How To Clean & Remove Stains From Marble & Granite
Marble and granite counter tops are gorgeous but they are porous and will soak in liquids that can leave stains (even sitting water!). Here are some poultice recipes & diy solutions that can help tackle them, I’ve also tucked in a recipe you can use for everyday cleaning.
Many types of liquids and sauces can leave their mark including fruit juices, wine, coffee, tea, water, vinegar, vegetable and olive oils, ketchup, bbq sauce, grease splatters–etc., it’s important to wipe up spills as they happen.
Baking Soda Poultice:
- First blot the spot to lift as much of the substance as possible.
- Next, spray it with water.
- Now slather it completely with a paste made from baking soda and water (to the consistency of sour cream). Cover with plastic wrap.
- Leave covered for at least 24 hours, the baking soda will dry and pull up much of the stain.
- After 24 hours, remove the poultice and wash area with mild soap and water. Apply a fresh poultice if needed.
Flour & Liquid Soap Poultice:
1 cup unbleached flour
3 TBS liquid dishwashing detergent (no bleach, use a gentle soap like Ivory or Dawn)
Water
- Mix the flour and soap together then add water until you have the consistency of sour cream.
- Cover the spot with the poultice so it’s about 1/4″ inch thick and overlaps it by about 1/4″.
- Cover with plastic wrap for 24 hours.
- Wash off poultice and surrounding area with soap and water. If spot is still there, reapply poultice.
Rubbing Alcohol Spray:
- Pour 1/8 cup of rubbing alcohol into a 16 oz. spray bottle. Add a couple drops of liquid dish detergent then fill the bottle with water. Shake before use. Spray area then wash.
Hydrogen Peroxide Pad:
*Careful with this on dark colored stone, it “may” lighten the color a bit. Test a small area first.
- Fold a wad of cotton gauze to approximately the size of the troublesome spot, saturate it with hydrogen peroxide and squeeze out excess (you want the wad to be wet but not dripping wet).
- Apply the pad to the problem area then cover it with plastic wrap, tape around all edges of the plastic to seal the wad. Put a saucer or some object on top of the pad to add some weight/pressure to the area.
- Leave this on for 24 hours, check then reapply as needed.
Corn Starch Remedy:
- Spray spot lightly with distilled water then sprinkle a thick layer of corn starch over the area. Leave for 24 hours or longer. Wipe up then reapply if needed.
- For grease splatters, sprinkle area immediately with corn starch and allow to sit for about 15 minutes. Wash surface with mild soap and water, the corn starch should lift the grease effortlessly.
Tips:
- Remember to cover your countertops regularly with a sealant to prevent problems from happening in the first place.
- The quicker you wipe up and blot spills the easier it is to prevent or remove stains.
- Before applying a method of treatment, do a test spot first to make sure the color or finish won’t be affected. These should be safe to use but better safe than sorry.
- Before applying a treatment, examine the stain closely. If the mark is still there but is lighter or reduced, you know the treatment is working. Keep applying until it’s completely gone.
Here’s a recipe for an earth-friendly “green” cleaner suitable for many household surfaces (First published February 16, 2009 and moved here for better organization)…
2 cups water
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tsp pure castile soap (peppermint, etc.)
3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
20 drops tea tree oil
20 drops lavender or lemongrass essential oil.
Directions:
- Mix all ingredients in a 32-ounce plastic spray bottle.
Can be used on surfaces of acrylic, ceramic tile, wood, marble and granite.
Source: Sophie Uliano, author of Gorgeously Green: 8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life
Update: A few comments were lost when I merged the two articles, I went digging through my old backups and found one in particular that I wanted to keep:
GraniteGuy: I’m in the stone industry. There are unfortunately many misconceptions about what can and can’t be used on stone surfaces. This mis-education is usually started by competing products of stone surfaces, and is often propagated unto a broader audiences by DIY programs and blogs like this one.
The only (and I mean ONLY) stones that might be sensitive to acids like vinegar or citrus would be calcium-based stones (limestone, travertine, and many marbles).
For kitchen countertops, granite is the surface leader by a long shot over other types of stone. Few granites contain much (if any) calcium and are NOT affected by vinegar or any normal household acids. For those who are still unsure, they can always test any “alternative” cleaners (or even straight vinegar) in an inconspicuous location before using it everywhere.
