One of the questions that I tend to get asked a lot is how to clean stainless steel appliances. Since we are working in the kitchen for this month’s Household Organization Diet, I thought that this would be the perfect time to answer it and have even been doing a little experimenting on our own stainless steel appliances as well.
First off, there are many different grades and types of stainless steel so what is best for mine, may not necessarily be best for yours. Even with our own appliances, I find that the stainless steel on our fridge and dishwasher cleans up much easier than the stainless steel on the oven. What I recommend is starting with the most economical cleaning option and expanding out from there if it is not working for you. I have really tried to cut back on the amount of cleaning supplies that I use and stick to green cleaners as much as possible. Finding cleaning products that serve multiple purposes will help to save you a lot of time, energy, and money, so look for products that you already have in your home first before going out and buying something new.
No matter what cleaning method you use, there are a couple of general rules of thumb to follow…
- Do not let the cleaning agent dry on your stainless steel. Give it a wipe and buff it with a dry cloth.
- For the most part, less is more, so use your cleaning product sparingly. You can always add more, but using too much product can definitely eat up your time and will require more scrubbing and polishing to get it off.
- Wipe in the direction of the grain. For all of our appliances, this is side to side rather than up and down.
- Invest in good microfiber cloths as you will need them no matter what cleaning method you use. I use a Norwex polishing cloth and the Norwex cleaning cloths for 80% of my cleaning and have had the same cloths for about 3 years now. This is one time that the dollar store cloths just don’t cut it.
I generally just use the Norwex polishing cloth and a water bottle {filled with either plain water or a 50:50 mix of water and vinegar for extra cleaning power} to clean my stainless steel and will give it a quick wipe as part of my daily kitchen cleaning routine. If it is extra dirty and greasy, I will use a microfiber cloth first to scrub and then use the polishing cloth, but, honestly, that is rarely needed. While this works great on the fridge and dishwasher, it does leave a slight streaking on the stainless steel on the oven. For the most part though, it is pretty insignificant and, for the sake of time, that is usually all that I use.
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I have seen a lot of other methods for cleaning stainless steel, so I thought that I would try them out and see if I could find something that would get my oven streak free. For each product, I smeared some butter over the surface, cleaning once using paper towels and once using the product and the micorfiber cloths. I tried to take photos of everything but the differences were sometimes hard to see in the photos so you will just have to trust me on this one! Here are the products and methods that I tested…
- 50/50 Water and vinegar – spray directly onto the stainless steel,wipe, and then buff with a dry cloth.
- Pledge – spray on lightly and wipe down. Buff with a dry cloth.
- Olive Oil {or baby oil or mineral oil} – apply the oil to a paper towel or cloth, wipe it on in the direction of the grain, and then buff off with a dry cloth.
- Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner – Spray directly onto the stainless steel and wipe off. Buff with a dry cloth.
- Bon Ami Window Foam Cleaner – Spray a thin layer of foam onto the stainless steel and wipe off. Buff with a dry cloth.
So what were my results?
- Well, first of all, using the cloths vs. the paper towels, made a big difference with every cleaning method. So save those paper towels and invest in some good cloths! While I am hooked on my Norwex cloths (especially the polishing cloth), I have heard that ecloths and Cassabella also make good microfiber cloths.
- I didn’t find that the Pledge worked well for cutting through the grease but it did shine thing ups and worked okay on simple water marks.
- Not surprisingly, the olive oil didn’t work for cleaning; however, it did work great for shining things up once I had already cleaned it. I probably wouldn’t take the time to do this on a daily basis, but would try it if I wanted to give my kitchen an extra shine for those special occasions.
- I would have to say that the Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner worked the best for getting rid of those little stubborn streaks on our oven. It also had a nice smell with no strong cleaning product odor which was a definite bonus.
- While the Bon Ami did an okay job of cleaning, it still left streaks on the oven and had a strong chemical odor that I didn’t like. I do have to say though, that it worked great shining up our glass top stove {although it doesn’t clean burned on messes}.
The Bottom Line.
All things considered, I still plan on sticking with my water/vinegar spray bottle and polishing cloth for my regular cleaning of our stainless steel. If you can’t tell, I LOVE my polishing cloths {and this is NOT a sponsored post in any way!} and love the fact that they can be used for so many other cleaning jobs as well {windows, glass, faucets, and any other surfaces that need a little shining up}. I will also be keeping the Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner to use for occasional cleaning of the stove when I really need to get rid of those little streaks, and I can also see myself using the olive oil to shine things up if I was doing a deep cleaning and wanted things extra sparkling.
If you are still on the hunt to find the ideal method for your stainless steel, I would recommend getting a couple of good cloths {a regular micro fiber cloth and a polishing cloth} and just starting with the water spray or a water/vinegar mixture spray. If you are needing something a little extra for polishing, try the olive oil method since you probably already have that on hand and then move towards the other cleaners if needed. The Wieman was definitely my favorite out of the products that I tried and worked great for all of our stainless steel, but I know that there are many more stainless steel cleaning products on the market.
So what is your take? Do you have a favorite method that works for you? I’d love to hear them!
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This post is part of The Household Organization Diet. If you need some organization inspiration, check out THIS POST to learn more about the plan and THIS POST for all of the 2015 updates. You CAN get that house cleaned and organized once and for all! To see all of the previous posts click the Get Organized tab at the top of the blog and go to The Household Organization Diet. I also have all of the posts pinned to my Household Organization Diet pinterest board. Start at any time and make sure you are following along so you don’t miss out…
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Have you tried plain ol’ rubbing alcohol? Works like a charm. Sometimes I put it in a spray bottle, other times I just dampen a cloth. Works like a charm, very inexpensive, and leaves everything sparkling clean.
