In a rush to finish up a Manske last night, I mindlessly tossed a filter onto the counter.

This morning I woke up to a flourish of nice, red stains.

I have tried some mild stain removers, to no apparent effect.

Right now, it's all soaking in vinegar. No idea if that will help.

I'm wondering if anyone had any experience with this & what might dissolve the stains & release them from the counter top......

Any oils, solvents, stain removers, etc... that won't cause further discolorations?

What are the staining compounds of harmala soluble in?

The counter top is off-white/beige-ish.

Knowing the material of the countertop is more important than the color, so as to know which solvent may be used safely
Is the surface slick or "grainy"?
If the vinegar doesn't work, I would try some baking soda solution.
You could try strong stuff like bleach or acetone but definitely try them first on a non-visible area... if there is one. If the material is plastic-based, it's probably not a good idea to use these.
Good luck!

Soaking in vinegar is a good idea. Did you try alcohol? Soaking in soap, I mean the real soap, not some detergent?

If the top surface is made from plastic, it should be able to withstand bleach. Be sure to use clear liquid bleach only and not any product with abrasives in it, those will wreck the surface of the plastic.

I accidentally dyed my gf's oven mitt beautifully red after drying harmala freebase in her oven, but after she had put the mitt in the washing machine, it came out pretty clean again. On the other hand after spilling concentrated rue tea over it, one of my pairs of jeans is permanently stained it seems, even after repeated washings. Perhaps the mitt had been rather fatty from use and the stains could not really get into the fabric because of that.

Always thought it to be an allegorically appropriate effect of harmalas to stain things... to me this means getting deep enough into the atomic/molecular structure of something that it can be physically changed.

Now the purge doesn't sound so woo-infested? MAOIs getting deep within your system to dye your spirit-body with some antidepressant intention.

Try a MagicSponge/MagicEraser!

Just dye the rest of the counter top.

Or as we say at work:

"If it's not rusted, grease it.... if it's rusted, paint it."

I have had some luck with bleach, but was never able to completely remove the stains.

I had so many things going on, that I forgot this thread...

Thank you guys.

anon_003, I like your thinking....


Acetone.... Acetone worked pretty well. Only the faintest of stain now.

I've had good results with liquid tarnish remover for use on silver. Haven't specifically used it on harmala stains but it restored a formica top I thought was beyond saving.

Dilute ammonia worked for me. Also great even for old, dried-in carpet stains too, if you do it properly...