I know it isn't PC when granite is all the rage, but I don't really like the brown of my polished granite counters. Is there a way to purposely stain them a deeper color -- red wineish, or dark grey/black? Is there a way to rough up the polish on them and would that be necessary for stains to soak in?

Molly,
I have really bad news. Forget about permanently staining your granite tops. You have two options in my opinion; suck it up, live with the current color or open up the checkbook and get the exact tops it the perfect color you want. Money can't always buy happiness, but this is one time where it can. :->

We purchased our granite counter tops about 18 months ago. About a month after they were in, I noticed a teal/blue hue where my paper towel holder was. The towel holder is stainless steel and has a dark rubber bottom. I called the installer and they said to try bleach. It really didn't show much improvement, but my husband and I decided to move the paper towel holder and place cork pads on the bottom to provide some air circulation so maybe it doesn't happen again. Well, it has and our installer is stumped. I'm willing to try other concoctions besides bleach, but they offered no suggestions and I'm afraid to make it worse. We are really due to seal it again, but I'm afraid it will seal in whatever this is. Any ideas as to what may be causing this and any solutions? Thanks!

Ginny,
STOP IMMEDIATELY the amateur chemistry experiments. Never do that with any surface. I feel it is a sealer issue. The granite was not sealed with enough coats and/or an inferior sealer was used. Let the granite dry well. Help it with fans. Do not allow the top to get wet. Buy the most expensive sealer and follow the instructions to the letter.

A few months ago I was cleaning my granit countertop in my bathroom. I used a product without reading the label and now I have light colored stains all over my black conutertop...HELP!!! is there anything I can do to reverse this ? I believe I took the color out in these areas.

Linda,
It is pretty difficult to change the coloration of the minerals in granite! Let's hope you modified a sealer that might have been on the granite. Contact a few local granite fabricators in your area and see if they have an answer.

ginny with the teal/blue stains from a paper towel holder - we had the exact same situation within 2 weeks after installation. the installer, after trying other things, used straight clorox and a torch to heat the granite. it took numerous times, but it is completely gone... and we threw the towel holder away!!

Hello,
We have enjoyed our kitchen granite counter-top for about 10 months now. There is a seam between two sections near the kitchen sink. The counter was sealed when it was installed. However I just noticed that there is a small stain growing along this seam. What can be done ro reverse this ?

I have beautiful granite countertops in my bathroom that are getting limescale buildup around the faucets. I'm beginning to think this granite was not sealed. I'd like to get them sealed, but I beleive the limescale must be removed first. How to I do this? I'm reluctant to use just anything for fear of causing permanent damage to my granite. HELP!

Kim,
Call a few local granite fabricators and see if they have a magic solution.

Nancy,
Take a cotton swab and dab the scale with white vinegar. Do this carefully for an hour. Take a wood toothpick and see if you can scrape the deposits after the soaking period.

We bought new granite countertops 6 months ago. When they finished the installing job they told us after everything was done they still owed us a lifetime seal on the granite. 3 to 4 weeks following the installation I noticed a purple mark (1 inch long 1 inch wide) on the countertop near the sink. The granite is brown/rust/copper and black. Other spots started to appear not a dark as the first but spots not lines as in the first one. The granite company first said they didn't know what it was and the owner even placed ink on his finger and rubbed it on the counter to see the effect and it turned purple. Now I have a new spot. He said sometime you can change the color by doing that. But not purple. They now say it is quartz and have internet articles to back it up. I have not seen what they are talking about yet. I think they are just covering their tracks. The purple is not changing, but it has slowed down in the amount of spots that have been popping up (excluding the ink spot). Can you help.

Peggy,
I assume the granite was sealed. You never said. For stains to mysteriously appear on their own is highly unusual. That is a new one on me. The color aspect is very suspicious. Think of what has to happen in a chemical and crystalline way for a natural stone to change color on its own. Something tells me there was a liquid involved.

I just got my granite countertops this week. I haven't actually used them because the rest of the kitchen is still under construction, and yet I already have a problem: I wasn't here when they were installed, but was told by my contractor that they were sealed with a spray-type sealant. Well, fast-forward a few days, and I notice what appear to be water drop-type stains. I didn't think much of it, thinking that they would just wipe away when I deep-cleaned the kitchen after the work was done. The contractor looked at it and declared it to be 'not normal'. He tried removing the stains with acetone, lacquer thinner, and regular kitchen spray cleaners, with no luck.

He called the granite people, who are trying to duplicate what they did on another piece of stone. So far, no luck.

My questions: what happened, and is there any way I can fix this?

(For what it's worth, the guys are coming out in the next couple days to see if the countertop can be polished in place, or if it needs to be completely replaced. Also, the stone is black and has a honed finish, if that makes a difference.)

Kate,
From this far away distance, it is nearly impossible for me to opine. Could it be drops of perspiration from the workers that got sealed into the granite? Some sealers are very strict about the granite being dry.......

Tim:

We've moved into a home with lovely black granite countertops in the kitchen. I was wondering if extreme heat is a danger to them. I.e. can you safely put a roasting pan straight out of the oven on them without risk of damage?

Steve,
You can place things from the oven on granite. We do it all of the time with our granite tops with no issues. To be SAFE, use a trivet.

Hi I have water spots on my granite that seems to be under the sealed granite . Is there any thing that can be done to repair the problem . thanks mike

Mike,
Very little. Sorry about that.

I bought a new condo 4 months ago with a black granite counter top. A friend was doing some cleaning in the sink and splashed rust remover onto the counter, it now has several white spots that look like the seal had been ate through. What can I do to repair this? Joe

Joe,
You can visit several granite fabricators in your area and see if there is a consensus on how to proceed.

I purchased a remnant of absolute Black honed granite for my master bath vanity. I seem to be one of the few who can't stand the high polished look. I did a google search for care and upkeep and seem to be getting all diff kinds of advice. I actually think there are reps from 'rock doctor' posting comments on alot of the boards hehe . So seal it ? with what ? how often ?

** also thanks for the advice on the steam shower it is SO SWEET !