Christine Maroulis: Hello! My name is Christine Maroulis with Merry Maids, and today I will be teaching you how to remove stains from granite countertops.

Most houses today have granite countertops, and many people believe that they are impervious to stains, but that's just not true. Granite is a rock and it is porous. I will be showing you how to remove stains from granite countertops.

First, determine the type of stain on the granite countertop. The two most common types of stains can be addressed using the poultice method.

A poultice method is when you lay your paper towels, first soaked in a chemical ingredient, place them on top of the stain, and then take them down.

An organic stain, like mustard, coffee, tea, soda, gravy, etcetera, can all be addressed through a poultice of peroxide. Be sure to use peroxide from the beauty supply store, not the peroxide you purchase at a drug store. That only contains about 3.

5%.

Oily stains from an ink pen or butter, peanut butter, cream, they can all be addressed through a poultice of acetone. But again, purchase the acetone from the beauty supply shop, not nail polish remover.

We are going to first pour our peroxide into the container. We are going to soak eight layers of paper towels. We are then going to cover the stain completely and work to make sure that we have smoothed out all the air bubbles.

Once that's in place, we are going to take the plastic wrap, cover the saturated paper towels, then take the masking tape, and tape down the sides. Let's make a poultice for our peanut butter stain. First, I am going wipe up any excess peanut butter. Now that the peanut butter is up, I am noticing that it did leave an oily residue on the granite. To address this, we are going to use another poultice method, similar to the peroxide, but using acetone. So again, I am going to use the acetone, pour it into my container. Make sure I have eight layers, paper towels. I am going to saturate them, working out all the air bubbles. Again, I am going to take the plastic wrap, cover the paper towels, and last, tape up each side. Remember to allow the plastic wrap to sit for 2 to 48 hours, depending on the depth of the stain. Also keep in mind that the poultice method should be used after you have tried other cleaning options and you have been unsuccessful trying to remove the stain.

I am going to go ahead and remove the tape and plastic wrap from the counter, being careful not to lift the paper towel. I am going to allow that to stay on the stain until it's dried completely.

Once the paper towels have completely dried, go ahead and begin to lift them off the stain. If you have any problems picking up the paper towel, just use a rubber scraper to kind of scrape along the edges. The stain has been lifted. You are just going to want to wipe down the surface using the granite cleaner. And there you are.

If by chance, after removing the paper towels, you were still able to notice a stain, go ahead and repeat the poultice method. Keep in mind that anything acidic can damage the granite countertop. Be careful when using vinegar or even pouring fruit juice on top of your counter.

Granite countertops should be sealed every year or so to help prevent stains. How do you know if your counters need to be sealed? Here is a trick. Just pour a little water, and if the water beads, you are okay. If it absorbs into the stone, you will want to have it sealed.

If you have dried watermark stains, your best bet is just to use a soft cloth and some granite polisher and buff them out.

To clean your granite countertops everyday, just use a little hot water. If you need something with a little more strength, use a granite cleaner. Never use anything abrasive on your granite countertops.

I hope the tips that I have shared with you today will help you to keep your granite countertops looking great.