undiluted star san and quartz benchtop (caesarstone) problem

[fletcher]

hey guys,

so i've just moved and had an undilted bottle of starsan leak onto my kitchen bench which is this kind of bench top - http://www.caesarstone.com.au/

there is a stain there now and when rubbing my hand over the stain it appears course as though it has eaten through a thin layer of the stuff.

anyone have experience with removing it with something? or will i have to resort to sanding/buffing it? the stain is white and is about a 10x10cm spill.

any help would be great!

 

[Black Devil Dog]

Has it eaten into it or left a thin layer of residue on top of it?

The first thing I would do is get hold of some Gumption and use that.

If it has eaten into it, I would contact the manufacturer direct to see what can be done.

I'd be pretty reluctant to go buffing it myself, just in case I made it worse.

 

[GalBrew]

It will have eaten into it unfortunately. I've had neat starsan leak into a spare 20L SS pot and it ate away a thin layer. Remember it's phosphoric acid based, so I can only assume the concentration of acid in undiluted starsan is quite high.

 

[woodwormm]

+1 for gumption... essentially treats the benchtop like stainless, ie remove sacrificial layers to reveal fresh material underneath,..

 

[fletcher]

thanks guys. yeah there is residue there but it's quite coarse and can't be scrubbed off with any normal kitchen scrubber etc. i'll give some gumption a go. thanks guys.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

Gumption is abrasive, so be sure to do a test patch in an area that won't be noticed, also, go easy with it and don't scrub too hard in the one spot.

 

[seamad]

Sounds etched. Caesar stone is supposedly resistant to phosphoric acid though. I'd check with some stone people before ******* things up more.

 

[fletcher]

yeah i'll give them a call and ask their thoughts. just thought i'd check. i'm at work so haven't touched it with anything yet. appreciate your help guys...the wife isn't happy >.<

 

[Cube]

Give the Starsan guys an email. They should respond with some type of remedy or at least tell you that you rooted your bench and scrubbing something that will not come out will make it worse.

 

[whatwhat]

Just a thought, I work with stone fairly regularly. If you don't get an answer from the maufacturer on how to remove the Starsan from the composite stone. An option would be to treat the entire surface with the same agent, Starsan. At least you will have a bench top that is a uniform colour. Just a thought.

I am aware of the cost of stone. Good luck

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Dont worry about it the wife will never know.

 

[fletcher]

oh but she does...she was the one who found it. it was star san, in a sealed bottle, in a little sandwich bag too to be doubly sure.

sure enough, it was plonked down on the kitchen bench and the bottle had unscrewed, and it had filled the little sandwich bag and slowly leaked through it, through the bag and onto the desktop. i'd have been happier if it was on the carpet; anything but the bloody stone benchtop.

they have a cleaning product that's less abrasive than gumption which i'm gonna try. they said it might lose it's shine but should remove the stain which is all i care about.

thanks for the help lads.

 

[WarmBeer]

Before I moved into my current brew-shed, I used to spray my old "bottling area", aka the family kitchen, down with correctly diluted (i.e. 1.5:1000) starsan prior to commencing bottling.

After a couple of batches, I noticed the new caesarstone bench-top in that area was beginning to look pitted and rough. Not obviously so, but if you ran your hand across it, you could tell a difference.

I stopped using starsan on my benchtops after that. Even correctly diluted, it's probably not a good combination with whatever binds the ceasarstone together.

Fortunately, SWMBO never put 2 and 2 together, then we moved house, so I still have both my stones...

 

[fletcher]

sorry to dredge this one up again, but correct me if i'm wrong. would using diluted iodophor as a cleaner/sanitiser be a better option on this counter? then i'd not have to worry if some of it sprayed on the quartz benchtop?

i understand iodophor stains also, but has to be left in something (fermenter, bottles etc) for a while before it does this?

at the moment i've just been super super careful on the damn counter top, using towels to cover everything :unsure:

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Two things you can do, Office Works sell those large clear plastic desk covers, or if you are close to anyone making those plastic cafe blinds I am sure they would give you a roll with a remnant on it, they are usually quite large.

 

[real_beer]

fletcher,

Don't overlook the possibility your household insurance company might be a solution. Don't ******** or make up a convoluted story just tell them exactly what you said here,,,,,,,,,,,, "It was star san, in a sealed bottle, in a little sandwich bag too to be doubly sure. Sure enough, it was plonked down on the kitchen bench and the bottle had unscrewed, and it had filled the little sandwich bag and slowly leaked through it, through the bag and onto the desktop."

Accidents like this happen all the time so at least give them a call. I wouldn't do anything about trying to fix it yourself until you've spoken to them though.

good luck