Stainless steel appliances are a popular choice, and in almost every household. They are well known for style – a sleek contemporary or beefy professional look, plus they resist rust and corrosion. The downside of stainless steel? It may seem like it’s hardly ever clean due to fingerprints, smudges, and water stains. That’s especially true if you have kids in the house.
The best way to keep them shiny like new is to care for the stainless properly from day one. The first thing to consider is the material or product that one should use to clean with - like a stainless steel cleaner or polish, and which cloth is best to avoid any scratches.
Use the Right Material
A good quality microfibre or soft cloth is best, with a simple mix of a gentle soap and filtered water. This may leave some water marks if your cloth is too wet, so make sure you dry the stainless surface nicely with another clean and dry soft cloth. If your stainless is a “fingerprint resistant finish” then you are done since cleaners or polishes may harm their finish, and their finish was designed to just be wiped down.
Avoid Harsh Chemicals
Avoid using any harsh chemical products and cleaning materials. Cleansers that contain chlorine bleach affect the stainless surface of the appliance and may even cause corrosion over time. Materials that are abrasive, like scrubby sponges and steel wool will scratch the surface.
If you have a traditional stainless steel without the “fingerprint proof” finish, you may use a stainless polish. Using a microfibre cloth and a stainless steel specific polish of your choice, start with the small amount of product and clean in a circular motion to avoid any streaks, buffing the product away.
Avoid DIY Cleaning Products
You may have read online that some people use olive oil, baby oil, white vinegar, Windex, etc. and while some of these things can give a decent result in the moment, they do leave residues behind that ironically lead to more smudges, and worse yet, may damage the surface overtime.
The secret to keeping your stainless steel appliances shining like new is to maintain them nicely with the correct products – nothing more complicated than that.
