Granite Countertop Stains

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 !

I have a very dark countertop about 6 months old. i have a stain or two from grease, but more importantly is the area that some girls decided to make daquaris and there are blender spills and cup rings that stained it darker. A somewhat reliable source suggested adding just enough bleach to some molding plaster to turn it into a paste to leave on the area for 30 mins. Does that actually work, or is it only good on the lighter counter-tops?
Many Thanks!!

I spilled some oil on my cupboard and it isn't coming out!!! What should i do?

I have dull patches on my granite work top and the rest of the area by them is not quite as shinny as the rest, also a 'white' patcj. It is brown tan in colour

Hello, I installed a granite countertop in a unit that I rent. Near the sink a bottle of liquid hand soap was placed and it stayed there for a month or two as the place was empty. My wife moved it and there was a dark ring under it. I thought it would dry but after another month it still look the same. Any ideas? It has never been used. Thanks

I have a butter stain on my new granite counter top. How can I remove it?

Hello:
We have a granite countertop in my bathroom sink, last night I discover a two rings of soap close to the faucets, What can I do to remove the stain? I know is liquid soap because there was the bottle. Thanks.

I have just had granite countertops installed in my kitchen. Sealed with 2 coats so I am surprised to see water stains - anything a little wet will get absorbed into the granite and show a water mark for a while then dry off. Could this be due to a wrong sealer and not doing anything? The kitchen is new and is just about to be used - but I am unsure about putting the coffee maker on the granite!

I just found a blue stain on my
granite countertop left by a damp cardboard box from some plant food sitting all week. I didn't realize the bottom of the box had gotten wet. I tried bleach, but the stain
is not budging. What can I use to
get this stain out of my sealed granite?

My husband accidentally spilled acid on my granite coutertop and it has left white places on it and it feels really rough where it is at. It is like it has took the clear coat off the top of it. What can I do to fix this?

My neighbor and I are starting to see spots, or slight stains only around the sink basin area. We thought it may be acidic water, but the tests show we have neutral water. (PH is 7.2) What could be causing this?

We have a fairly porous granite countertop that's about 5 months old. It was sealed twice when installed. We set a plastic container that had oil in it and some leaked through and has left a big blob on the counter. What can I do? I tried granite cleaner that I use to generally clean the counter and it's done nothing to improve the stain.
Help!

We moved into our new home last April and didn't realize that the granite had never been sealed. (This is the first time we've ever had granite countertops.)
We have a huge island w/ a sink. The sink half of the island has darkened considerably and the non-sink side is still very pale.
We were out of town for a week and hoped that the dark would fade, but it hasn't.
Is there any way to save this countertop?
Is it unusual for a builder not to seal the granite? It didn't even occur to me that he wouldn't! But maybe I don't know bubkus.

I have a stain on my granite counter top that ocured when I placed a pineapple upsidedown cake on wax paper on the counter. I think the the pineapple seeped through the wax paper. How can I get this stain out. Thanks

I have a granite white sink and after cleaning it I find there is a yellowish stain on the bottom.I have tried bleach with no change to the stain. Do you have any suggestions? Thank You

Marlene Ringer

We just had granite installed, and it looked gorgeous. However, the next day there was huge circles which appeared to be where the adhesive was put. The contractor tells us it will go away. Should we believe him or sue him? I'm freaking out.

I'm a "newbie" housekeeper & I messed up my employers un-sealed granite steam shower. Upon their request, I was trying to get rid of mineral deposits & soap-scum. I stupidly used "Soft Scrub", not knowing the delicate nature of granite. Basically, left "bleached" streaks on the rock. I thought about using mineral oil to even it out, before they have rip the whole shower apart. Anything else to fill in/even the tone out?

I just bought a brand new house with granite countertops. The builder was still finishing the house over the last several months,and the granite hasn't been sealed in that time, but was sealed at some point. I just worked with strawberries for the first time and left strawberry juice on the countertop overnight. Now there is a slight pink stain in that area. Does this suggest that the seal is no longer functioning properly? What can I do about it? How often should I expect to seal the granite?

