henna on countertop - urgent

[Aeris]

Help please!

I am moving out of my current apartment in two days and I have a ton of henna stains on the countertop in my bathroom. How in the world can I get it out? I can't afford to replace it. I have tried leaving bleach on it overnight, and it did nothing.

[rach]

cream cleaner ???

Gets the most stubborn pen marks off wooden tables.
But henna , eek, i do wish you luck on this :(

[sibiryachka]

Hydrogen peroxide, maybe?

[marikamt]

Ackk! I don't know.... I have been able to get out fresh stains, but not set ones... I agree w/ trying hydrogen peroxide, it certainly won't hurt....
good luck!

[Aeris]

I read somewhere that creme peroxide worked, and so I just bought some - thanks for the replies everyone! I'll let you all know how it goes - the stains have been there for months..I'm so lazy.. :(

[marisa]

Try soft scrub w/bleach. Let it sit for a bit, before wiping it off.
I've used that for hair dye in the past with success.

[marisa]

Ooops! We must have been posting at the same time!
Good luck!!

[dropinthebucket]

You could also try a bit of turpentine - not sure if it will work, like it does for paint, but maybe worth a try. Good luck. I have indigo stains on mine, and bleach worked on those.

[Beesweet]

Henna for hair forum might have this topic already. I think I remember seeing it but am in a rush and don't have time to look......

[Anje]

I know I've gotten tumeric stains off the counter with baking soda and a few drops of water to make a paste. Scrubs right off. I'll bet henna will come off with that just as nicely.

[Nightshade]

Magic Eraser?

Got henna stains off the white countertop in the apartment we moved out of :)

[redtea]

I was just going to suggest the Magic Eraser as well. I love those things!

What's the counter top made out of out of curiosity? I'm guessing it's laminate?

[TiaKitty]

There is a cleaner that is really, really strong. It's called Awesome. I can get it at the Family Dollar and Dollar General and even our everything's a dollar store. It's very, very strong, and the bottle even says to dilute it. It might work.

Just be very careful, it burned the skin on the inside of my nose when I accidentally breathed some in.

Magic Erasers are pretty great.

[girloctopus]

I third? Fourth? the recommendation of Magic Erasers. They truly are MAGIC!:magic: I hope something works out!

[masa_inn]

OxiClean. (adding more characters, message too short :)

[manderly]

Whoa whoa whoa. Hold your horses there.

If this is a bathroom counter, I'm going to make a guess that it's a cultured marble type sink which is most common in bathrooms.

DO NOT use anything more abrasive on it that the Magic Eraser, and if you want to try the baking soda paste on it please do a small test spot in an inconspicuous place first.

If you go scrubbing into that counter you will rub off the shiny finish and make things even worse for you.

The magic eraser or the baking soda may actually work. I've had luck with both of them with some staining, but I never used them on set in henna stains.

You can also try a cleaner/polish specifically for cultured marble countertops. You can get it at Home Depot, it's called Gel Gloss and it comes in a bright pink can. Use it like a polish, buff on, let it haze, buff off. That will help restore some gloss if you do dull any areas.

There is a good chance that you aren't going to get this out though. Henna is a nasty critter to remove. You may end up losing part of your deposit because of this. Please, in the future, be proactive and take the effort to cover as much exposed surfaces and have a wet washcloth handy to clean up any spills. It is your duty as a renter to take reasonable care of the property, and you don't want to lose part or all of your security deposit if you can help it. :flower:

[moonlight]

And PLEASE be careful if you are going to use bunches of different cleansing agents....you never know how they will mix. Some can be pretty toxic! Be sure you get one completely washed off before you try another!