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Today, we are sharing a very easy homemade stainless steel cleaner you can use for your sinks and appliances.
Last year, we share a homemade stainless steel polish that works so well to restore your stainless steel appearance. But, since this time, I have been testing out different homemade cleaners to use for stainless steel (especially sinks) that removes hard water spots and more.
To be honest with you, I do NOT like stainless steel. When we moved into this house last year, the previous owner had never cleaned the stainless steel sink, so it was in bad shape.
Anyways, I have a stainless steel dishwasher, sink, oven, and microwave. I do not have a stainless steel fridge, so I can’t say how it works for that. Just FYI!
Homemade Stainless Steel Cleaner
Here are a few important things to keep in mind before we start the recipe. First, all appliances are different. Things like age, brand, finish, and any possible damage will impact how the surface looks and how well something will clean it. This is especially true for stainless steel. My microwave had some rust spots on it when we first moved into our home. Unfortunately, there is some damage on the microwave even though the rust is gone.
Second, stainless steel sinks are going to be different than appliances. You can scrub a stainless steel sink, but I don’t recommend doing this to a stainless steel appliance.
Lastly, ALWAYS follow the manufacturers advice for cleaning something and test a small area. These are recipes I use with recommendations from my brand, appliance installer, and what I have tested on my personal surfaces. These are all important tips for stainless steel.
If you are looking for a hard water build up remover, you can use our two ingredient recipe for things like faucet heads or anything you can remove and soak. We also have a fantastic citric acid paste you can use to coat areas around sinks or things that cannot be removed and soaked.
I recommend using those recipes above before using this stainless steel cleaner as your last step.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup 5% distilled white vinegar
- 2 tbsp distilled water
- Spray bottle
- Stainless steel microfiber cloth
Directions:
-
- Mix up the vinegar and the water in a spray bottle, gently shake before each use.
How To Use Homemade Stainless Steel Cleaner:
The how to use part is very particular to ensure a spotless sink or appliance. Keep in mind, this recipe is mainly for stainless steel sinks! You can use this on appliances, but it is a little more tricky, so make sure you follow up with a polish on appliances for the most successful shine.
For Stainless Steel Sinks
For the sink, first, scrub any stuck on particles like food with a scour paste of some type or even dish soap with a good sponge can work. Rinse the surface well.
Next, spray the homemade vinegar solution mentioned above and let it sit for a few minutes. You can let it sit 10 minutes if there is hard water built up. Then, wipe off with the stainless steel microfiber cloth.
Follow up with a polish as needed. With my sink, I don’t need to polish it very often. It shines well after using this.
For Stainless Steel Appliances:
Simply spray the appliance with this solution, let it sit a few minutes, the wipe with the stainless steel cloth in the direction of the grains (if you can tell, surfaces vary). Follow up with a damp side of the stainless microfiber cloth to remove any lasting vinegar residue. Since vinegar is acetic acid, you don’t want any acid to linger on an appliance. Follow up with a polish on appliances for the best look!
Why are the directions different for sinks vs appliances?
Sinks get much dirtier and need much more scrubbing to make sure they are clean. This solution works best when no food or grime is on the surface. I always recommend scrubbing the sink first! You don’t want to use anything too abrasive on stainless steel so I like to either use baking soda or just dish soap and a sponge.
I don’t use any of those things on appliances because it can damage the finish and also makes it hard to get the residue off.
Why no rubbing alcohol?
As you know, I love rubbing alcohol for the best all-purpose cleaner. I use it more than anything else for cleaning the home.
For basic cleaning of stainless steel with all the testing I did, the vinegar worked better to remove water stains on the stainless steel! Especially on the sink. This is why homemade cleaners can be tricky though and require much more testing. They typically have more specific uses than store-bought cleaners.
Why Does Vinegar Work Best For Cleaning Stainless Steel?
Stainless steel shows more water spots and hard water build up than other types of surfaces. If you read this in-depth post we did on vinegar, it is the best for hard water stains especially on a stainless steel surface!
Remember, always use DIY cleaning recipes with caution! Why? They aren’t formulated like store-bought options so there can be user error and all surfaces are different!
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Here in Southern California, in my area, we have hard water. Even though I buy reverse omostsis and carbon filtered water my adult son (who live’s with me) uses tap water to boil his mac n cheese. It leaves hard water marks on the bottom of my stainless steal pot.
I have been using vinagar with water to get it off and it does! Great stuff that vinegar!
Vinegar does a great job on stainless steel!
My daughter makes up something like that
It is great for stainless steel in these ratios!
Thank you for this recipe Alexis. You have possibly answered the following question in other posts so forgive me if this question is a repetition. Can tap water be used instead of distilled water? Thank you again.
To achieve the shiniest results, distilled water is best since it has no minerals. But you can definitely use regular water too! It works just as well for cleaning, but might not have the shine distilled will 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. My s/s kitchen sink had a lot of stuck gunk and food particles. I didn’t have any paste but I had an old tube of toothpaste and it did a lovely job of cleaning and polishing the sink.
Toothpaste is very handy! We have a blog post over different ways to clean with toothpaste if you are interested 🙂