Stain On Granite Countertop

gtcway

Some of my family is remodeling a house and it just had granite countertops installed. A worker brought his lunch to the site and sat it on the countertop. It spilled and there's now an oily stain from the salad dressing on the countertop. What would be the best way to try to get it out, if possible. I have some grease and wax remover used for automotive painting prep that I can try but will wait until I hear from someone more knowlegable on the subject.

kapena

I read this on the JohnBridge tile forum and it seemed like a good method:
Use plain white paper towels folded about 2" thick. Saturate the towel "poultice" with acetone and cover with plastic and leave 24 hours. Remove the plastic and let the paper towel poultice air-dry. The drying should hopefully wick the diluted oil out into the paper. Repeat if necessary. Depends how deep stain is etc. The moderator describing this method said that acetone does not hurt the finish on granite. I have used other methods that did dull the finish, but I had the tools to repolish.

Patty

Yes, go to JohnBridge.com. Staining on granite is not easy to romove without hurting the finish. Good luck!

Aceinstaller

How in the world could a persons lunch stain a granite countertop?

isn't this countertop designed to be in the KITCHEN?

What will happen when the homeowner is doing daily chores and gets food or any other household item on the countertop?

Sounds to me that this slab of granite really doesn't belong with the cuts designed for a countertop that will encounter daily spills such as a kitchen. Maybe it was designed to be office furniture or tropphy case granite but had been sold under the wrong category.

I would definately call the granite company and ask for their opinion on cleaning the spill as well as if there needs to be a special finish on the countertop or questions on replacement.

This just doesn't make sense for a countertop designed to be in the kitchen.

gtcway

The company has been contacted and the guy who would know what to do is on vacation. I had a look at it. It's actually grease/oil from a hamburger or fries. I have no idea what's involved in producing the countertops but it looks like they put a clear epoxy or something similar on the surface to fill the voids then polished it. However, it doesn't appear to have completely sealed it. It looks like the oil is at least 1/8" below the surface as you can see the different shades highlighted from the oil. I'm guessing if something spilled and was cleaned right away there wouldn't be a problem, but this was sitting on the countertop for several hours.

Nick H

People dont realise that granite countertops are NOT impervious to stains. You have to be really careful to mop up spillages as they will mark the surface.

Floorwizard

Granite needs to be sealed with a penetrating sealer.
People use alot of Marble in kitchens too, and that too needs to be sealed.

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"in 20 years you will regret more what you did not do than what you did"

Mike Finley

Alll granite is not created equal hence - the lemon test.

Even if it was all created equal - granite is beautiful, but it isn't bullet proof. Quartz is much more bullet proof but not near as beautiful when you are talking about nice granite instead of the entry level stuff.

747

I would be livid it that was my kitchen. I thought the whole purpose of granite was it bullet proof. I didn't no it could stain. I thought a good sealer was to prevent that. I thought that is one of the disadvantages of granite meaning it has to be resealed every year.

Mike Finley

The whole purpose of granite is because there isn't anything that can match it for beauty and uniqueness. It's far from bullet proof. Quartz is the 4th hardest natural substance, granite is...hell I don't even know it is in the top 20? That's why Quartz based counters like Silestone are so bullet proof, but they are butt ugly compared to granite.

Patty

Right on with what Mike said. When I gutted this home, I opted for granite in my kitchen realizing I loved it for its beauty but also realizing that I would have to "police" the area a bit more than if it was laminate or even a corian-type of product. I've always been a rather conscientious person when it came to respecting property, i.e. using coasters on wood tables, wiping stains right away, etc... no matter what but some people are careless by nature and if you have a person in your home, like the cheeseburger and fry goofball who set the greasy bag on the granite, you will have a price to pay. When I remodelled one of the bathrooms, I did put a marble floor in but the sink and vanity is a one-piece Silestone unit. Mike, you are right. It doesn't compare to what granite looks like, but it is far more durable and can take a beating, a scrubbing, etc... It's, by far, more practical for a bathroom, especially if you have kids who are a bit careless.