I have a Moen Stone sink that I cannot bet clean. I was wondering if there is anything I can paint it with if I do get the stains out with the soda and water process that will make it easier to clean after it is clean.
I took very good care of it but it still will not get clean or stay clean. I will try the soda and water though and am hopeful that will clean it.
I have the same moen stone sink. The company gives no help. The only solution is to spray the sink with Tylex mildew root Penetrator. Leave it for about 5 minutes and rinse well.
My wife spilled WISK laundry detergent on the granite countertop. What is the best way to remove that stain?
Same problem. Laundry detergent spill on our granite countertop. What will work?
I have a purple ring stain from the top of a colored nail polish remover bottle. the marble is while with a little pink. I have tried colorless acetone, peroxide and bleach at different times but no luck. any ideas?
Having the same problem. Did anyone find a solution? Hydrogen peroxide poultice and baking soda poultice did not work.
If you have a very bad stain on any stone countertop try contacting a local granite or marble installer in the area. We were told by our installer that they can come to your house and fix the problem and refinish it. I’m not sure what the cost would be but it might be worth it to get rid of the stain on your beautiful countertop if they can do it.
We brought bar with marble top had no idea to seal . Entertained and now rings from shot glasses which had vodka, cranberry juice and grapefruit juice. Not knowing what to do I wiped with water and then cleaned with winded. Help
Sorry cleaned it with windex
Ruth, I must have the same bar. Water stains. Did you find a remedy? My bar counter is black marble with some swirls
I have put a folded paper towel soaked with fantastic and put press and seal over it. I left it overnight, and the pink stain from a hot pink piece of paper wicked into the paper towel. I then left it open to dry.
Hope this helps!
What will take magic marker off my granite. I have tried several things but it’s still very noticeable. Thanks
Using ammonia on granite is the worst thing you can do…make sure that Windex is not ammonia based.
I left a splatter of asian hot sauce on my white marble counter top overnight…any chance of lifting the stain with any of the afore mentioned methods after sitting so long???
I bought a beautiful handmade unique marble topped coffee table from a local auction, the down fall was there were deep stains from cups etc. on it, I tried several attempts with remedies from the internet to no success, so I tried several removers including peroxide, and then I remembered a aerosol my late wife had in the back of the cupboard it’s a graffiti remover K14 made by SELDEN.I sprayed it on direct and after 15 minutes rubbed it off? 80% had been lifted a further application to the more stubborn mark resulted in a fantastic result. I wish I had do this early weeks ago it would have saved hours of mixing concoctions pasting it on coverage with cling film, try it my results were great. Take care jimmy..
Where did you purchase the K14?
I have a Chillow Pillow that I left on our cultured counter top for 3 weeks while we were on vacation. I guess it sweated and left a pillow size mark on the counter top. We are putting our house up for sale in 1 year and have just remodeled. I want this K14 to work!!!
Please help if you can.
I thought using vinegar on granite was a big no-no! The acidity eats away at the stone. 🙁
Hi My husband is a stonemason and vinegar is fine on granite as it is quartz based but not on marble as marble is basically a limestone that is in the hardest state of lime but is very porous. If you feel you need to use an acid to clean marble CAREFULLY try a little lemon juice.
Yes I am also wondering about the vinegar??
Vinegar on granite weakens the seams over time. It is acid, and should not be used on stone. But there are TONS of cleaners out there that say they are for stone/granite and have vinegar or other acids in them, claiming to be “green”. There is a nice profit margin in fancy-ing up vinegar and claiming it can clean just about anything. Vinegar is an amazing cleaner but VERY bad for stone.
The stone used for flooring had a very thin trasparent polythene type cover on it. I had to get the entire floor rubbed and polished to get that film removed as it was too hard to get it out manually. However the skirting still has that film and gets very dirty. Anyone knows what can be used to remove that film from the stone once and for all.
My daughter was eating a kiwi at our new marble coffee table. Kiwi juice left spots and a ring from the bowl. You only notice it when the light is reflecting off it and it’s really rough in those spots. As if the juice ate through the polish. We just bought a sealant but noticed these marks before we got to use it. Can this be removed? If so, what’s the best method?
yes you can use baking soda and water and a little bit of ditergent
The acid from the kiwi etched the marble.
You can’t remove etching.
You can have the whole top refinished/buffed out.
Or wait and over time, there’ll be more etchings, and then it all patina to a nice antique look.
