Jeff Flowers on February 20, 2015 84 Comments 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. In general, start with the basics and work your way up from there as needed. Here are ten ways to clean your stainless steel appliance for a flawless finish. 1. 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. Your will not ruin your appliance if you do not clean with the grain. In fact, nothing dramatic will happen. However, if you wipe vertical to the grain, more cleaning residue may get deeper into the tiny crevices of the grain. For optimum shine, it is best to clean with the grain. Next, gather your supplies. Use two non-abrasive cleaning rags, preferably those that are 100 percent cotton because they leave almost no residual lint. You can use paper towels, but there will be some lint left behind. Also, pick up some plain dish soap and baby or mineral oil. Get ready to clean your appliances. Dish soap is amazing in cleaning grime from stainless steel. It cleans off excess oils and simplifies the polishing process. Put just a little bit on your rag and moisten with a modest amount of water (just enough to dampen your cloth). Wipe along the grain of your appliance. For extra stubborn fingerprints, you might have to go over the area a few times. When you finish cleaning an area, dry any water streaks with a clean towel. Finally, it is time to polish! Dab a small amount of mineral or baby oil onto your second rag. A couple of tiny drops will suffice. Comparable to the cleaning process, follow the grain of your steel, moving in either direction. Polishing the steel this way will produce optimal results. Toss your rags in the washer and save for next time. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. WD-40 The oddest way to clean your stainless steel appliance is by using WD-40. Go look in the garage or wherever you store your tools, and you will likely have a bottle laying around. Simply spray some WD-40 directly onto your appliance, or into a rag, and then wipe away. Instantly, the surface of your appliance will be clean and shiny. And as a bonus, WD-40 also provides a layer of protection to help prevent pesky fingerprints from appearing later on. Note about WD-40: While this will indeed help you clean your stainless steel appliance, it’s a petroleum-based product and should be used with care on or around any surface where you will be handling food. 5. 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. 6. 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. Spray the cleaner on a microfiber cloth and apply evenly in a circular motion to remove the fingerprints. Repeat as needed. be sure to rinse thoroughly and towel dry. It’s not recommended that you spray directly to your appliance, as you may end up with more drip marks and splatter residue, leaving you with more work than you initially anticipated. 7. Bon Ami, Flour Sack & Wax Paper Dampen a small section of a soft flour sack and sprinkle the moistened area with Bon Ami. Rub it onto your stainless steel in circular strokes, covering the entire surface. Then dampen another small section of your flour sack and wipe the stainless steel surface clean, rubbing in the direction of the grain. Take a clean part of the flour sack and dry the surface. Finally, take a piece of wax paper and rub the waxy side over the whole surface of your appliance. This method works great when you work quickly, handling small sections at a time. Remember to clean the inside of the doors because they also get covered with grime and fingerprint oils. The wax paper prevents smudges and fingerprints for a little while and helps remove deep-set stains without leaving streaks behind. 8. Flour In the previous step, you used the soft sack that your flour comes in, but in this step, you can use the flour itself. Obviously, to prevent creating a larger mess, you may want to reserve this cleaning tip for the sink, or perhaps your pots and pans. The first thing you do is clean the sink thoroughly to remove any dirt, grease or grime that may be caked on. Once it has dried, cover it in flour. Feel free to use as much flour as you’d like. Next, take a soft cloth and, in a circular motion, buff the sink starts to shine like new. It’s that simple. 9. Commercial Stainless Steel Cleaners If your appliance has staining, scratching or needs a thorough polishing, a commercial cleaner designed for stainless steel is another option available to you, but also likely the most expensive. However, despite the higher price tag, many of these cleaners and polishers can minimize scratching and often will remove stains. They can also polish surfaces to a beautiful, long-lasting shine. Make sure to read the directions on the cleaner and test in an inconspicuous spot before covering the entire surface of your appliance with it. Be sure to rinse thoroughly and towel dry. 10. Water and a Cloth You’d be surprised how much routine cleaning you can accomplish with just warm water and a lint-free cloth. This is the least risky option for cleaning stainless steel. Plain water works to clean the majority of situations. Dry with a towel or cloth to prevent water spots. This is critical because minerals in water can leave deposits on stainless steel. By following the direction of the polish lines, you can attain impressive results. Microfiber cleaning cloths are an excellent choice to use when polishing stainless steel because they do an exceptional job of absorbing all of the water without scratching the surface. You can buy special polishing cloths which are finer than normal microfiber to give your appliances a final polish. The majority of the smudges will likely vanish without the need for special supplies or chemicals. The Best Way to Clean Stainless Steel Stainless steel appliances are durable and easy to maintain, but they do require regular cleaning. The key to keeping stainless steel “stainless” include proper maintenance and care. The guaranteed method would be to use a specially designed cleaning product. Unfortunately, this is often the most expensive. Nearly everyone has plenty of stainless steel to care for in their kitchen, from appliances both large and small, to cookware and sinks. With just a little bit of elbow grease and one of the techniques listed above, your stainless steel appliances will stay looking marvelous for a long time.
