Could it be the drain? Pull out the rubber gasket in the sink over the disposal. Wash in thoroughly and the area it fits into. Scrub out the disposal with some kind of cleaner such as Plink. Till you buy some of that (at BB&B or a hardware store) run a tray or two of ice cubes down the disposal to clean temporarily. Flush the drains too with lots of water.

Are you sure it is coming right from the granite? Could the wood cabinets be molding or wet? There may be a leak where it is suppose to be sealed around the sink. since this is not new construction and the smell is confined to only one area it is probably not the glue that you are sensitive to.

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that the PO hung a dishrag over the side. The dishrag may have had bleach or something in it that damaged the sealer on the granite and then bits of food and grease entered the granite and are decomposing and stinking.

You may want to ask the question over in the *Kitchen Forum* to see if odors like this coming from granite is a common problem with granite.

Exactly! My granite counter top smells just like an old wadded up dishrag that was left to dry! It's not just near the sink. It's the whole counter top. It was installed in August. Help!!

"I have started to notice a strange smell that smells like a soured dishrag that was left to dry all wadded up."

I just had a new quartz countertop and granite sink installed and have the very same problem! Installation is about 4 weeks old. Smell transfers to my hands also when I use the sink.

Did you ever cure this? Did it go away after awhile? Wonder if it's Dawn soap reacting with granite? I'm at a loss here. Horrible smell.

Hi breakfromreality,

Welcome to Garden Web!

Since this is a quite old thread, you might want to also ask at The Kitchen Forum.

It is a very busy forum, and hopefully someone will have a solution to the problem.

Sue

If there's any question about the smell possibly coming from the drain try this , recommended by my plumber: Turn on the hot water tap and let the water get as hot as possible, let it run down the drain. Then squirt a good amount of Dawn dishwashing liquid. Let it run two or three minutes, then shut it off. This will clean the drain and remove any built-up fats, without using lots of chemicals.

It's not the drain! I have the same issue. And you can forget ever using those dishrags again - no matter what you launder them with, they are permanently stinky ! Here's what I do. Don't use dishrags or sponges on your countertops. Use only wet papertowels or granite wipes. I don't know why this happens, and have not yet been able to find a reason.

If you do a google search of the words "granite smells," you will find multiple references to this problem. Unfortunately, no solutions.

Actually it is the rock i had the same problem I usually wipe my countertops with a wet rag and no cleaner but granit is porous even though it doesnt look like it. i just sprayed my counters with cleaner and it went away :)

It has been enlightening to read these comment!! I have had the same problem with my granite. I suspect it is because I just wipe it with a clean dish rag and don't disinfect very often. The granite counter smells sour even with a clean and new dishrag. I think I will disinfect and re-seal. I was unaware of this problem with granite countertops. I could smell a sour smell and when I smelled my dishrag it did not smell sour. Then I discovered it was the counter top!!

I have silestone, and after washing my counters I get this awful sour smell, from all my counters. My dishrag is clean..help

I know this is an old thread but it seems like people are still landing on it so I'll chime in. Most natural stone and nearly all manufactured counter tops use a resin (typically a polyester resin; think fiberglass resin). In granite, this provides a durable seal, and a shine that you cannot get by simply polishing. For manufactured tops, resin is the binding agent. Depending on the exact brand and composition of the resin, the smell could last days, weeks, months, or years. If you have a NATURAL stone counter top (granite), you can remove the resin coating with pure Acetone and 4/0 steel wool. HOWEVER, then your stone will be dull and unprotected so you must seal it immediately after (in which case you'll have to live with the smell of the sealer for a few hours, days, or weeks).

It is 100% the countertops! I have silestone/engineered quartz and I am 14 weeks pregnant. I thought it was just my hormones but, I only smell it when I clean my countertops each day. I've done everything to try and solve the problem with no avail. For me,it's only my very large island that is smelly, the tops around my range and sink don't give off the smell. Maybe it's absorbing food smells as it's where I do all of my food prep?

I find this thread bizarre! I've had granite countertops for about a decade and have never noticed any smell. Not that I don't believe all the posters, I just find it bizarre.

Visit a local autobody shop to smell the fumes of polyester resin fiberglass filler and if that is the same stink coming from the seam of a granite countertop you have your answer as to the source of the smell. Makes you question if the right ratio of hardener and thorough mixing of the filler was done by the granite installer.

Hi, we have had our
Silestone countertop for 4 years now, and suddenly, about 6 months ago we noticed
a very unpleasant smell. I’ve contacted the company where we bought the
kitchen, but they had never received complaints about smelling (stinking)
countertops before, so they didn’t have any solution.

I might have located
the source, the integrated sink has a mounted rubber lining on the outside, which
is attached with some sort of adhesive, so the smell can come from either the
rubber or the glue. I cannot figure out what the purpose of the rubber lining
is, but I’ll try to remove it. Hopefully this will solve the issue.

I’m very interested to
hear if there are other people who have had similar experiences and perhaps
found a solution.

17madsen01 - undermount sinks have a line of silicone sealant between your counter top to prevent water in your sink basin from dripping under your counter top - cutting into this is simply causing problems more severe than a smell.

All of you who have smelly granite countertops, you are not crazy! I just discovered that an uncut watermelon resting on one of my granite countertops had a crack in it & unbeknownst to me, leaked a foul smelling rancid liquid all over the counter for about a day. Even after cleaning it with bleach, the counter still smells. My husband says he can only smell the bleach on it but I say it still smells like the stinkin' watermelon goop. So I am going to try the baking soda/water sitting overnight suggestion. Ugh! I'll let you know how it turns out.

Granite is a natural porous rock that can, and does, absord liquids. USUALLY granite countertops are sealed with a polyester resin that lasts a couple of years before requiring another application. If you were hoping for an impermeable countertop, granite isnt it.

Sealer!

You are not crazy. I keep a super clean kitchen and this keeps happening to my granite countertops about every 2months. I finally did research and found if your granite was not sealed properly this can and will happen. When you smell it clean your granite with soap and water and dry completely. Good to go for another couple of months. I think the key is to always dry it good. This is really disappointing for me. Bought them from Home Depot

Hey Andrea,

Did the baking soda method work? Have the same problem on an island countertop... that may or may not have had various fruit juices or soapy mixtures from daughter soaking on it , hmm...

Yes, Stephen! It worked. It was an iterative process but over time, no more foul smell. And, I have to say, I kept trying various cleaning agents and it no longer smells. Just give it a little time and some repetition and you’ll be fine! Good luck!

I found this thread to find a solution to our granite counters smelling like mildew. I’m going to try baking soda or even oxyclean.

I have just started noticing a terrible odor on top of my granite countertops too. I keep thinking I have a dead mouse somewhere but it's definitely coming from the top of my countertop! Please explain the baking soda process and I will try that. Thanks!

I just made a slurry right on the area of the countertop that smelled of about 2 T. of Baking Soda and 1/4 c. Water. Let that mixture sit there on top for 1 - 12 hours or however long you’d like. Then wipe it off and rinse off residual. Let dry and see if the smell is still there. If stink isn’t gone, repeat slurry steps. Good luck!

I have lived in my house for over 10 years and in just the last couple of months my granite sink area has started stinking so bad that I thought my cat carried in a mouse that died in the lower cabinets..I emptied every thing out no dead critters.. Help ! Barbara S.

Most likely the old sealer is breaking down. The underside is not sealed so, open up a lower cupboard or under the sink and sniff the underside of the granit - it shouldnt smell nearly as bad as the top surface. This will confirm that your sealer is breaking down. You will need to strip it all off and re-apply.

Pooph at walmart or amazon