Very interested in the comments about stain removal on marble/granite BUT does anyone have any ideas on how to remove urine/spraying of cats on brick which is also very porous. Have it in the family room and it has stained the brick.
Brick guys use muriatic acid to clean bricks.it is neutralized with water.
Try Nature’s Miracle. Pots lots on and blot. I use it on stone.
new to granite just installed, sprayed granite cleaner then sealer now i have water looking spots
feels kinda ruff. can that be fixed
Use a solution of white vinegar about 50/50 with water as you need an acid to remove urine.
my daughter spilled homemade lemonade on my marble floor, and it took off the shine. My cleaning lady did something that removed the shine from my marble counter in the laundry room, what do I do to bring back the shine?
You will have to slightly buff and reseal. I’m curious though what she used to clean the strain with
You can’t do anything. Restoration every 3 month only, plus to wash murble with special murble liquid daily, good hoovering required to do so , plus good mop spanga with plenty water and dry off immediately. Murble only for people who can afford only, specially white murble floor
I have marble on my vanity in the bathroom. I have tried marble cleaner and paste to restore the shine. Nothing helps. My area has very hard water. Is there anything I can used to get the sheen back?
you can’t do anything, only polishing can fix those stains, and one should be very carefull when using items containing acidity.
Cry! Cry! I have a white marble cat statue on a black marble base. My cats apparently interpreted it as competition and urinated on the black base. Now white stains on black base; will not wash off. Which formula is best to use to handle the stains? Thanks, thanks.
We have marble walls around out bath tubs. We have had sliding glass doors on them but wanted to take them down and just use shower rods. Where the metal was placed against the marble,and attached with scres. This side panel has left and not sure what to use to remove this stain. It was not glued into place so maybe some of the gold from the metal was absorbed by the marble. Can you help?
we have white marble floor and spilled carpet cleaner on removing shine in small spot what can we do
help…red wine spatters on lovely marble fireplace…(not mine)… any quick solutions welcome!
I baked muffins, and left them on our marble pub table to cool for a few hours, and they left grease stains on the table. (Not sure why, I’ve made the same muffins before and left them on the table, no problem at all.) Any tips to get the stains out?? Regular soap and scrubbing isn’t doing anything…
My wife left banana’s on the granite counter top,tried my cleaner didn’t work (left a stain) what to do??????
Did you ever find out out to remove the banana stain. I just did the same thing and it had been there for around four days i am sick about it. 3000 top had it two weeks now.
A banana left a stain on my super white quartzite counter. I scrubbed it with “cerama bryte cooktop cleaner” that came with my stove and the mark thankfully came off.
Hi,
Last night I got a ring of bleach and a few other noticeable bleach stains on my absolute black granite countertop. It already discolored the counter leaving a light grey color. Is there anyway I can restore the color without getting the who thing replaced?
Thanks
I have bleach ring on my black granite too! Help
This may help. I also had a bleach stain on my black granite countertop. The area was a dull black as opposed to the rest of the countertop. I, too, thought I would have to have them replaced. This is what I did. Each night I sprayed a good quality granite cleaner (I used Weiman) on the area and left it as is overnight. In the morning I polished the area with a clean dishtowel. It took a lot of elbow grease but I was determined. I repeated this several nights and eventually the area (although not perfect) looks darn good. I certainly will not have to replace the countertop.
I CLEANED MY ELECTRIC TEAPOT WITH A SOLUTION OH LEMON JUICE AND WATER TO GET RID OF THE CALCIUM BUILD-UP. UNFORTUNATELY WHEN THE TEAPOT OVER BOILED, THE SOLUTION MADE A WHITE MARK ON MY GRANITE COUNTER. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
If you wont to clean your calcium from your kettle all you have to do is cover the bottom inside with neat vinegar and leave over night. Rinse well and that’s it .
Sugar soap for red wine on stone- 100%
Spray on to stain, leave for 3 minutes and wipe!!
what is sugar soap
I know we are talking about stains but I have cultured marble in my shower and very hard water in this area. All the remedies you are referring to are the same ones I have seen before. However, what can I use on cultured marble to remove hard water? Someone please help. Was new house 12yrs ago, so we are NOT dealing with what to do BEFORE there is any build-up. HELP!!!!!
Thanks
I have a soaked in stain of super glue on my granite counter top. How do get it out? The glue isn’t standing up for me to use a razor blade on it. It’s stained in the granite now. THANKS AND help !!