Jacquie says November 23, 2015 at 7:04 pm Hi Jeff, Just wondering which of the methods you mentioned for cleaning stainless steel appliances is the most effective. Thanks for your post!! j Reply
Brendan Bordin says March 25, 2016 at 1:25 am Hey Jacquie, First of all thanks to Jeff for sharing post. I follow the ways mentioned above for cleaning stainless steel appliances. I would like to share the process. The first thing I start by mixing a solution of 1 teaspoon dish detergent and 1 quart hot tap water. I do wear gloves to protect my hands from the heat. Then, Using a microfiber cloth, rub the detergent solution onto the marks in small sections, going with the grain. And afterwards, rinse with clean hot water only, and dry immediately with a clean cloth. I hope this helps! Reply
Amy Filippini says January 25, 2017 at 2:36 pm After de-greasing, I use a light Silicon spray that you can get at the local hardware store. Nothing works better! Stainless Steel cleaners don’t do the job! Reply
Ty Buchanan says January 19, 2020 at 9:33 pm I have small black holes in my stainless steel draining board. British researchers have found faults in the production process contaminants create small nutshell-like pockets where chromium is depleted from mixing with the steel. This falls away in time leaving tiny black holes. Reply
Sheryl Ferguson says January 8, 2016 at 8:23 am I have a stainless refrigerator. After just 1.5 yrs rust has appeared in the grain. A repairman tells me this is from using tap water when I damp clean it. It isn’t covered by the warantee because its considered “cosmetic” but its really because the material is not true stainless as it was when these appliances first came out. I’m told there is nothing I can do to get the rust out. Do you know of something? Reply
caleb says June 4, 2017 at 8:48 pm I don’t know if this is a little late but i wanted to give you or anyone else looking at this a little info. true stainless can rust what makes stainless stainless in the chromium alloyed into the metal. when the chromium oxidizes (rusts) faster than the iron it forms a very hard very corrosion resistant layer. when this layer is damaged the iron under neath can rust what you need to do is remove the rusted iron and expose the iron oxide so that it can re form the protective layer. this process is called passivization and is usually performed with strong acids but you can however get a semi passivized surface using weaker acids like citric or acetic acid then protect the layer with a very thin coat of oil. Reply
Lisa says May 21, 2018 at 7:25 pm I very gently use a dampened SOS pad. Go with the grain of course, just cover your finger with a bit of the pad and gently wipe away rust. Then wipe clean with a microfiber. Its worked for me! Reply
SS Cleaner says March 29, 2019 at 12:04 pm Sheryl Ferguson try WD-40 and steel wool. We have used it on our hotel refridges and it takes the rust away Reply
Brenda says October 26, 2019 at 4:46 pm I use wet comet on my stainless steel when it’s really bad. I rub with the grain then rinse and dry well. And finish by rubbing vegetable oil into the grain works great! Reply
Lily says October 30, 2019 at 12:54 pm If it’s just specs of rust (which happened to me after I left my freezer door open a bit overnight). I used a wet microfiber cloth with softscrub that has bleach in it. Clean in direction of grain, use a clean wet microfiber cloth to remove cleaner and buff dry quickly to a shine. If need be rinse the clean wet cloth and repeat step 2 and 3. I do this a few times a month to my whole stainless frig and in-between only use microfiber cloth wet with water and buff dry. It has made my experience with stainless appliances a joy. I threw away all my stainless cleaner of which I tried many. Good luck Reply
Theresa says June 3, 2016 at 6:08 pm Years ago I worked at a very popular fast food restaurant. We always to shine cean the large refrigerators/freezers and always used “baby oil”. It worked wonderfully. Back to baby oil. Should have remembered this before spending lots of money on fancy cleaners! Reply
Jackie Oliver says July 8, 2016 at 3:34 pm I never would have thought of using club soda to clean my stainless steel appliances. It’s good to know that I have to wipe it with the grain, and not against. I usually just wipe it down in every direction, but I will be sure to keep in the direction of the grain. I also really like the idea of wiping it down, and then using wax paper to really make it shine! Reply
