5 Ways To Clean Steel Appliances At Your Home

Stainless steel is perhaps best known for its capacity to resist rust and corrosion, making it a popular choice in bathrooms and kitchens. However, if you own stainless steel appliances, then you probably know that they are hardly ever stainless. This is especially true if you have little ones running around the house. Fingerprints and water stains tend to decorate the surfaces of dishwashers, refrigerators and ovens.

Dust, dirt and grime may put stainless steel appliances at risk for rusting. Harsh chemical cleaning products, often with hefty price tags, promise to return them to their original showroom beauty, but often fail to live up to their promise. The truth is, keeping your stainless steel appliances clean is easy to do, and you don’t need any of those expensive products.

* Dish Soap & Baby or Mineral Oil

First, you need to understand the direction of the grain. Just like wood and some fabrics, steel has a grain. These are the faint striations that you can see on the surfaces of your appliances. In fact, an entire sheet of steel will have the same directional grain. Appliances usually have other steel pieces attached, such as knobs and handles. Keep in mind that these other pieces may have a different direction grain.

* White Vinegar & Olive Oil

Apply white vinegar directly to a microfiber cloth, or spray directly onto your surface. Let sit for just a moment, and then wipe clean in the direction of the grain. Apply the vinegar as many times as necessary to remove any grime. Then dab a clean towel into some olive oil and polish the freshly-cleaned surface in the direction of the grain. If any extra olive oil residue remains, wipe away with a clean cloth. This method works well because the vinegar gets rid of all the grime, while the olive oil gives it a fresh, shiny polish.

* Club Soda

Spray club soda directly onto appliances and then wipe in the direction of the grain. Not only will this help clean the surface of fingerprints and food residue, it will also give it a nice shine. Wipe clean with a soft, microfiber cloth.

* Lemon Oil Furniture Polish

Simply apply a bit of it to a clean towel and rub on your appliance. Once you have evenly applied, wipe clean with a different microcloth towel. It’s not recommended that you apply the furniture polish directly to the stainless steel surface, as it may not be applied evenly leaving you with more work trying to clean off the excess.

* Glass Cleaner for Fingerprints

Fingerprints are the chief complaint about stainless steel. This is especially true for all the parents out there. However, they can be easily removed with any common glass cleaner, such as Windex.