I use vinegar based household cleaners and straight white vinegar to clean ‘furred up’ kettles and coffee makers – a vinegar based household cleaning spray has done wonders for my outdoor marble table too
One of the reasons I chose this apartment is the beautiful light gray granite countertops. Saturday night a stopper on a red wine bottle faiedl. When I woke up Sunday morning there was red wine all over my light gray granite countertop, leaving huge stains! After freaking out a little bit I checked the web for a possible solution. I used a paste made of baking soda and water, spread it over the huge area that was stained, and covered with plastic wrap. I left it on for about 16 hours. When I cleaned up the dry baking soda, most of the stain was gone!!!. Relief! Maybe I won’t lose my deposit on this apartment! Then this morning when replacing the wine rack, the other bottle of red wine fell and broke. But it fell on my laminate flooring. Cleaning it up immediately left no stains, thank goodness! I’m staying away from bottles with red fluid in them for the rest of the week!
Maybe switch to white wine.
I have stone tiles in my kitchen which I put a put a matte sealer & finish on it. Now it is starting to wear off, how can I remove the rest of the finish?
Thank you
I have bought a marble occasional table and it has candle wax stains on it
How can I remove them please
Our lavatory inside our restroom is made from marble. And we position our soap dispenser above the said fixture. The problem was all drippings of soap at the dispenser affects the marble, and resulted to stain. What is the best agent to remove the said stain? Thanks
I recently used brick acid on a granite surface to clean sand and cement off it but the brush I used has left a green line, how do I remove this mark?
I have a black granite counter top that is approx. five years old. The entire counter has a dull film over the surface, no shine whatsoever. How is the best way to restore the shine?
I have an antique white marble top table that has brownish orange stains that i think are from my grandfather’s cigarettes. How can i remove the stains?
After changing the faucets on our sink, we noticed a black ring that came from a rubber O ring on the original faucet. We can’t seem to remove the stain. We would appreciate any help anyone can give us.
I have candle wax marks on my granite fireplace how can I remove.
I left a stainless steel ice bucket on my gray granite countertop and it left a circular stain. What mixture should I use to get rid of it? It’s in a very visible area.
Hot water stained my granite countertop!! I have tried paste of water and baking soda and then flour, dish soap and water. Neither worked. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
granite sink. placed a hot pot in it and burnt the granite. any way to help remove the burnt spot… desperate.
The GraniteGuy above needs to come view the 3 inch square stain from a leak in a balsamic vinegar cruet. I filled the cruet (a gift) five days ago and only just found the very sizable leak. I will try some of the remedies above, but puh-leese don’t make blanket statements like that. I love my granite counter-top. It is very stain resistant. But it isn’t a miracle surface either.
I have an antique marble table,soda was spilled on it and left for days, it feels like it ate through it, any was to fix this?
My husband was soaking a glass measuring cup with vinegar/water and left it on my granite countertop. I now have a dark ring where the glass cup was. Any suggestions?
We have a green granite top in our toilet.Our help tried cleaning the top with Harpic and that had left very bad white stains.what can be done
I have a red wine stain on my ceramic floor tile how can it get rid of it
I have granite counter tops and I have not sealed yet. They are new and we have been using since February. I just noticed these rough brown scratchy spots that look like the surface has been damaged. I want to know what caused it and how I fix it. It is in an area we use alot for cooking and prepping food. Thank you
I had a painter remove my wallpaper but left a mark om my granite fireplace hearth what can I do to remove the mark I believe is Dif wallpaper remover?
I put jars of salted preserved lemons on my marble fire surround in the kitchen and was horrified to find white rings under them following leakage. Any ideas would be very welcome
Hi I have white marble counter in my bathroom. Its stained around the sink!! Help me!! I’ve tried everything I can think of to clean it!! I’m thinking it’s c from water being left there after using the sink! It’s getting bigger!! Do you have a miracle solution??!?!!!
I had a pineapple on my granite countertop and it stained. What should I use?
Hi, We have granite counter tops in bathrooms. We were told it is sealed when we purchased it. It is only 5 months old and we have seen stains mainly around the sink where water sprays and under the soap bottle, probably stain from water and oil in the soap. How do I get rid of those stains. Any advice?
we were away and had left bananas on the counter top. When we returned they had gone bad and liquefied? Will this stain the quartz?