SusieQ says July 20, 2016 at 1:16 pm Ok, thanks for all the questions / comments. I just purchased (not yet delivered) all stainless steel appliances. Questions : How often do you have to apply (baby oil/WD40) etc., and do the appliances “dent” easily? And I live in the Midwest (“hard” water). We have water softener. Is the salt detrimental to the SS appliances? I would be grateful for any advice!!! Reply
cookwaresetguide.com says December 26, 2016 at 10:12 pm I have quite a few stainless steel kitchen appliances and have been struggling with cleaning them without making them have streaks all over. I really appreciate your tip about using olive oil to polish the steel after I clean it. I am definitely going to be making sure that I don’t overuse the oil, though, because I do not want to deal with any stickiness. Reply
Jody Compton says January 6, 2017 at 8:35 am I read the warnings on the back of the WD-40 container and that really makes me think I would rather not have WD-40 residue on my hands when handling food or possibly touching near my eyes. The warnings recommend not having the can near electricity to avoid electricity burning a hole in the can and causing the contents to burst into flames. “Deliberate or direct inhalation of vapor or mist may be harmful or fatal.” Everything in the warnings leads me to believe that it’s not a good item to have in a kitchen. Reply
No One Important says October 7, 2019 at 9:13 pm Yes, I think that especially with little children running around, I don’t want WD-40 in my kitchen. I don’t even really want it in the garage after reading that label! Reply
Vonda L Taylor says January 20, 2020 at 3:17 am Moderation thinks Jody Comptom says and No One Important says is correct,I agree with you to a certain level. We must remember moderation is the key to success. And would we use chemical based cleaners while the children are in immediate area? Do we not protect ourselves even when using vinegar. Keep all in prospective and the ideas are wonderful. All ideas are not meant for everyone. Have a great day 🙂 Reply
Marilyn says December 30, 2019 at 2:38 pm I use olive oil! I keep a very small container of cotton balls in the kitchen, and use the cotton ball to place a thin coating on the stainless steel surface around my sink. After that I remove any excess and then gently polish the steel. I use this because it is made for human consumption. Reply
Linda cecil says February 15, 2017 at 9:23 am I have dark spots on my. Stainless.due to using a abrasive. How can I correct this? Reply
Andre says May 8, 2017 at 9:32 am my stainless fridge is good ,except the door handle are scratched at many places. Need to know how to fix it. Reply
John Mahoney says May 23, 2017 at 1:36 pm I appreciate you talking about the importance of using the right materials to keep your stainless steel “stainless.” It is important to remember that taking care of this type of steel can help you make sure its beauty lasts and that it keeps providing the benefits you need. As I see it, I would want to make sure I choose quality steel from a company that cares about providing quality items. Reply
Twiggs says February 10, 2019 at 5:42 pm Don’t remove it. Embrace it.. add some chopped onions and more olive oil and enjoy! Reply
JWB says May 24, 2017 at 10:20 am I’d use distilled water for cleaning and polishing stainless steel and granite as it’s free of chemicals and minerals that could mar surfaces. Reply
Martha says June 2, 2017 at 6:59 pm I use a spray bottle with vinegar and water to clean most surfaces in my house, including inside microwave, countertops and floors. Any cooking oil is good for taking off more stubborn spots. I save stale cooking oil which does not taste good in cooking for cleaning and then rinse with vinegar and water. Reply
Irene Kulwicki says July 4, 2017 at 6:22 pm Please tell me how to clean my appliances that are not true stainless steel. I have only tried dish soap and water.It doesn’t take off fingerprints and smudges Reply
Marlon G. says November 12, 2017 at 10:45 pm after cleaning it and it still looks smudgy and fingerprints are still there, I put a small amount of cooking olive oil on a paper towel and wiped it in what I assumed was the direction of the grain. I was amazed at the results. Give it a try, Reply
