Stainless steel is a popular material used in bathrooms and kitchens that can look chic and elegant, but is also prone to getting very dirty, very quickly. There’s nothing attractive about water stains and fingerprints dotted all over your household, so when this happens you’ll be keen to know how to clean stainless steel.
Luckily we’ve rounded up some cleaning tips and even some homemade cleaning products you can make using a few cupboard items, to help leave your stainless steel shiny and living up to its name.
How to clean stainless steel
Although stainless steel can get messy very quickly, thankfully it’s actually very easy to clean. A stainless steel cleaner and microfibre cloth go hand in hand together and will leave your stainless steel looking pristine and clean.
Stainless steel don'ts
• Avoid abrasive cleaners as these will scratch the steel
• Cleaning products containing bleach and chlorine will stain and damage steel
• Don’t wipe against the steels grain, wipe with the grain to avoid streaking
• Dry your stainless steel with a microfibre cloth or towel to help boost shine and avoid spots and streaks
Stainless steel do’s
• A glass cleaner spray is good for removing fingerprints
• Wipe with the grain
• Towel dry or use a microfibre
DIY Stainless steel cleaners
There’s plenty of ways to create your own natural stainless steel cleaner and most of the products you’ll probably already have lying about in your cupboards. Just remember to spot test anything you do make first.
Vinegar and olive oil: Simply dampen a microfibre cloth with some distilled white vinegar and rub in the direction of the stainless steel’s grain. Once the vinegar has dried, take a new microfibre cloth and dampen this one in some olive oil. Again, work the oil into the surface in the direction of the grain. Both these products will remove any grease and grime and leave your stainless steel shiny.
Dish Soap: Mix one teaspoon of dish soap with a quarter cup of hot water. Wet a microfibre cloth in the solution and rub away any marks, again, with the grain. Rise your cloth out with hot water and give the steel another wipe over. Dry it immediately with either a towel or clean microfibre cloth.
How to clean stainless steel sinks and cookers
Stainless steel sinks and pots can be rubbed in a circular motion and can handle mild abrasive cleaners and sponges. Using these types of products will help to remove bits of food, heat marks and even help hide scratches.
How to clean rust off stainless steel
Rust is common with stainless steel, but doesn’t look great. To try and remove it, dampen a microfibre cloth and dip in a little baking soda, then lightly rub on the rust. Afterwards, wipe it clean and buff in a little stainless steel polish.
The best stainless steel cleaners
www.sainsburys.co.uk
There’s a reason why this product is called ‘the miracle cleaning paste’. Suitable for using on stainless steel surfaces — including saucepans, cooker tops, sinks, uPVC, barbecues, ceramic tiles — this pretty pink paste is brilliant at removing stains, grease and grime. One customer even used it to remove nail polish from her kitchen cupboards.
Verified customer review: “Smashed red nail polish bottle in the kitchen. Splashed all over the cupboards! Panic! Used small amounts on a damp micro cloth. Gentle scrubbing and viola, all the polish was gone. No scuff marks after.”
www.wilko.com
This cleaning spray by Cif has been specifically designed for stainless steel to remove stubborn finger prints, water marks and grease, so your appliances look good as new.
Verified customer review: "So happy I bought this product. We recently had a brand new stainless steel hob and sink. It cleans perfectly as we had initially used regular wipes however this works brilliantly. Clear shine and an amazing product - would recommend. Smells good too."
For when you just need to remove small marks from your stainless steel, rather than giving it a complete deep clean, then a couple of these wipes from Weiman will do the trick.
Verified customer review**:** "Tried numerous products to clean my stainless steel hob without success. These wipes finally do the job!"