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Photo: Flickr, Loren Owensby
Benefits
Soapstone is a great material for countertops because it is not absorbent and is actually impervious to stains. If you cook lots of spaghetti sauce or drink loads of red wine then it might be your best choice! Soapstone is also a very smooth surface and can be easily buffed. Imperfections can be ground down or sanded away.
Sealing, Cleaning and Care
Soapstone countertops do not require a sealant, but experts recommended coating them with mineral oil. Apply another coat of mineral oil about once a month for the next year. It seems like a lot but after that you're done! The oil is absorbed by the countertop and helps expedite the oxidization (or patina) process. Basically, it brings out the best color of your soapstone countertop.
How Does It Measure Up?
Some granite and most marble can easily stain, so soapstone will win that battle every time. However, soapstone isn't as heat resistant as granite, so be sure to use a trivet when placing hot pots and pans on your counter. Additionally, use a cutting board or surface. Soapstone countertops may dent and scratch. Although these imperfections wear away over time, they're just not pretty to look at. Overall, soapstone requires a little more caution than other counter surfaces, but it's quite beautiful and easy to install.
Feeling Handy?
Did you know that you can DIY your soapstone countertop? Find out how by reading this article from This Old House.
Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)
Only two corrections that I see here. Soapstone is non porous, just as was stated above and because of that oil is not absorbed into the stone. If that was the case when the stone was cut afer years of oiling it would be black all the way through, a quick test would be simply to sand a small section of countertop and observe how fast the origional color returns. Changes to the apperance of soapstone is actually only on the surface. The other correction has to do with the ability of soapstone to withstand heat. Wood stoves, bakeware, pizza stones, and chemistry lab counters all all made out of soapstone, primarily because of the ability of the dense stone to withstand heat. Because no sealer is applied to the stone there is nothing to burn off the surface, and soapstone does an amazing job at absorbing heat, distributing it throughout the stone, and radiating it off slowly and evenly. Go ahead put hot pots and pans on it, your not going to hurt it.
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