Thanks,
Karen

We just got new granite countertops that have been sealed and have a 15 yr. warranty for stain resistance (Sensa granite). Last night I was cooking italian sausage and I put the fork down a couple of times on the counter, and notices today that there seems to be a couple of darkish parts on the granite where it may have stained. Is there a way to lift this by making a poultice? What would you suggest?

Thanks,

We just had granite installed in our kitchen. The installer used a white mastic from a plastic pail. Every mastic spot has come to the surface as a darker wet looking spot. The installer say's these will go away after they dry. Do you agree ?

Hello there,

My fiancee and I were wondering if there is a way to get olive oil stains out of our granite countertops. I was making pasta, and there was some olive oil in the water which got onto the counter top without me knowing. Are we doomed, or is there anything we can do? The counter top is a lighter color, like white-gray.

Thank you!

We have a new granite countertop and I tried to seal it with the natural stone sealer got from Home Depot years ago. And I put two coating on the granite, after 3 days, we noticed that the granite became very sandy and rough.We also noticed there are water marks every where on the granite and I can even see the mark from the cloth wiping. So, we went back to Home Depot and explained our problem. And it was explained that it caused by over applying the sealer and the granite cannot able to absorpt the extra, so we were recommendeded to buy the granite countertop polish to wipe it out. But it doesn't work. How do we remove the water(sealer)marks on the granite? Please help.

Hi,
When I was house-sitting for my brother, one of my friends left a Slurpee on his granite countertop. Some of the Slurpee oozed so I wiped it off with water.
Now there is a dark circle where the Slurpee cup was (a circle, not just a ring.)
My brother thinks I used bleach to clean it. That, and I lost his house key.
Is there any solution to lifting the dark circle?
Thanks.

Hello.

We just had granite installed in our bath. There is an area of concern on 1 of the pieces. The installer used glazed tiles as a foundation for one of the pieces, then placed the epoxy beads over the glazed tile foundation, then laid the granite on top of that. The next morning, we noticed moisture from the epoxy had seeped through. There are now large blotches of moisture on the surface of the stone. Our general contractor said it would eventually evaporate, but it has been over a week. Our concern is that the epoxy cannot dry but for the glazed tile foundation, and moisture cannot evaporate upward due to the seal impregnator. Can you recommend anything to get that moisture out?

We had Green Verde granite put in our kitchen and have noticed a blackish stain that seems to be getting larger. It started around the sink and faucets. It looks like the color of spilled molassas. Any ideas? I always wipe away any water drops as soon as I see them on or around the sink. This is the only place it appears and we have granit on all the counters and around the gas stove. HELP

My entire granite countertop of Giallo Veneziano appears to be changing color after 6 months.It doesn't appear to be a stain but most of the entire counter is now a deeper color with more pinks and yellow-orange colors that were not there in the beginning. It is somewhat less so in the corners. When compared to a small piece leftover from install, it is quite dramatic. I know that it was initially sealed but I don't know the product used. Is this normal? Is the color of the granite affected by air or sunlight?

Six months ago, we installed Giallo Veneziano in our kitchen. I know it was initially sealed but I don't know with what product. I came home to a film on the granite so I buffed it that first day. The color of the granite is now changing. It is not a stain precisely but the color is deepening everywhere with more pinks and oranges showing up where there were none before. The color in the corners has not changed so much. I compared it to a leftover piece I had and the change is quite dramatic. What can be causing this? And is there anything I can do to stop this?

Help. I have taken out my kitchen faucet, and I am trying to clear up a brown stain aroung the hot and cold handles. I was told baking soda, placed in the holes will draw out any moisture, and hopefully make the stain disappear. It has been three weeks and I need my faucets put back in. Someone said it was due to the plumber using a sealer around the undercounter on the faucets. Any ideas?