annie says January 4, 2018 at 12:43 pm I just used baby oil, works great. I would guess olive oil would work as well. Reply
Laurie Whittle says December 15, 2018 at 8:53 pm Oh my goodness. I used olive oil and water and some vertical lines were on my bottom freezer for over a year and everything came off. It looks wonderful. Will never use bought “stainless steel” cleaner again Reply
Wendy McGee says May 29, 2019 at 2:33 pm Don’t use olive oil, it gets old and gummy and is a mess to remove. I use diluted vinegar and water to clean. Reply
ScottieOwner says July 8, 2017 at 5:24 pm I use Boos oil on my stainless appliances, works great! Not only is it perfect on my Boos cutting board but is very effective on my applianes. Since I always have the Boos oil on hand for my cutting board, it made sense to try it on my appliances. Reply
Vonda L Taylor says January 20, 2020 at 3:29 am Moderation thinks that I will try an idea I read yesterday. Wax paper. Tear off a sheet and after the appliance is cleaned best as possible. With soap & water, maybe vinegar solution-whatever you are comfortable with for your home and wipe with the wax paper. Buff after the surface is dry (from wax) you are supposed to get a nice protective shine. OR should I not use this method? I also read car wax is good for Stainless Steel as well as the stove cook top. Stove top-yes I have tried this. The car wax is designed to treat scratches. let me know what you think. I have read alot of really great answers. Reply
Brenda says July 14, 2017 at 5:18 pm I have streaks going down my dishwasher. I’ve tried dawn dish soap, vinegar and water, a store bought stainless steel cleaner & WD-40. Has anyone tried using a car wax on their stainless steel appliances? Reply
E Hunter says July 31, 2017 at 12:42 pm I also had streaks. I just tried the Windex and then did the lemon scented furniture spray. Amazing! Looks like new. Reply
robert spinosa says December 18, 2018 at 4:19 pm I use a paste wax for cars its called California gold works great after I tried all the other solutions. You can use any good paste wax. Reply
Marcus Coons says August 7, 2017 at 7:55 pm It really helped when you mentioned how you can use glass cleaning items to keep your stainless steel clean and print-free. I can see how anyone looking into this would want to check with the professionals and make sure they know how to clean their steel and avoid damaging it. As I see it, taking the time to do some research can help you find reviews and ratings from several companies you can compare in order to find the one that will help you keep your stainless steel looking gorgeous. Reply
Roberta Howe says August 12, 2017 at 1:18 pm After trying some of the recommended things above-none of which really did the trick, and I didn’t want to use oil as I discovered that just makes the cat hair stick badly- what actually got the stain out of my dishwasher door was the Bright Green Dishwasher Rinse Aid that I usually put INSIDE the dishwasher to prevent stains and spots. Rub a little on clean cloth and VOILA! Like new! Reply
Lucia Gunn says August 14, 2017 at 9:45 pm This actually makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing. I shall try this with our dishwasher rinse aid. If it cleans inside, which is stainless steel, it should take care of the outside surface as well, right? I just wonder if this only works for certain types of rinse aid agents and for certain stainless steel grades…there’s only one way to find out…LOL…I shall put our rinse aid and stainless steel to the test! Thanks again! Reply
ell bee says September 8, 2018 at 7:46 pm I just tried Jet Dry for dishwashers. It worked beautifully! Reply
