Rust, like a scale, isn’t normally removed with soap and water, but it’s worth a shot. One could then disintegrate the rust or scrub it all off with a mild abrasive to remove it off your countertop. The disadvantage of applying an abrasive is that it may damage the plastic layer.

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Luckily, you most likely have a mild abrasive inside the kitchen cabinet. If you’re ready to make the effort, either baking soda or salt would suffice. You may use vinegar to remove the rust stain, but just don’t mix it with baking soda or you’ll end up with a useless paste that makes a nice froth and does nothing to clean.

Using Vinegar to Remove Rust Stains

Rust is made up of iron oxide, and vinegar has acetic acid that can remove it. However, this takes a while to work, so keep the vinegar in touch with rust for just an hour or two. This could be accomplished in one of two ways:

Mix vinegar with salt or borax to make a paste, then apply it to the rust stain and wait. Spray the paste with vinegar a couple of times when it’s trying to keep it moist.

To prevent evaporation, make a pool of vinegar just on the stain and cover it with plastic food wrap.

As you sweep off paste or vinegar, any technique you use, you would find a change. Spread just a little baking soda on the stain and wipe it in with a moist towel if it’s not fully removed. The abrasive action would wash it away and neutralize the vinegar at the same time.