I’ll have to give that one a try! Thanks!
I have the Norwex clothes and love them but for the stainless steel I prefer to use WD-40. I have a few spots on the fridge(they look like water spots) and have found nothing that will remove them but the WD-40 will cover them up for about a month. Just remember to spray the cloth and not the stainless steel surface. Wipe with the grain.
The best product that I have ever used is steel meister, which is only sold at Home Depot and makes my appliances look brand new. Easy and effective.
Where do you find the Norwex polishing cloths?
You need to order them from a Norwex consultant. I just google Norwex and order them online. 🙂
Norwex microfiber cloths are good, you can use any top of the line microfiber for the same result. We buy our microfiber cloths at Costco. We use them as wet cloths for scrubbing & dry cloth for polishing.
One of the reasons that I stick with the Norwex is that I know what the quality is and the research behind it all {as well as the silver threads}. Microfiber cloths can vary greatly in their weave which can have an impact on the performance of the cloths, so I stick with the Norwex in those areas which really need the deep clenaing {like the bathroom} and use some of the other microfiber cloths for regular cleaning and dusting in less germ ridden areas. I have tried many different polishing cloths though and haven’t found one that I like as much as the Norwex one. And I am not sponsored in any way by Norwex! lol!
I agree. Norwex cloths are top notch. It’s worth the extra dollars for these as they last for years and years. We use the cheap ones (Canadian Tire and Dollar Store) with polish on our vehicles and to get the grime off, but Norwex in the house.
At first I thought Norwex was just another gimmick but they are everything everyone else said and more plus they last a really long time. I can’t look back at all.
I love Norwex. There are a few things that I wouldn’t spend the extra money for, but I love their cloths!
Lovely ideas and suggestions! I recently found that paper towels and plain Windex work as a charm on stainless steel appliances. And I even could say better then some specialized cleaning products. Greets!
Yes, sometimes those “specialized” cleaners are not always that special!
Definitely! That’s what I’m telling each time I see some expensive cleaning “very special” products at friends’ homes. I’m trying to explain them that that sometimes cheap and ordinary products could clean better and be safer for their health. Not talking how better is to use homemade cleaning products. Greets!
It’s interesting that you use Norwex cloths for your stainless steel! I’m just learning about Norwex from a friend, and am thinking about buying a few of her products. I hadn’t even thought of using them on my appliances! Now I’ll probably have to get a few.
I could use some advice: I clean occasionally for a Realty Company and many of the homes in our area are owned by senior citizens. The houses have not been professionally cleaned in a LONG time. Most of the homes are still being lived in by the homeowner, although the house is for sale. The tubs & showers have tons of lime build-up. I’ve been using chemical agents but the smell is too strong for me to even be in the bathroom to do any scrubbing. Not to mention what that chemical agent does to the health of the senior citizen living in the home! Any environmentally safe ideas for tough lime stains in tubs/showers/shower doors? Thanks!!!
Green cleaning products should be able to work quite well – vinegar or hydrogen peroxide are good disinfectants and baking soda can be used as a mild abrasive if you need some extra scrubbing power. Invest in good microfiber cloths too. If you can get a steam cleaner, it will loosen all of that grime and disinfect with no chemicals and a lot less elbow grease! Hope that helps!
Weiman has stainless steel wipes now and I have found those to be easier and quicker than using a spray and cloths. I love Weiman because finger prints don’t stay and they are perfect for a quick clean up.
Good to know! I’ll have to try the cloths when I run out. I still use my Norwex cloths on the fridge and oven, but the stainless on our dishwasher is different and looks better with the Weiman.
I’ve tried every Stainless Cleaner/Polish out there, and so far, my favorite has been Milsek One Step Stainless Steel Cleaner. I heard about it on the “At home with Gary Sullivan” radio show. Resists fingerprints extremely well.
I haven’t heard fo that one – I’ll have to keep my eyes open for it!
Good to know! Thanks for testing out all these methods and sharing your results to save the rest of us some time! 🙂 And thanks for sharing your tips at the Family Joy Linkup!
Great tips and thanks for testing each of them for us! I’ll have to see if yours works for me. I use Weiman’s Wipes, too, and have found them to be a great product. However, using wipes for clean-ups can be pricey! So, I’m going to try your suggestion and see if I get a good results. Stopping by from Inspire Me Monday.
I use the Weiman’s about once per month and the cloth and water in between and it works pretty well!
Great tips. Thank you for sharing with us at #HomeMattersParty. We would love to have you again next week.
Thanks for the tips, I’ve had such a hard time getting streaks off of my stainless steel dishwasher!
Obviously the biggest stainless steel appliance to keep smudge/fingerprint free is the refrig. Just bought my first stainless steel refrig and though I was taking care of the biggest problem by not having water/ice despenser on outside door. Don’t care what color your refrig is, this area always looks like it needs additional cleaning. That decided I ordered and got my new frig ….. big and shiney. Oh My! So happy ….. for the first few days. Then started seeing “human” marks here and there. Went on line and looked up some cleaning ideas. Finally settled on Dawn liquid soap for fast clean up and then used lint free cloth with some baby oil to wipe down the whole thing. Looks like new and the best thing of all seems to repell fingerprints. Only using it occassionally now. After use I put it in a plastice sandwich bag and keep in refrig. for next time. Oh, and yes, I do use the handles unless my hands are full and then I use any body part available.
Would you please tell me which one of the many cloths Norwex sells is the polishing one? I googled that term and couldn’t figure out which one is your favorite. Thank you!
They actually call it a window cloth at Norwex. I use it for so much more though, that I always refer to it as a polishing cloth. 😉
Got it…thank you!
I ordered the window cloth and have been amazed how it works! Thank you so much!