The Kitchen Countertop Choice The Property Brothers' Drew Scott Can't Stand

Drew Scott may love a good design challenge, but there's one battle he avoids like the plague. "Tile countertops, where you have grout? Absolutely not. That's the most disgusting thing to me. You're gonna get a lot of dirty, dirty grout lines that are full of bacteria," he explained in a recent Instagram post. Although the retro aesthetic occasionally starts trending again, Scott is right that tile countertops are gross.

To be fair, tiles aren't actually the problem. Today's options are often made of durable porcelain that might shatter a dropped plate but probably won't suck up that spaghetti sauce. As the HGTV star rightly pointed out, grout is the real issue. Made from water, cement, and sand, tile grout is an extremely porous mix that absorbs everything your kitchen can throw at it. We're talking olive oil, red wine, and the bacteria hanging out in your kitchen sponge. Epoxy options designed to solve the porous problem are out there, but installing them is what DIY kitchen renovation nightmares are made of.

Cleaning tile and grouted countertops isn't any easier. Since grout absorbs almost instantly, even wiping up and spraying disinfectant immediately after cooking may not sanitize your space. Deep cleaning is even worse, unless you're one of those people who actually enjoys meticulously scrubbing grout lines with a toothbrush. (We see you. We are you. We still side with Scott on this one.)

After binging more "Property Brothers" and "Brother vs Brother" episodes than anyone should ever admit, we realized that Drew Scott is serious about demolishing every tile countertop that stands in his way. From hideously dingy blue-and-white checkerboard to bizarre cottage cheese-textured versions, he has certainly found some duds. But during every reveal, it became clear that his goal in replacing them is about way more than just good looks. It's about durability and functionality, too.

That philosophy guided several other countertop do's and don'ts the HGTV star's shared on Instagram. Along with avoiding marble and granite, Scott struck concrete and butcher block off his list. "The reason is they're very, very porous, and you have to reseal them all the time," he explained.

If everything from marble to tile is out, how should you pick kitchen countertop materials? According to Scott, the best approach is to look for low- or no-maintenance options. "Porcelain is amazing," the designer said. "You never have to seal it. And porcelain, it's almost like a glass with a printed aesthetic of whatever you want underneath. But what I like with that is you can make it anything." He ably summed up what every homeowner should be looking for, though. "At the end of the day, you just want to enjoy your kitchen. You wanna cook and have fun and invite friends over to join you. You don't wanna be thinking about how often you have to reseal your countertops."