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How-To Video: Stone Stain Removal

Natural Stone Stains Can Be Removed

The key to successfully treating natural stone stains is cleaning up any spills and treating any resulting stains as soon as you can. The best way to remove a stain on stone or other porous hard surfaces is with a poultice. A poultice is simply a mixture of a chemical or cleaning agent to break down the stain and an absorbent material to draw the stain out of the pores of the stone. You can purchase convenient ready-made poultices or create your own.

Before you attempt to remove a stain, be aware that a stain is a discoloration, but not all discolorations are stains.

A true stain is always darker than the stained material. If it appears as a lighter color it is not a stain, but either a mark of corrosion (etching) made by an acid, or a caustic mark (bleaching) made by a strong base (alkali). In other words, a lighter color “stain” is always surface damage and has no relation whatsoever with the absorbency rate of the damaged material—stone or otherwise. There is not a single exception to this rule.

Stone Stain Removal: The Poulticing Method

As mentioned above, a poultice is the combination of a very absorbent medium (it must be more absorbent than the stone) mixed with a chemical, which is to be selected in accordance with the type of stain to be removed. The concept is to re-absorb the stain out of the stone. The chemical will attack the stain inside the stone, and the absorbent agent will pull them both out together. The absorbent agent can be the same all the time, regardless of the nature of the stain to be removed, but the chemical will be different—in accordance with the nature of the staining agent—since it will have to interact with it.

To find out what chemical to use on your stain, see our Stain App.

Stone Stain Removal How-To Video

This video, produced by SurpHaces, features Fred Hueston, Chief Technical Director of Stone & Tile PROS, at The Stone and Tile School demonstrating how to mix and apply a poultice for removing a stain from natural stone.


Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about removing a stain from your natural stone.

This is one of a series of articles written and published on behalf of SurpHaces PRO Partners.

How Improper Installation Complicates Carpet Cleaning

Our clients understand the importance of choosing a reputable professional carpet cleaning company, but in this article, we hope to drive the point home that it is just as important to choose a reputable professional carpet installer. Did you know that the quality of carpet installation can affect the quality of carpet cleaning? Since our highest concern is making sure our clients’ carpets are properly cleaned, we want to stress the importance of proper installation.

High Quality Carpet Installation

According to The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), a quality installation is critical to the performance of your carpet, and it is a job for the professionals. CRI recommends hiring an installation contractor who adheres to the CRI 104 (Commercial) and CRI 105 (Residential) Carpet Installation Standard for all aspects of the installation.

High quality carpet installation requires the proper tools and materials, such as trowels, adhesives, rollers, stretchers, tack strips, and the like. Skilled technicians should know how to select and work with the tools and materials, and they should also have the knowledge and experience to deal with special considerations like temperature and humidity that can affect the quality of installation.

How Improper Carpet Installation Complicates Carpet Cleaning

Improper carpet installation can result in numerous problems. One of those problems is that it complicates the professional carpet cleaning process. For example, if carpet is not properly stretched or fails to adhere to tack strips, then when the carpet gets wet with humidity or professional cleaning, the fibers can swell, causing buckling. Buckling in carpet can cause uneven cleaning. This problem is temporary, because the buckled sections flatten and shrink as they dry, but buckling can potentially pull carpet away from walls over the course of time. Dislodged carpeting can completely disrupt the professional cleaning process.

Thank you for choosing us and your professional carpet cleaning company. Please feel free to contact us for a referral to a reputable professional carpet installer. Since the quality of carpet installation can affect the quality of carpet cleaning, we urge our clients to be vigilant about proper installation when purchasing new carpet.

This is one of a series of articles written and published on behalf of SurpHaces PRO Partners.