Kashering granite with iron

malky800

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 11:11 am

It's my first time making pesach and I was very thrilled by the fact that I have granite countertops that I won't have to cover it.
People are scaring me, that pouring hot water all over will make a huge mess and can ruin your cabinets underneath.
There is a shitah that says you can iron your counters. Has anyone tried it? Does it kill your counters or the iron?
Is it easier or harder than pouring water?

amother

Coral

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 11:18 am

I never heard of the iron method, so don't know.I don't have a problem with pouring boiling water over the granite and ruining my wood cabinets beneath. I cover the cabinets with towels and they absorb the mess. If your granite counters are covered with a special sealant, they cannot be kashered

watergirl

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 11:27 am

amother wrote:

This scared me so I just called the Star K. They said all granite counters have a sealant. Rabbi Heinemann holds that they can 100% be kashered by hagolah no matter what sealant was used. The man I spoke with (not Rabbi Heinemann) said never to listen to halachic advice from an anon mesaage board. Which I think we all know, but the reminder was good!

amother

Coral

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 11:40 am

watergirl wrote:

I'm not talking about the sealant that's put on the granite when when it's being manufactured. I'm talking about a sealant that comes in a bottle that some people buy. It's used for preventing stains. However, it also presents a barrier, thereby preventing boiling water from kashering it. This sealant eventually wears off, but unevenly, so you'll never know where there's any leftover patches of sealant on the counter.

watergirl

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 11:41 am

amother wrote:

And again, no matter what the sealant, Star K holds it can be kashered. Call your own preferred kashrus agency to confirm. I asked specifically if it matters what the sealant.

amother

Cobalt

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 11:59 am

I don't know about the sealant.

I have used the iron method, but it does ruin the iron, and it does involve hot water.
I have a cheap iron that I use for this.
Pour hot water from the urn on the counters.
Pass on the hot iron in order to get the water boiling/steaming.
Immediately wipe down with a dry towel.

You don't use so much water as to ruin the cabinets, also you wipe it dry immediately, so it shouldn't penetrate the cabinets.

If you do this, I would reseal afterwards.

amother

Purple

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 12:03 pm

We have some grooves in our granite. We are also wary of ruining good cabinets. So since we moved into our new home we wash and cover the countertops instead of kashering them.
We kasher the stainless sinks though so we don't have to use inserts.

chicco

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 1:35 pm

We place towels in the drawers or cabinets underneath the counter and have more on the floor. We boil water and my husband slowly pours the water on to the granite with one hand and uses a hand steamer/iron to go over it with the other hand. Water gets everywhere, but we dry it right away. We've done this for several years without any damage to the kitchen.

Side note: Granite should be resealed every couple of years or so in general.

Teomima

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 1:55 pm

I love how easy it is to kasher my granite counters. Every couples of years I touch up the silicon sealant at the edges of the counter so nothing leaks off the back (the first year I kashered I learned the seal between the counter and the wall wasn't very good when water got through, into an electric outlet, and shorted out my entire apartment. NOT fun.) I put rags on the floor and use a little handheld squeegee to direct the water, and kasher a bit at a time, working my way along the counter, so it's not like a boiling hot waterpark attraction.

Never heard of ironing but wouldn't try.

DrMom

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 4:14 pm

momnaturally wrote:

Very likely iron will ruin granite. Definitely a no.

Never heard of this iron method, but why would a hot iron ruin granite?

If you put a hot metal pot on your granite counter, does it get ruined? Mine doesn't. How is a metal iron different?

OOTBubby

Thu, Mar 22 2018, 8:12 pm

You can't use an iron by itself. You must use it with water on the counter to boil the water and you must have boiling water touch every single bit of the counter. I saw it mentioned someplace, don't remember where, that it is almost impossible to do properly.