Lucia Gunn says August 14, 2017 at 9:37 pm I hear folks using vinegar and water to clean but I simply can’t stand the smell of vinegar… I use Norwex microfiber cloths (damped) in our stainless steel appliances. It works well to clean most types of dirt over our stainless steel surfaces but to except for products meant to clean stainless steel, such as commercial sprays and wipes, I haven’t found anything that effectively cleans and removes water marks (especially dripping water marks) from our stainless steel surfaces. Pro chef microfiber meant for stainless steel does about just as good of job as Norwex cloths do on stainless steel but when it comes to water marks, Norwex actually does better than Pro Chef tools stainless steel cloths. Wet Pro Chef actually left watermark streaks, which was truly defeating the purpose, not to count frustrating because it added to an already tough job. Oil is the best solution for stainless steel stains but I wouldn’t apply used cooking oil, as someone recommended here. The Dollar Store sells stainless steel wipes, which proved just as good as the expensive stuff we purchased from large department store and for much higher cost than a dollar! Unless there are watermarks in the grain, I find no need to use stainless steel wipes. A damped Norwex silver embedded microfiber (extremely high quality stuff!) or a Pro Chef stainless steel cloth (only $11 for six of them on Amazon!) does superb job in cleaning stainless steel surfaces…but again, it doesn’t quite cut it when it comes to watermarks. For that, I use one single wipe from a package I purchase at the Dollar Store…I do wear gloves and highly recommend wearing gloves using any type of stainless steel cleaning wipes or other chemical/oil based products. Reply
GIA HUTT says September 11, 2017 at 12:13 pm I live at the beach an WD40 inhibits rust from forming,so this is my #1 cboice. Reply
Linda says September 16, 2017 at 2:23 pm How do I get streaks out? It looks like something was sprayed on and left to sit and it dried. Now there are streaks running downwards. Reply
Natalia P says September 28, 2017 at 4:56 am It’s also great on the sinks !! I also use cleaning cream for top ranges -wash it off with hot water -don’t need to polish it after . To maintain stainless steel clean , wipe the dirt when you see it . My kids are grown up , Reply
jean bTT says October 20, 2017 at 2:41 pm How do you remove a water streak stain running down the door of a stainless steel refrig? Reply
Patricia Hall says November 18, 2017 at 5:20 pm I️ purchased a new stainless steel refrigerator that had a blue wrapping on the doors and knobs. When I️ removed the blue wrapping it left streaks. How do you remove the streaks/lines from the wrapping from my stainless steel refrigerator? Reply
Angel Dial says December 8, 2017 at 8:59 am I’m experiencing the same thing and none of the above mentioned suggestions worked for me. Did you manage to get yours fixed or did you have to return it? Reply
Judi says December 9, 2017 at 5:57 pm Just tried the dish detergent and hot water. Got the dirt off but left a streaking mess. Went back to my old standby Avon Skin So Soft and it did a great job. After warnings about using WD40 (another old standby) near food seemed that Skin So Soft might be safer. Just wiped it on with a lint-free cloth and then buffed with another. Reply
Kat says December 30, 2017 at 11:22 pm I just tried the vinegar followed by olive oil method described in the article, and it worked GREAT on our dishwasher! I hardly ever leave a review but wanted to in this case because it worked so well and to thank the author. 🙂 I had tried vinegar on its own before but couldn’t get the same smooth, non-streaky finish achieved by following with olive oil. Yay! It’s the little things. 😉 Reply
Marvel says January 5, 2018 at 11:16 am Take the top 10 ideas and disregard. # 1. Product out of Buffalo NY. Life “O” Wood. It defies logic and works like no other. Old School. Reply
mindi whitney says January 9, 2018 at 8:38 am We have tried everything to clean our stainless refrigerator that we just inherited when we bought our condo. It is still full of streaks!!! Any other advice for super stubborn streaks??? Thanks!! Reply
Deanie says February 1, 2018 at 11:52 am I have water drips on my dishwasher. I did not see any advice for cleaning them from the appliances. Is there something “special” for those? Reply
Sarah says February 2, 2018 at 2:14 pm Wow! All I needed to do was polish the darn thing. Great to know that I need to wipe with the grain, it made a huge difference. I went with the vinegar and olive oil method and it worked like a dream, it looks like a whole new fridge!!! Thanks, Jeff. Reply
Mary Gray says February 21, 2018 at 4:07 am I hate my stainless steel refrigerator but paid so much for it I feel stuck with it! It cost more because it is counter depth…I have put up with the streaks and spots for 9 years and have used most of the cleaning products suggested above and The fingerprints etc. are back after a day! Has anyone tried painting their stainless Steel appliances? Successfully? Thanks! Mary Reply
