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What causes ring stains on a granite countertop?
What causes water rings on a granite countertop is water glasses or cold beverages that condensate. The condensation comes from the glass getting cold and the humidity in the air collecting on the outside of the glass.
The condensation droplets run down the edges of the glass and form a ring around the bottom of the glass.
There are other types of ring stains but they may be more considered hard water marks than condensation water rings. In the case of hard water stains, the minerals from the water dry on the countertop surface and absorb into the granite countertop.
Cause 1: Water marks
Water marks, hard water stains, and water rings are issues with granite counters. Each of these issues has to do with the absorption of minerals from water that condensates on the side of a glass or bottle and then runs down the edges of the glass and pools at the bottom of the glass forming a ring or watermark.
Cause 2: Hot items
Hot items can cause damage to granite. Granite is heat resistant but it is not recommended that you place pots or pans directly from the oven or stove onto the surface of your granite countertop.
Worktops generally have a sealer applied to keep them from staining and this sealer will be affected by the hot surface being placed directly on it.
How do I get rid of the ring stain on my granite countertop?
A safe method to get rid of ring stains on your granite countertop is to use baking soda and water paste. With a soft brush work the baking soda and water into the stained area and then rinse and wipe the area clean with a cloth.
If it is a more stubborn stain, you can use baking soda and a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution and create a paste to cover the stain. Let it sit for a day then rinse and wipe dry with a cloth.
In the case of lighter water stains, water and mild soap may be sufficient.
Remove burn ring stains
In the event that you have a burn ring mark the method to remove it is similar to the water stain.
First, you can try soap and water, if it doesn’t work then you move onto the next method.
For burn ring marks that don’t clean up with soap and water, you need to make a poultice mixture to apply to the burned area.
This creamy mixture is made of flour and water that is formed into a paste and applied to the burned area. Cover the area with plastic wrap and tape the edges of the plastic down with painters tape.
Let sit for 24 hours . Remove plastic, using a plastic scraper remove the dried paste and then with a sponge or a cloth wipe and rinse the area.
If that doesn’t work, you must polish down the burnt area to reveal new granite.
Remove hard water stain from granite
Cleaning your granite counter daily with soap and water is a gentle way to clean it. But overtime the hard water will leave a deposit, a film over the surface of your granite countertop.
There are several ways to remove hard water stains from your granite surface.
There are natural stone cleaners you can purchase to clean and maintain your granite counter. These cleansers are specifically made to care for the granite and the sealer on your granite counter.
You can make a paste with baking soda and water to remove hard water blotch. Apply the paste to the counter surface and gently, with a soft bristle brush scrub the surface of your countertop.
Rinse with water and wipe the surface clean with a cloth.
If you need a deeper clean and the baking soda and water method didn’t work, you can make a poultice using baking soda and water, this time you will leave it on the surface, cover the stained area with plastic and let it sit for 24 hours
Remove the plastic, and with a plastic scraper remove the poultice mixture, rinse and wipe clean with a cloth.
If that doesn’t work then you may need to use a razor blade and physically scrape the hard water marks from your countertop.
Once this is done, it’s a good idea to reseal your granite countertop to avoid any issue that can’t be remedied with these methods in the future.
