Secondly, it really does not matter if the company says that the countertop if heat resistant, you should protect your countertops against hot pots and pans, even the hard stone countertops can burn. Burn marks are permanent on most surfaces. So, you will want to use insulating pads, also called hot pads, or trivets with rubber feet so they do not scratch, when placing a pan on the counter.

Third, if something spills, it is always best to clean it up right away. So, immediately wipe a spill up with a clean, damp cloth, and treat stains as soon as you possibly can so that they do not set in. The faster you take care of a stain, the more successful you will be at removing it, and not having to stare at the stain mark.

Fourth, you will want to use a coaster under anything glass, even your glass bottle that holds you extra virgin olive oil. Why, because if you don't, there could be ring marks, and these are hard to clean off. This is particularly important for stone surfaced countertops.

Fifth, this is very similar to the first, but it is important that you never pound or tenderize meat directly on the counter. The impact from the metal or wooden mallet can gouge, weaken, or crack your countertop, particularly if you have a laminate top counter. So, make sure you always use a cutting board when tenderizing meat or pounding on anything.

Sixth, even if you really want your countertop to be super clean you should avoid strongly abrasive scouring powders and cleaning products, as well as abrasive tools such as steel wool. This will scratch pretty much any surface, even something hard like marble or granite. Instead use mildly abrasive cleaners and nylon pads, however, even these should be used sparingly, only when necessary, and if your countertop has a polished finish, it should not be used at all.

After the above six things, you will want to look at the type of countertop you have, the specific material you have will help you to determine what is the best thing to do to take care of your countertop. If you are the first person to own the home and thus the countertop, you can ask the installer, and look at owner's manual for care directions. If you are not the original owner, you can always go to the local home improvement store and talk to a countertop specialist about how to care for the particular variety of countertop you have, or go online. When you go online you can simply type in the material type you have, and the word care. So, for example, "Granite care" You will find things like how often you need to seal it, what materials you need to use to clean it, what cleaning products to avoid etc. It is important to know what you should not do to your countertops.