How to Remove Stains from Granite Countertops

Ask any real estate agent and they’ll tell you that a gorgeous kitchen goes a long toward selling a home. Whether you installed yours to increase your home’s resale value or you wanted to improve your kitchen for your own utility and enjoyment, you can agree on this: there is nothing more beautiful and elegant than a shiny, clean granite countertop.

Like any other item of value – including a brand-new car or piece of furniture – stains and scuffs or chips in your granite are an unfortunate inevitability. No matter how careful you are and how much you focus on protecting the finish, you’re bound to encounter a stain.

Common Causes of Granite Staining

It seems like everything is organic these days and the leading causes of granite countertop stains are no exception. They are organic liquids such as coffee, soda, tea, wine, and mustard. Other common causes of stains include:

• Ink and dyes
• Good old fashioned dirt
• Oils, including cooking oils, butter, and margarine
• Mold and mildew
• Rust stains from metal items

Safely Removing Stains from Granite Countertops

There are some good old-fashioned words of wisdom that you should take to heart when looking for ways to remove the stains from your granite countertops, such as “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and “when you’re in a hole, stop digging.” The last thing you want to do is make the stain worse or introduce new damage to the granite.

If you are not comfortable using the products and methods discussed in this post on your own, it is a good idea to seek professional help. An experienced professional cleaner can provide you with the results you seek and the fact that they are bonded and insured lessens risks.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s take a look at the best ways to remove stains and keep your granite countertops looking like new. Some stains can be removed with common household products such as hydrogen peroxide, acetone, and bleach, but always be sure to test an inconspicuous area first to ensure there is no change in color or sheen.

Our website offers numerous products that have proven to be safe and effective for cleaning stone, including MB-5 Marble, Granite and More Spray Cleaner, MB-9 Mildew Stain Remover, Easy-Oxy Daily Cleaner and Tenax Briotop Countertop Cleaner. These cleaners can provide deep, effective cleaning of the micro pores of your stone and restoring the look you love, plus they can be used for daily cleaning. For occasional deep cleaning, we carry Reflect Concentrated Deep Cleaning Solution.

Preventing Granite Stains Before They Happen

We weren’t completely accurate earlier in this post when we said that stains are bound to happen. There are ways to help prevent stains from happening in the first place. If you seal your stone with a top-quality sealer then you are essentially stain-proofing the stone! A sealer goes into the pores of the stone and prevents other materials from occupying those spaces as two things cannot occupy the same place at the same time.

There are two main types of impregnating sealers:

• Innocuous Sealers
• Color Enhancing Sealers

An innocuous sealer will go into the stone and when it is dried and cured will be completely invisible. It will not change the gloss or color of the stone but if you spill red Kool-Aid™ on white stone it will sit up like it was on Scotchgard™ instead of getting into the stone and changing the hue of the stone. These sealers include Proseal Stone Sealer, Hydrex Sealer, Protex Sealer, and Glydex Sealer, all by Tenax. These products can protect the micro-pores of your prized granite countertop, reducing the likelihood that a spilled glass of red wine will leave a haunting stain on it.

Some people like the “Wet Look” on their stone. The wet look is how the stone looks when it is damp, not like it would appear if it was sitting under an inch of water and you could see the reflection off the water’s surface. Picture your sidewalk – it’s light grey, right? Now picture the same sidewalk 20 minutes after it has quit raining and all the water has run off of it. It’s a deeper, darker grey, right? That is the “Wet Look”. If you like the way the stone appears when it is damp (the “wet” look) you should use a color enhancing sealer like Ager or Ager Tiger. These will still protect your stone from staining and they have the added benefit of color enhancing the stone so it has the deeper, richer color of the stone just like when it is damp.

We even have sealers for engineered stone surfaces made of quartz and resin. See Toner for color enhancing ES and see Quartz Shield for regular sealing of granite.

You can check out these sealers and other products we mentioned right here on the DeFusco Industrial Supply website. If it involves masonry, tile, concrete or stone we have it and know how to use it.