof coating is then used to reinforce them. Different lengths of countertops are built from one sheet of metal, without any seams. The longest sheet of metal that is usually available would be ten feet. If the countertop is one that needs to be seamed, then the seam is made in the middle of the sink area. This way, once the countertop is welded and completed, the seam will not be visible.

Stainless steel countertops have a reflective quality that is unlike the reflection of some other countertop materials, and this adds to its beauty a great deal. By reflecting natural as well as artificial light, these countertops bring together the colors of the kitchen.

The only disadvantage to stainless steel countertops is that while they are strong, they can be victim to scratches, so that a cutting board should be used to do any slicing and dicing. They are extremely easy to maintain, as all that is needed to clean it is water and detergent or some dishwashing liquid. Some things such as ketchup and vinegar items such as salad dressing will leave a white mark on these countertops. But they are easy to remove. All that is required to remove such a stain is some rubbing with a soft Scotch Brite pad.

There have been quite a few studies done that have proven the sanitary benefits of using stainless steel countertops. Six different materials used for countertops were tested for sanitary levels. They were contaminated with the bacteria E. coli and washed afterward with water and detergent. Stainless steel countertops eliminated the highest percentage of the bacteria from its surface, showing that there is another very good reason to invest in it.

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