*Guest post
When buying appliances, stainless steel can seem like the obvious choice as it’s a material that resists rust and corrosion, making it perfect for the kitchen environment where moisture is common. While stainless steel always looks shiny and sleek in the brochures, the unfortunate reality is that fingerprints and water spots turn up more often than we’d like! However, there are a number of ways to combat this and keep your appliances gleaming.
Go with the grain
Just like wood or leather, stainless steel has a grain which will usually run either vertically or horizontally. Before cleaning your appliances it’s best to find the grain before you get started. Whilst cleaning against the grain won’t necessarily damage your stainless steel, cleaning in the direction of the grain will ensure that you get right into any crevices and give you a better end result.
Washing up liquid and a microfibre cloth
Washing up liquid is designed to cut through grease so it’s ideal for removing marks left behind by fingerprints. Add a little to a damp cloth and once you’ve used it to clean the area, dry the surface immediately with a clean microfibre cloth to remove any water spots.
Remove small scratches
If you have a small scratch on stainless steel it may be possible to remove it – using toothpaste of all things! Rub a little toothpaste into the scratch and then buff with a soft toothbrush. Make sure you follow the grain as toothpaste is slightly abrasive and will introduce very fine scratches to the surface of the steel. Bigger scratches are best left to the professionals.
WD40
Most of us have a bottle of WD40 hanging around under the sink or in the shed, and one of its many uses can be to clean stainless steel. Spray it onto a cloth and wipe your appliance for a shiny finish. An added bonus is that WD40 will help to protect the surface from future fingerprint marks, but be careful – WD40 is petroleum based and needs to be kept away from your food prep areas.
Vinegar and oil
This may sound like something you’d get with a ciabatta at an Italian restaurant, but a combination of vinegar and oil can be a really handy way of cleaning stainless steel without having to invest in expensive cleaning products. First of all, spray with vinegar then wipe off in the direction of the grain. Once you’ve wiped off all of the vinegar, apply some oil to a clean cloth and use this to polish your appliance, again in the direction of the grain. Use spirit vinegar rather than balsamic, and a cheap olive oil rather than the extra virgin stuff!
Bicarbonate of soda
So you’ve burnt food onto the bottom of your favourite stainless steel pan, but don’t worry, all might not be lost. You may well be able to rescue it by simply using your stove top and some baking powder. Fill your pan with water and place it onto the hob to bring it to the boil. Once boiling, add a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda and reduce the heat to medium. After half an hour or so you should find that the combination of the bicarb and the simmering water has lifted the burnt bits from the bottom, making your pan easy to clean.
Stainless steel cleaners
You should be able to maintain your stainless steel without buying specialist products – a couple of microfiber cloths are really all you should need beyond general household products. However, if you have really stubborn marks that are proving difficult to remove, it may be time to try out a specialist stainless steel cleaner. There are many available and some will help to prevent scratches and marks in the future. Be sure to follow any instructions on the packaging.
What not to do
The name stainless steel suggests that it’s something that should be easy to maintain and keep clean, and if you follow the tips above it can be. However, there are a number of products that shouldn’t be used on stainless steel. Avoid using steel wool, abrasive pads or harsh cleaning products as these can damage the surface, leaving your stainless steel exposed and liable to rust. Bleach or cleaning products containing bleach are best avoided as these can cause discolouration and staining.
As with most things, the best way to keep your stainless steel appliances in tip-top condition is with regular maintenance. A quick clean every couple days or so using the tips above should keep your appliances gleaming and free of pesky finger marks!
About the author
Ellie Rush is Outreach Executive at The Cleaning Collective and is a Friends superfan, sharing her passion for household cleanliness with Monica Geller. She loves to offer housekeeping hints and tips to her Cleaning Collective friends and is always looking for new ways to clean that do the least harm to the environment.