Is there something that needs to be done to prevent moisture ejected from the dishwasher air gap every time the dishwasher is run from damaging the counters? I noticed that there is a darkend area around the soap dispenser cut out that appears as if moisture is soaking into the granite even though the soap dispender is not leaking. What is causing this and can this be prevented and remedied?
Seal the stone with a penetrating sealer. It would have been done when installed and should be done yearly anyway. Try to use the same sealer every time, they tend to seal out the competition.
I've not used it on a counter yet but I have had to apply up to 6 coats on some kinds of natural stone tile to achieve water proofing. Continue to apply coats to the whole counter until it won't absorb any more and water beads on the stone. The beading will diminish in a couple of weeks but it will retain the waterproofing for years.
Even a well sealed stone may still appear darker when wet. It may be just surface texture or it may be impossible to exclude 100% of all water without using a surface coating sealer which looks crappy on countertops.
The holes and cutouts may not have been sealed except at the surface. Moisture can seep in from the inside of the hole and appear at the surface. Try removing the soap dispenser and sealing inside the hole before reassembling. Or seal with silicone from underneith. If it is not actively leaking, the moisture may just be steam condensing on the cold stone.
You can see the darked moisture around the dispenser in the photo below:
Well, if it doesn't lighten up in a day of being dry, it probably is not water. I would have to think it is soap (or soap and water) due to the proximity to the dispenser. Try flushing with lots of water and soak with a wet rag. A small steam cleaner if you have one might bring it up.
If it is natural granite, you can also try some solvents. start with isopropyl alcohol then denatured alcohol then its up to you. A little research on removing soap might help. Alcohol and mild heat will also definitely speed up water removal also but your stain is too persistent and dark to be water. Don't use any solvent that doesn't evaporate quickly. Acetone is also excellent for desiccating material and I think the stone can hold up to it, this may be the best bet.
You definitely don't want Acetone on an engineered quartz counter but then this stain would not have occurred on that material. Also avoid any seams with the solvent.
There is no soap leaking on the counter or underneath, so if was soap, the granite would have to be sucking the soap out of the dispenser and absorbing it and that makes no sense.
pipedown wrote:
Someone said this could be caused if the plumber used an oil based plumbers putty to install the dispenser. How can I determine this? What are they supposed to use to install the dispenser and is there any way to clean this up if that's the cause? I will need to go after the plumber for this if that is the cause and I'm not sure if oil-based putty is something that can be cleaned up or if the slab needs to be replaced..
FL wrote:
I wouldn't expect to need much soap but you may be correct about the plumbers putty. When you removed the dispenser, did you see any putty at all?
In any case, solvents as I suggested would still be the place to start regardless of the cause. Add blotting with a clean rag after soaking with solvent to the procedure. It may take a long time but you should have an effect.
When you replace the dispenser, use only 100% silicone caulk and you should be fine.
Unless the plumber was a sub for the countertop installer, they're not going to replace the slab for this. The plumbers liability is limited to the work he did and this usually does not extend to incedental damage to other stuff (my experience with plumbers left me with a 12' hole in my yard I had to fill). You may be able to get that money back though.
Personally, I would try and clean it a lot more before getting excited.
If you get to the point where it cannot be removed and noone will replace it consider this. Get a piece of the matching counter top stone or similar natural stone tile and have them cut a doughnut shaped ring big enough to cover the stain. Now polish the edges and silicone it to the counter. Shouldn't look bad if polished and shaped well.
I will certainly try to remove the stains with something or have the plumbing company try, but I would consider incidental damage something more like a mover scuffing your walls while moving large pieces of furniture through a narrow hallway. You won't be happy about it, but it isn't that unexpected as something that may happen when moving furniture. If they actually do something completely wrong and against the standard way things are supposed to be done, that seems more like negligence. They should have more responsibility for the damage that was soley caused by work that was done incorrectly.
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