Here’s the thing about tabletops and shelves—they get food scraps dropped on them. They get wine spilled on them, juice and milk splashes across them, and porous material like wood can ultimately begin to warp under these circumstances. They’re beasts to keep clean, especially if you have a knack for collecting small keepsakes. Basically, your shelves and tables are magnets for disaster and the place least likely to pass the white glove test. However, they’re a necessity. So how can you optimize cleaning, cleanliness and safety?
It’s easy: Go with glass. From clear to custom-colored, etched to mainstream and sleek, customized glass tabletops and shelves are the easiest to clean and keep clean, they go with everything and today’s glass is shatter-proof so you don’t have to worry about an accident leading to sharp shards hiding in the carpet. Should glass get broken, it creates a gummy crumble that’s easy to clean with no overtly sharp edges.
When it comes to other materials for tables and shelves, no other material comes close. Here’s how glass bests the “competition” every time:
1. Not Porous Like Wood
Wood is an incredibly porous material that will soak up anything from spilled soda to your aunt’s curry sauce. Even wood that has a thick seal and finishes on it is prone to warping. What happens if your kid’s friend spills a glass of milk on a shelf and half-heartedly wipes it up without telling you? What if there’s a leak behind the bookcase you don’t notice for months? Warped wood can rarely be salvaged and it can even lead to deadly black mold.
2. “Warmer” than Metal
Maybe when you were on a mission to find a non-porous and sleek looking option for shelves or tables, metal caught your eye. While it looks uber-contemporary, there’s a coldness about metal that most people don’t want in their home. Plus, if it’s not brushed metal, it gathers smudges and fingerprints like nobody’s business. Leave metal accents for medical offices—not your home.
3. More Affordable than Natural Stone
Natural stone such as granite is extremely heavy, exceptionally expensive and actually requires further treatment in order to stop it from being porous. While granite, quartz, and others in the family can look great, they actually soak up just about everything and look dull (while being germ factories) in a few months. Once you spend a bundle on buying these materials, you then need to pay for professional sealing—say goodbye to your savings.
Custom glass shelves and tabletops give you an affordable, timeless and easy to clean option. Simply wipe and go? Now that’s the secret to speedy cleaning.
