No idea where you are getting your information....baking soda has a Ph of 8.4...not even slightly near caustic which is the usual unscientific term for Sodium Hydroxide. Baking soda is in every kitchen. People use it as a mouth wash and to brush their teeth...undissolved it can be abrasive but even with a wet sponge it dissolves and becomes a solution not an abrasive. And vinegar is not abrasive, it's a liquid....do you even know what abrasive is? Counters called "quartz" are a mixture of granite particles held together by a resin and it's the resin that stains, not the stone. What you need to be careful with on a quartz counter are solvents and highly colored substances sitting for any length of time...like tea or red wine which can stain the resin. And actually it's Bob Vila's site that recommends a paste of baking soda to remove stains from a granite counter top. It's very obvious that your knowledge of what is harmful and what is not is completely lacking....can't imagine how you think you are a pro at counter cleaning...And why anyone would want a quartz or granite counter if a baking soda spill would ruin it... Baking soda Caustic?!! bwahaha!!...has a PH at 1% dilution! LOL! Do you even know what PH is??

"The natural stone industry pays her to shill for them...Karin needs to tell her Brazilian overlords that she's out of scientific and technical lipstick to put on their impoted pigs...Karin, I challenge you to put your geologist brain to work coming up with a solution to the pervasive problems inherent in the quartzite aspect of the natural stone industry" The irony is that in this very thread, Karin has written at length about quartzite and its properties, and has written numerous other posts about testing quartzites and what to watch out for. Apparently @joseph_corlett wants Karin Kirk to solve all the problems of the stone industry. @joseph_corlett's comments above about Karin Kirk are despicable even for him who frequently tosses out supercilious comments on this forum. @joseph_corlett - provide backup that Karin, as you put it, has "Brazilian overlords". Provide backup for your statement that "The natural stone industry pays her to shill for them". You are one to frequently talk of lawsuits on this forum. Yet here you are, fervently making libelous statements about Karin. If Karin did not respond to the recent comments by @Lindsey Brady and @jmh0405, it could be because they have not actually tagged her, so how is she supposed to know she is being asked a question. Her tag is @karin_mt. Though with what Joseph Corlett wrote about her, I wouldn't blame her for not coming back to this forum. Karin Kirk has a website with her contact info if you want to look her up. BTW, Karin holds a bachelors in geology from Skidmore College and a masters in Earth Sciences from Montana State University. She has taught courses about climate change, ran energy conservation projects, worked on national-scale climate education efforts, and worked with NOAA on its Climate.gov website. She also has a TED Talk on climate change if you are interested. (There are about 100,000 people that apply to give a TED Talk every year. 100 get selected.)

A little too long. After months and months of dealing with this, I have noticed that the stains are less noticeable (and eventually fade away) than the actual poltice drying process. However, I do lay a kitchen towel down on my counter when I’m cooking with oil

Oh No, you must be heartbroken. Not that this will fix it but did you do a scratch and stain test? I am asking for others thinking about quartzite for their kitchens. Some are amazing and other are sensitive. Wishing you a solution to remove the stain.