How do I clean a stainless steel sink?

Question

We just moved into our new home (new construction) 6 months ago. My husband bought a rubbermaid "sinksaver" mat to put in the bottom of the sink to protect it from scratches, etc. I don't necessarily think that that is the source of the problem, but the sink has little brown spots all over it. They look like coffee or tea stains and they aren't the kind of stains that go away when you clean the sink and then come back when it dries. They are always there. Also, we have hard water. Any insight or suggestions?

Answer 1

use barkeeps friend, ajax, comet, or zud- not bon ami and USE a CLOTH RAG NOT a SCRUBBY as they will scratch your new stainless steel sink.

Answer 2

Sometimes the problem can be that all stainless steel (SS) is not all the same. The term SS means that the iron contains chromium and nickel, but does not tell you the amount of the good stuff, or the quality, therefore you may be dealing with ongoing rust spots? Because iron will oxidize and/or rust. The prior suggestions are all worth a try except for the SOS pads. I have a 50 year old SS oven with SOS scratch marks that I will never get out.

Answer 3

orrrr.... you can just use "soft scrub" or "vim" or "bon ami" or whatever they call it where you live. it's a cleanser that you can get in any old grocery store and it's cheap and doesn't damage the stainless steel at all.

it's basically a finer version of the old fashioned tried and true mildly abrasive cleansers like "old dutch" or "ajax" or "comet" or whatever... there are so many different brands.

stainless steel sinks are the best. they are hygenic, durable and easy to keep looking good. i'd have no other type. but then i always give it a little scrub when i'm cleaning up the dishes every night. it never, ever gets built up stains or anything that way.

Answer 4

I use stainless steel cleaning wipeys I bought from Target. They might be rust stains if the sink isn't top quality. I have a new stainless sink in my remodeled kitchen and I hate it- would never recommend a stainless sink to anyone- even top quality. The only time it looks good is when it is wiped totally dry which is lame for a sink. Be careful with the sink mats they might harbor bacteria.

Answer 5

Hello Jamilu. I use a natural stone cream cleaner for my Stainless Steel , in fact I use it foe almost all my cleaning at home Here are a few of the other thing´s it cleans , Copper, Brass, Silver, Gold, Bronze, well almost all metals, gets rid of grime and grease. limescale even cleans windows , you might find some thing similar in your local hardware store or one of the big stores, I think all households should have this in there homes, Saves buying so many different products that once you bought them you find they don´t work here is the product I use , www.promonov.com Click on the product Perlglanz Putzetein this will take you to the next page where you can get the explanation in English or any other , to me it´s the best thing since sliced bread

Answer 6

There is a product called Bar Keepers Friend that is excellent on stainless steel. It takes out coffee and tea stains and shines up the steel if you use it according to directions.

Answer 7

Probably from iron in your water, you need a cleaner called Super Iron Out, you can find it in the hardware section at your local walmart. Fill the sink with water and add some of this powder and let it sit till you see the spots go away. beware this stuff smells horrible but works great. It also works on the porcelain toilet bowls.

Answer 8

Don't know if you have the product there or something similar but there is a cleaner called CLR (Calcium, Lime and Rust) clear. It works great for cleaning stains like that.

Answer 9

If you have not tried a lime away product then maybe a sos pad type product or a calcium remover product. also, the goo gone is very good, i like to polish it off with lemon oil and buff out.

Answer 10

sounds like rust, not a very high quality stainless sink.