Got Major Sink Stains? Here’s What to Try Before Replacing It

Got Major Sink Stains? Here’s What to Try Before Replacing It

From the moment we set foot in the 1917 colonial home in Florence, Alabama, we knew it was the perfect home for us. Except I had a problem with one thing: the kitchen sink. It’s a minor detail, for sure — but as someone who’s constantly in the kitchen (and the chief dish washer, I might add), having a sink that was exceptionally functional and also pretty was important to me.

The sink itself was filthy, scratched and covered in dark stains that had settled into the subtle “X” crease of our undermount. How on earth could the previous owners have lived with this? I wondered. Though we weren’t doing any big renovations prior to moving in last September, the one thing on my list was a new sink.

We started looking around for sinks and got totally overwhelmed. Simply searching “undermount kitchen sinks” on Lowes.com yields more than 4,000 results. Instead of sifting through way too many options without much clue as to what we needed, I thought I’d at least *try* to clean the current sink to see if it was salvageable. Truth be told, I didn’t think it was — but if I put a little effort into it, I could at least say I’d attempted to save it.

First, I started with baking soda and water, then moved to baking soda and vinegar, using a rough scrubbing pad that wouldn’t scratch. I wanted to start gentle, and without chemicals, to avoid damaging the material, which I discovered after looking under the sink was something called Silgranit — a patented granite composite made by Blanco. I checked out Blanco’s website and learned that they recommend baking soda and water to remove scuff marks, but the gunk in our sink wasn’t going anywhere with this combo.
Next, I broke out a Magic Eraser, and also recommended by Blanco. It broke down the eraser but not the stains. A bottle of granite and stone cleaner I’d picked up in a massive Target cleaning product haul was ineffective, too.

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