Removing Hard Water Stains from Granite

When I tidied up and decorated my kitchen sink area, I really noticed the hard water stains around my faucets. My house cleaning style is probably best described as clean enough. Cleaning doesn’t “spark joy” for me. 🤣 So while my kitchen sink and counters are wiped down and sanitized daily, some tasks don’t get my attention very often.

Exhibit A:

I’m a little embarrassed by how much I let it build up. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I removed the hard water stains in my kitchen!

The best solution for hard water stains and mineral deposits is to consistently dry any areas that become wet. But I have three kids and a husband who aren’t especially diligent with those types of requests.🙄  And if I’m being totally honest, I’m just as much of a culprit! Who has time to wipe down the kitchen faucets every. single. time. a little water splashes around them?!

Not me.

You need to be careful with granite because most cleaners made for hard water stains are too harsh and can damage natural stone. Which is why I rely on my hard water stain secret weapon: a pumice stone. Caution: Be sure to check with your granite installer or test using the pumice stone in an inconspicuous area to be sure it doesn’t scratch your stone! 

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Pumice stones are also great to get rid of those rings in your toilet. But make sure you have a separate stone for bathroom use… 😉 That’s why I buy them in a multi-pack.

After you’ve confirmed it’s safe to use a pumice stone on your granite, just follow these simple steps.

Steps to Remove Hard Water Stains and Deposits

1. Either stop up your sink so that you can have a basin of water or get a small bucket of water.
2. Turn off the water that runs to your sink. There should be a shut-off valve under your kitchen sink. In my kitchen, I have to turn off both the hot and the cold water lines. Then turn on your faucets to let any water still in the line to drain.
3. Next loosen the fittings under your sink so that you can lift the sprayer, taps, and faucet away from the granite.
4. You may need to actually remove the handles before you can lift the fittings away from the counter. My handles have a little screw that needs to be loosened (see that hole?).
   I needed to use this little allen wrench to loosen the screw
   
   
5. Then I needed to loosen that bolt plus one under the sink to get the cap to lift away from the counter.
   
6. Repeat the steps for your other handle and the faucet so that they all lift up from the counter surface. The rings for my faucets just barely lifted up but it was enough for me to get the area cleaned with the pumice stone.
7. Then, using a wet pumice stone, just go to town scrubbing the hard water stains away! The pumice stone will break down as you use it because it is much softer than the granite. I also cleaned the corner seam along the back of the sink area. That powder you see is the pumice stone remnants. It is pretty satisfying to do in a weird sort of way…
   
8. Use a sponge or washcloth to wipe away the dust to see how you’re doing and if any hard water stains need a little extra work.
   
   
9. Once you’re satisfied that the hard water stains are gone, reattach everything you loosened up and turn the water back on to your sink lines.
   

Before and After Pics!

To give you an idea of how much a pumice stone breaks down, check out what happened to mine:

That little nub that’s left is maybe an inch long and it started out almost 4-inches long!

And here’s a picture for comparison. The process took about an hour from start to finish because of the time to loosen up the fittings. Bye bye, hard water stains!

What do you think? Let me know if you give this tip a try!

Other Posts About Cleaning:

• 10 Simple Ways To Keep Your House Tidy
• 6 Simple Ideas to Organize Your Pantry with Wire Shelving

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