Does anyone know of a granite sealer that is non toxic? It is time to seal my granite and want to use something non toxic. If anyone has a solution please let me know.
Thanks!
my soap dispenser on my granite countertop leaked unbeknown to me until a day later and i can’t get the soap out. I tried peroxide and baking soda paste but the soap is still there. It’s better, but you can still see the soap under the surface. I am devastated and was wondering if a professional refinishing could fix this. I removed the soap dispenser and have tried every concoction..It has got a little better but want it all gone..
Immediately wiping off the stains is one of the best solution as it takes few minutes to get deeper. Also solvents like hydrogen peroxide, pure acetone, dilute bleach are best for cleaning. Often cleaning of stones keep them shining and clean. One advice is never mix ammonia with bleach as it acts as toxic for natural stones. Use soft cotton cloth for wiping. Visit stonetopgranite.com for care and maintenance of natural stones.
I have outdoor patio and stairwell made of dark granite imported from China . After installing the steps about three months ago they have a lot of calcium water stains and also cement stains . Tried using solvent brick cleaner but didn’t have much effect . Does anyone know the best way to remove these kind of stains ?
Mixing base (ammonia) or acid (vinegar) with bleach is extremely toxic to you, too. NEVER do this. It generates chlorine gas, which can kill you by causing chemical pneumonia.
My child threw up all over my marble bathroom floor. I’ve washed it several times and the stain is still there. It’s clean but I can see the stain in the sunlight. How do I remove the stain?
I have a pinkish-red stain from a sliced strawberry that was left on the granite countertop too long. Any suggestions on what might get this stain out? Thanks.
I bought two black marble sinks for my en suite. With the benefit of hindsight I realise they were not sealed & now have nasty scum like marks. Can you advise how I can get rid of this, then I can obviously get them properly sealed
I have large gray stains that were caused by a baking soda/water poultice. They were spread out from the very spots where I put the poultice. (Maybe I did it wrong.) How do I fix these?
Did you ever find out how to remove those gray stains? I have exactly the same issue because of the baking soda poultice. Help!
My child spill orange juice in our marble floor it stains its very visible please help
I have granite countertops that are about 6 years old. it is a grey.. ( I can tell you that because when I move things on counter top to clean you can see it is a lot darker. The counter is almost black I did use the sealing solution, I was given the time of installation
twice a year as instructed… is there anything I can do to bring it back to life????
I have a big problem about our marble floor! Hope can send a picture here! Have a big spot stain ,i desperately wonder how to remove it . I realized that night i saw a foamy thing turned into powdery in the floor so i wiped it out then the next day it turned out to be big stain spot like the shiny thing is gone and when I touched it , it’s kinda rough already.
Thanks !
My husband used The Works on our 3 yr old bathroom granite countertop. He said it had a glass ring stain. It removed the polished surface. Any suggestions as to how to bring back the shine?
Thanks!
I accidentally spilled eosion which is like food coloring but stays on your counter in my bathroom, Isn’t coming off and mom is mad. How do I take it off
My wife put the cooker grills out ant put them in a solution inside a bag,when she lifted up the bag there was a white stain on our black/speckled worktop. The bag had not leaked but there is a stain , any ideas or solutions to use on it.ý
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Had a party on Sat night and one guest brought chili. I have new fantasy brown countertops, so i checked, and cleaned the area several times throughout the event. I missed a couple spots and it left an ugly pale orange stain. I found this site almost immediately and so applied the hyrdogen perozide
Wow! This baking soda tip works great on Lego! My younger son was devastated after getting Lilly pollen on his new spaceship Lego set, thanks to this forum for saveing my life lol xoxo 😉
i have growing brown stain on sealed granite with no known cause. not oil; heat nor water.
stone co applied ten applications of paste sealed with seran and left over days. slightly improved but won’t go away and seems to be spreading. trying bleach which might be helping. any ideas will be welcomed. please!!!
Like yellow stain which soaked inside the marble top for wash basin. Please give me suggestion which cleaner to be used to remove the stain
I made a paste of baking soda a water to lift a stain from my granite. Now I have a bigger stain. Does the granite just need more time to dry? It has been 4 hours and I can’t see a difference.
Bought a house with granite countertops in the kitchen. There is a big bleach stain on it. I’m not sure how to fix without further damaging.