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English: Procedure:

1) A heat-fixed smear is flooded with a basic purple dye, usually crystal violet. Because the purple stain imparts its color to all cells, it is referred to as a primary stain. 2) After 1 minute, the crystal violet is drained off and washed with distilled water. The smear is then covered with Gram's iodine, a mordant or helper. When the iodine is washed off, both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria appear dark violet or purple. 3) Next, the slide is washed with alcohol (95% ethanol) or an alcohol-acetone solution. This solution is a decolorizing agent which removes the purple from the cells of some species but not from others. When the procedure is carried out, the slide is held at an angle and 95% ethanol is poured until the draining solution no longer has a purple tint.

4) The alcohol is now rinsed off with distilled water and the slide is then stained with safranin, a basic red dye known as the counter stain. The staining process is allowed to be carried out for 2-3 minutes. The smear is washed again, heat dried and examined microscopically (Medicine Hack., 2015)