Stains are often confused with etching, and vice-versa. The general rule of thumb is that stains appear darker and are not physical damage, whereas etching appears lighter and is in fact physical damage. The process for pulling stains out of stone is called "poulticing". 

 

There are many sources of staining but most are broken down into categories:

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Organic and Inorganic

some sodas, coffee, tea, mustard, dyes, etc

Oil and Grease

vegetable oil, butter, margarine, fats, etc

Biological

mold, mildew, etc 

Metal

rust, copper, brass, etc

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While these types of stains are different and require different "recipes", all of the ingredients, including the necessary solvent or other cleaning agent and any of the few types of absorbents used in poulticing, are common and can be found everywhere. 

 

Stain removal itself is a relatively simple process that just takes a bit of time and patience. In fact, most of the costs associated with our stain removal services are travel time. As such, we not only offer stain removal services but since it is relatively simple to do, Kauai Scratch removal is also happy to advise anyone who is interested in trying stain removal themselves to save the costs while we walk them through the process, step by step. Please don't hesitate to ask. We're happy to share!