"ivory brown" granite--water discoloration

[emmjay35]

We just had new granite countertops installed--"ivory brown", which is a lightish slab with gray and burgundy running through it.  If water spills on it at all it leaves a dark spot where the water was, which has been eventually evaporating.  However, we just installed our faucet and had a leak with a lot of water, and 24 hours later the area around the faucet is still discolored.  Argghh!  How can I prevent this (they said they sealed it when they installed)---just re-seal several times over??  Will I ever be able to use my kitchen without feeling totally paranoid about staining the countertop?  And finally, someone on another forum said that this was not actually granite; has anyone dealt with anything like this?

Thanks in advance!!

[Mark D.]

After it is fully dried out and the stain has evaporated, seal it with Hydrex sealer from Tenax.

This impregnating sealer will dry invisible and after you apply two coats it will protect your stone from acids or water penetrating through and enhancing the color, plus it will make it stainproof. It is like Skotch Gard for stone.

You can find Hydrex on our site at www.defusco.com under glues.

If the stone was sealed they did not use an impregnating sealer of the water would not penetrate it and enhance the color.

Mark

[jkl]

We had same problem with the granite countertop in our kitchen.   How can we make the discolored surface back to normal appearance since the affected area seems never gonna be dried out. (It's been several days already).

[Mark D.]

Again you can clean off your oil deposits and sealers with an alkaline solution. Caustic soda works great for this (or Drano, but it is much more expensive) and you can get it very inexpensively from a pool supply store. Keep the stone moist with this allowing it to penetrate the stone. You might try covering it with paper towels after the application to keep the solution on the stone. This solution will dissolve waxes, oils, even sealers!

After 30 - 60 minutes it should have lifted the stain. Clean and allow to dry before sealing with an impregnating sealer
http://www.defusco.com/glues-epoxy-polyester-etc-hydrex-sealer-c-82_502.html

Mark

[jkl]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply.  We believe the discoloraion is caused by water splashing onto the granite countertop surfaces while the faucet is turning on.  Does caustic soda also work for water stain too? Or the stain will eventually dried out, if so, it usually takes how long?

jkl

[Mark D.]

How long does it take for water to dry out of stone? That depends on how much water & the humidity.
If it is just water, let it dry overnight and there should be no stains. When the stone is dried out then seal it, but use the Hydrex as the ager will give the stone that wet look.

Mark