Twiggs says February 10, 2019 at 5:50 pm Hi, I don’t like the stainless either. Paid a bunch for this beast… I m an artist so I ‘m seriously thinking of ‘aging’ mine like a copper wash. I have been using it on sheets of metal.I love the barn look. There is so much out there besides stainless!!!!! Reply
Marcia Putnam says February 26, 2018 at 2:46 am Don’t paint it! I have the same issue. The water runs down from the dispenser. I used silver cleaner to get get those streaks out. Works great. It’s expensive, but it was worth it! I’m going to try some of these other ideas too. But the silver polish works great! Reply
Ann Rogers says February 27, 2018 at 7:57 am Try Endust. Spray on, then wipe with grain. Awesome result. I have tried everything and this is the best Reply
Judy says March 3, 2018 at 8:04 pm Wd 40 leaves it greasy and next day finger print all over the elevator what should i do Reply
P Sears says March 14, 2018 at 12:34 pm Try lightly spraying with Pledge furniture spray and polish with soft cloth. A little goes a long way. Don’t spray near ice and water dispenser. It eventually will loosen the stick on covering. It did mine. I learned a lesson, but I’ll continue using Pledge. It looks beautiful. Reply
Pam says March 28, 2018 at 1:53 pm Hi everyone, All of this seems exhausting! What i do that works fantastic is just mix a little Murphy’s oil soap In hot or warm water, take a micro fiber rag dip rag in water squeeze and wipe off appliances, dry and shine with another dry clean micro fiber rag. To get stubborn finger prints and grease off pour some straight Murphy’s oil soap on to a sponge and lightly rub stubborn areas then just rinse off with water and a micro fiber cloth, just shine with a dry cloth….. done Reply
cleaning says May 18, 2018 at 1:29 pm thanks your product is very help ful is clearning in home. Reply
Carmen says July 20, 2018 at 2:37 pm I used the dish soap method and it removed the black lettering that says G.E.logo ☹ Partially was erased so I decided to remove it completely. The engraving is still there but the black is gone. I’m going to stick with buying a stainless steel cleaner. 😊 Reply
Don Hansen says August 1, 2018 at 12:13 pm I have a Lexus 480 sc convertible. The stereo has what looks like stainless steel and looks dirty that could be hand prints. I have tried every cleaner available. Just tried citrasolv from Whole Foods and that does not work as well. Even tried a tooth brush. Do not want to try an abrasive as need to be careful and not make it worse. Any ideas. I have asked detail shops and no one has a Reply
Terri says October 16, 2018 at 1:04 am I just saw where some car dealers suggest using 0000 steel wool. Another one said to use slightly crumpled aluminum foil. I’ll try this on my SS refrigerator first. Reply
G. Newton says August 2, 2018 at 1:14 pm After trying every method and several commercial products I went to the Samsung website and they suggest Bar Keepers Friend to clean my Samsung S/S French door refrigerator. It was looking really awful and doubted anything would help. It looks better than new now! I would have thought Bar Keepers Friend would be too abrasive, but It isn’t. Just made a paste with a little water, rubbed with the grain and rinsed and dried. It is gorgeous. Reply
Tracy says September 2, 2018 at 8:21 pm I spray down my fridge with 409 All Purpose cleaner and use a warm damp rag to scrub it. Then I take a lint free rag and dry it off completely going with the grain. 409 is a degreaser and lifts the oily prints off with ease. Reply
Marie-Josee Gendron says September 11, 2018 at 10:21 am Thank you so much… just read your article. Tried the first method with the baby oil. I had previously used a heavy duty glass cleaner on the stainless steel and it had streaks all over it. Nothing was making it go away. I was even considering replacing the appliance. But then, I just dabbed on some baby oil as you suggested, miracle of all miracles, it worked! Thank you. Will sleep wiser tonight! Reply
Ernest Morren says September 24, 2018 at 7:33 pm Good morning, Can you tell me what NOT to use when cleaning Stainless Steel trolleys or Shelves? Reply
