Cleaning Stainless Steel

One of the most frustrating surfaces to clean in your home is stainless steel; it scratches easily, it’s almost impossible to get a streak free finish, and when you do you’re not allowed to touch it because it’ll look terrible again! Despite what the name may suggest stainless steel needs just as much attention when cleaning as most other household appliances but often requires a different approach. Stainless steel is an alloy of iron which contains a lot more chromium than its peers. This helps form a top protective layer on the steel and accounts for stainless steels durability and resistance to rusting, corrosion and stains which is one of the biggest appeals of buying a stainless steel product. The trouble most people find with stainless steel appliances however, is how to keep them looking clean as their unique finish seems to draw attention to the frustrating smears and fingerprints that tend to plague these surfaces.

Day to day cleaning can be as simple as mildly soapy water or a household antibacterial cleaner and this standard of routine cleaning is beneficial as the protective layer that prevents corrosion from occurring is hindered if there is dirt or food build up blocking oxygen from interacting with the steel. In fact the more you clean stainless steel the better, and you can actually help improve how chemically resistant your appliance is by wiping it down frequently which is not the case with wood or plastic!

Overtime however, your appliances can become dull through normal use. You can easily bring back their showroom shine by using various store bought solvents (glass cleaners tend to do a good job -just make sure they do not contain chlorine as an ingredient). You’ll find numerous online “household solutions” to cleaning stainless steel, but a specialised product will always do the best job, because a good quality stainless steel cleaner will contain a final finish which will prevent finger prints, dust and grease. Ultimately, no matter what product you choose, the most important part of creating a clean, streak free finish is polishing. Always use a dry, high quality cloth (eg. clean microfibre cloth) to polish in a circular motion until no streaks remain. Regular cleaning of your stainless steel appliances will ensure that they remain in good condition and last you a very long time.