Unexpected Water Spotting
I have read many of your questions/answers about granite being water stained because we just had granite put into our condo [Vyara Granite] in Hawaii. I brought home a sample of this granite before choosing it and put EVERYTHING we use on it lemon juice, soy sauce, wine, vinegar and oil. Nothing touched it. The slab that was installed in our kitchen discolors with water. The contractor says that the sample must have been “factory resin sealed” but he reordered the granite used in our kitchen. As this is also a rental unit, along with the humidity in Hawaii, I am absolutely sick with worry. The contractor claims the granite was sealed before installation, but he sealed it again afterwards. It was still water spotting so my husband and I sealed it again. Its still water spotting. Perhaps we did not let the sealer sink in all the way or something? Anyway, in your replies to others you mentioned 511 plus and SafeStone do you think either of these will do any good or are we stuck with granite that will never seal? HELP!!
Donna
Hello Donna,
The Vyara Granite is from India. I don’t see a major issue with this granite specifically causing the water spot problems you are describing. I think this is simply a bad combination of human errors.
Sometimes one thing we assume (like the quality of the sealer) can give us false direction to solving problems. Since your situation is so rare, I recommend starting over. First clean the countertop with Windex (this should only be done once). Then apply a good quality penetrating granite sealer. Either buy a couple 4 ounce bottles of Safestone International’s sealer from www.HomeGranite.com or use a name brand like Miracle 511 Impregnator. You want to let the liquid sealer soak into the granite for 25 minutes in humid weather. Do not let the sealer dry on the surface. Apply more sealer to keep it wet. Then, wipe up the wet liquid that did not soak in. After that, stay off the counters for about 4-6 hours. You should not have any problems with water spots. Follow the recommended maintenance guide on my website and you should be fine.
Best wishes,
Tom Cordova
October 9th, 2007 at 10:41 am
Hello- I also have some problems with sealing. I have a granite powder room counterop with procelain undermount sink that I purchased at Home Depot it is Pegasus “beige”. I thought I read that it was pre-sealed, but it shows every drop of water. I did seal it, but still no change. I especially noticed that around the faucet handles it still is a darker shade like it is wet, but we have not used the sink for over a week trying to dry thoroughly before resealing. Is it possible that it is stained? How long should we have to wait?I am afraid if I reseal with the dark areas they will be permanently there? Any advice (other than I should not have purchased my granite at Home Depot)? Thanks!!