Cathy Matthews says November 5, 2018 at 7:24 pm I have a stainless steel splash back which I buff with baby oil. I steamed some food recently and it left a big and awful stain on the splash back. Discoloration and droplets. I’ve tried everything to get it off and just made a mess. Jiff worked, kind of. Where I’ve rubbed with Jiff I just have big shiny stains now and the rest is dull by comparison. What caused the mark in the first place? And how can I strip back and restore the entire surface so it looks uniform again? Reply
Joyce says November 7, 2018 at 9:14 am Wow! I followed your advise on using lemon furniture polish, I went with lemon EndDust. I cannot believe the results! I have a lot of stainless in my kitchen not only all my appliances, but also my counters are all stainless. I simply sprayed a small amount on my paper towels and wiped with the grain. Then I gave a quick wipe with my flour sack cloth. No streaks! Just shine! No greasy feel! Your suggestion has just made my cleaning so much easier! Thank You! Reply
Mary Allen says December 1, 2018 at 9:23 pm I accidentally caused a small abrasion on my stainless steel stove top. Is there something that I can get to polish it out? Reply
Jill Hein says December 20, 2018 at 2:42 pm Bar Keepers Friend will polish out small scratches. Make a paste an rub on the area. I used this also on my stainless steel skin and it looked like new. Reply
Big D in Phx says December 21, 2018 at 2:12 pm Bar Keepers Friend liquid worked great on Samsung stainless steel appliances! Reply
Nancy says December 28, 2018 at 4:28 pm I used helman stainless steel cleaner. When sprayed on fridge I now have drip marks where it dripped down the front. Can’t figure out how to remove drip marks Reply
Lynn says February 21, 2019 at 8:44 am I switched from mineral oil (which worked fine) to Boos Butcher Block oil. I use this on my large Boos board and thought why not give it a try on my SS kitchen appliances – works great. Kill two birds with one stone! Reply
Laurie says April 7, 2019 at 2:16 pm I used the WD 40 on my refrigerator, dishwasher and the stainless parts of me stove!!! I was so Excited when the smudges were gone! Needless to say hubby lost his can for the basement 😉 Reply
Pam says April 22, 2019 at 11:51 am In only two weeks (two cleanings) a house cleaner rusted my refrigerator and dishwasher by using water and dish soap. You could run your finger across and feel how rough it was, she’d removed all the protective sealant. We had to buff it out using Weiman. That stuff stinks, but it provides a protective seal that keeps moisture from rusting in the grain. Now when you touch it, it feels like glass. The cloth we used came away orange from the rust. These appliances were only two years old. Reply
MaryLarkin says May 10, 2019 at 3:44 pm Fingerprints contain oil. Fight oil with oil..the fiber the oil the better …almond oil on a soft cloth. Never an abrasive. Reply
MaryLarkin says May 10, 2019 at 3:45 pm Fingerprints contain oil. Fight oil with oil..the finer the oil the better …almond oil on a soft cloth. Never an abrasive. Reply
Mary says November 6, 2019 at 8:54 am I have dark burn stains around the burner of my stainless gas stove. I can not get them out. Any suggestions? Reply
Kevin says July 15, 2020 at 3:38 pm Sorry to be the Devil’s Advocate, Stainless is not “Durable” that is like saying Iphones are “Unbreakable”. Enamel is still the best and outperforms stainless but peoples protensity to have something different each decade has many putting in wood floors (Huge mistake due to eggs, knives, heavy fry pans damaging the wood) and putting in easily scratchable and finger marked appliances! To answer the question, which cleaner is the best. I would suggest waxes. Much like a car, waxes protect with a micro sheild of protection to prevent scratching from dust particles (Yes, dust will scratch). Oil is OK, but is not a hardended surface protectant. Everything else is pointless if you enjoy cleaning your appliances for hours at a time. Oh, one more thing, BE VERY careful you don’t get acids on your “durable” appliances, that will destroy your stainless steel surface on contact. Reply
Jo Wells says September 13, 2020 at 3:22 pm I was able to get tough water marks off my stainless steel refrigerator doors by using a small amount of CLR on a microfiber cloth. I had tried so many other things, but this removed those stubborn streaks easily. Reply
