Counter Intelligence
We love our kitchen counter and we love blueberries, but when we lifted up our blueberry carton and saw this, we weren’t too pleased with either of them at the moment:
Yes, one of the only reasons granite can be tricky is because it’s a porous stone, so it can absorb stains. And since our counters are not exactly the cheapest thing in our kitchen, the idea of a permanent pink square freaked us out in a major way. Especially when we realized that the blueberry carton had sat in that very spot for four whole days (!!!) before we picked it up and noticed the stain. We were 100% certain that we’d be stuck with that pink badge of honor for good.
But just for kicks we dug out the granite care card that came with our Stonemark slab back in January. Besides recommending that you wipe up any spills immediately (and we’re guessing that doesn’t mean four days later) it also mentioned that regular old household bleach can’t harm granite, and can actually be used to suck a stain right out of the stone.
Needless to say, we were intrigued. So we ran next door to borrow some bleach from our neighbor (since we make an effort to keep chemicals of that caliber out of our home). You see, major chemical concoctions can be granted temporary admittance on the grounds that they might save our stone (although I actually wore two layers of rubber gloves and opened all the windows to air things out). The care card suggested pouring bleach right over the stain and letting it sit overnight with some plastic wrap over it to keep the granite moist. We didn’t have any plastic wrap but we did have those big plastic freezer bags, which seemed to work just as well.
And we didn’t even have to wait til the next morning. Within about an hour the stain was nothing more than a dark shadow and in another two hours it was completely invisible. And today I couldn’t tell you where that pink square used to be if you pointed a gun at my head.
Of course, to thank the bleach for saving our counter we immediately exiled it from our home (read: returned it to the neighbor). But in this case it worked so effectively (and saved us at least one to three ulcers) so we definitely thought it was worth passing along as a possible granite saving solution for anyone else in a pinch.
And honestly, the experience has made me love our counter even more (there’s no love lost for blueberries either, which we now keep in a glass bowl on the counter instead of the hole-riddled plastic carton). The fact that a big hideous berry stain could sit there for days and completely dissappear in mere hours makes me a lot less nervous about the occasion oil or wine spill that used to make me break out in hives. The moral of the story: if you’re considering granite but are nervous about the stain-factor, it’s safe to say that it’s a lot more durable than ya think.
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What a great tip – thanks for sharing!
Very cool. Thanks for sharing!
That is great to know!
Very good to know! By the way, I really do enjoy your blog… It’s nice to see that young people like myself are not afraid of home rennovations! (And you do a lovely job of rennovating!) I can’t wait to put some of your tips to use – when we buy our own home!
We had a similar situation and I found that the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser flexed it’s muscles really hard and got the stain out. I’m not entrely sure what that sponge has in it (chemically speaking) but I know it has saved us from many a berry stain.
We had the same thing happen with hazelnut coffee. Not a pretty sight! Thank goodness it came out, as our house is on the market.
…I don’t know if this would work with granite countertops, but I’ve had a lot of luck with mixing cream of tartar with a little white vinegar (so it’s like a paste) and putting it on dried stains for a few minutes before wiping it off…
I would have had a heart. attack. Good on ya for your cool heads and quick thinking!
WOW Great tip! I have a stain on my travertine floor and I think I’m going to try it.
What an amazing blog you have!! I just moved into a recently remodeled row house in Columbus, OH. We have a stain on our granite and I’m going to attempt to remove it today! Thank you so much for your insight and bravery!
I had a similar stain in my bathroom granite countertop left from self tanner and freaked because I live in an apartment. Luckily, I found that soaking a cotton ball with warm water and leaving it on the spot over night removed the stain! Just something to try since you don’t keep bleach in the house for obvious reasons.
Great tip Susan! Thanks so much for sharing. We’ll have to try that idea next time (if we’re unlucky enough to have a next time…)
xo,
Sherry
What’s wrong with bleach? I use it to disinfect my kitchen sinks and clean wood cutting boards and water bottles among other things. Just fill the sink or bottle with water, add a little bleach, and let sit for thirty minutes or so. Then rinse out three times and your sink or bottle is as good as new. I couldn’t live without bleach.
very good tip !
Thanks. Boy am I glad I found this link. My 5 yo mixed cheeto dust and water to leave two bright orange rings on our cashmere white granite counter tops. The bleach worked like a charm. Great blog!
great tip to help people recover when they stain their granite counters!
Do you think this would work on marble countertops? When upgrading to new faucets, an ugly yellow stain was on the white marble underneath the old faucets.
Hmm, maybe try googling around for marble stain lifting ideas? I’m not sure and I don’t want you to damage it!
xo,
s
I hosted a baby shower at my house and made a blueberry french toast and a party goer left the serving spoon on my very similar counter. I found a huge purple stain after everyone had left and started having a panic attack (we’ve lived in our new house for 3 months!) Thanks to your website tips and a cap-full of bleach the purple stain was gone in 30 minutes! I can’t thank you enough for this tip!
So glad! Whew. What a scare!!
xo,
s
Trying this tip as we speak! Hope it works. My husband spilled coffee on the counter at 7 a.m. and I’m just now seeing it. I’m pretty sure after 10 minutes the bleach started working! Thanks <3
So glad! Good luck!
xo,
s
I had a blueberry stain on my new granite counters so i used the bleach and it was out within the hour. Now I have a bleach stain.
Oh man, I wonder why that happened. Anyone have a tip for Kim?
xo,
s
Hey guys, I feel like I’m stepping back in time commenting on such an old post! In your years living with granite, did you ever experience grease stains? And did you try this same method to remove them? We had a dinner party last night and are now left with multiple grease rings from where the olive oil jar sat and various things … gahh. I knew granite can stain but had no idea it was that easy.
Oh no, I would give this a try for sure! It supposedly sucks things out of the granite. Good luck!
xo
s
Just had a similar incident with raspberries and I was freaking out! We have had the new counter tops for 2 months now. I googled and this popped up! Thank you for sharing! It is already working and the stains are almost gone! PHEW!
So glad!
xo
s
You saved my sanity! We just did a total remodel and put granite in the bathrooms and kitchen. My husband had some oral surgery and the instructions for care were on a bright pink piece of paper. So he put the paper by the sink to remind him of his care and when he was done with it several days later apparently it had gotten wet and left the dye stain on the granite! I wanted to throw up! I tried alcohol like one site suggested but no luck. I just used the bleach and in less than 30 minutes it is almost gone! Thank you so much! BTW we just used the same granite in our kitchen as yours…I love it!
Thank God for the Internet….just moved into an apartment that was remodeled with black and white granite counter tops. Came home from work and realize that a plastic container of Strawberries leaked all day on the counter top. I started hyperventilating, not knowing what to do. I heard a small voice that said, “grab the iPad” and I am glad I did. Thanks so much for this blog. Everything is working out fine. That big ugly red spot is slowly disappearing. Thanks so much for sharing.
So glad Jackie!
xo
s
I was just looking for a backup plan when I came across your post, but am happy to report that a paste of hydrogen peroxide & baking soda has the same results. (Which I’m grateful for because there was no bleach in my cabinet to implement the backup plan.) Yay non toxic solution!
So good to know!
xo
s