How to Clean a Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink
With time, your once shiny stainless steel sink can become dull, stained and scratched. Restore and preserve the beauty of your stainless steel kitchen sink with regular cleanings and periodic polishings. Remove food, grime, water spots, rust spots and minor scratches in just a few minutes using common household products that work so well you hardly need to use any elbow grease.
Step 1
Liberally sprinkle baking soda in the sink and scrub with a wet nonabrasive sponge. Rinse the sink with plain water to remove the baking soda.
Step 2
Restore the shine of your stainless steel sink with club soda. Saturate a nonabrasive sponge with club soda and scrub the stainless steel sink until it shines. You do not have to rinse the club soda from the sink.
Step 3
Remove dried water spots from your stainless steel sink using rubbing alcohol or white vinegar. Saturate a nonabrasive sponge or soft cloth with the rubbing alcohol or vinegar and wipe down the sink to remove stubborn water spots. Rinsing the sink after using rubbing alcohol or white vinegar is optional.
Step 4
Battle stubborn, unattractive rust stains with lighter fluid. Saturate a nonabrasive sponge or soft cloth with lighter fluid and scrub the sink until the rust stains disappear. Rinse the sink with plain water to remove the lighter fluid residue.
Step 5
Buff out minor scratches from your stainless steel sink using fine steel wool. Gently scrub the sink, using circular motions, with the fine steel wool to remove or lessen the appearance of scratches. Rinse the sink with plain water after scrubbing.
Step 6
Polish your sink with baby oil to give the stainless steel a mirror-like finish. Apply a few drops of baby oil to a dry, soft cloth and wipe down the sink. If you don’t have baby oil on hand, try using lemon, almond or vegetable oil.
Step 7
Wipe down the sink with a dry towel or sponge after cleaning or any time after use to prevent water spots and rust from developing on the stainless steel surface.