How do I clean a long standing soap stain on my granite counter top?

Granite is pourous. That said, you need to soak the area clean. Never use vinegar on granite! You need to buy a granite cleaner from the hardware store or Amazon.Stone Care International Stone Stain Remover Poultice Powder - Safely Removes Deep Food, Ink, Mildew and Oil Stains From Stone Surfaces - 12oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQH5RHP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_P2XuCbYEKMDBH . Once it is clean and dry, use: Weiman 109 Cleaner and Polish-24 Fluid Ounces-Non Toxic Enhances Natural Color in Granite, Quartz, Stone, and Marble, 1 Pack, Green https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H341S5C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_64XuCb2VBDMTT

Here is an article about removing stains from granite.

http://tipnut.com/marble-granite-stains/

Marble, granite, and stone do NOT like having acidic (ie: citrus-based) cleaners used on them. Citrus or vinegar will actually cause “etching” on granite countertops. Not a good thing. Granite countertops also don’t like it when you use something like Windex on them because it strips the “seal” off of the stone.

If you are trying to remove an old stain, create a dense paste of more baking soda and less water. Then place the paste over the stain, allowing it to function for a few minutes. After that wipe off the baking soda paste. If it is needed you can repeat the procedure until the stain vanishes.

Apparently there are some very nice countertop/granite cleaners out there that do a great job…but $7.00 for a 12-ounce bottle? YOU can do better than that! :-)

After researching several homemade options out there…I discovered they all had the same basic ingredients…just in varying amounts. Some had a LOT of alcohol in them…some very little. I think the following “recipe” has a good balance of the ingredients, based on the information I read.

Homemade Granite Cleaner, 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol (or cheap vodka), 3 drops of Dawn or other dish soap (Castile soap would also be a good alternative if you prefer), Water, 5-10 drops essential oil (optional – to help mask the alcohol smell).

Put the rubbing alcohol or vodka into a 16 oz spray bottle. Add the dish soap, essential oil and fill up the rest of the bottle with water.

Now give it a few shakes….THEN give it a try! It should give your countertops a nice, clean shine. Works on appliances too! All at a FRACTION of the price of the store-bought stuff.

Your best bet is to go to a flooring & countertop supplier/installer store. They have workers who know exactly what to use to do this. I’m a housecleaner & 1 client did this to remove spots on their counters. 1 trick was toothpaste, water & 1500 grit sandpaper. I can’t remember which countertop you could do this on. They had several types of stone in their house. Hope this helps.