Stainless Steel Sparkle

This marvelous material is everywhere, and even as appliance trends continue shifting, we’ll probably see this luxurious metallic surface many decades into the future, if not forever.  The benefit of upgrading to stainless steel is clear, as it gives a higher dollar look for real estate purposes, but also just makes people feel good, like they’ve updated the look of their home, and lots of stainless steel can just be impressive.  How we keep it clean is not too pressing, as it’s a forgiving material, but our lifestyles and clumsiness can lead to the need to scrub.  What’s the best way to get the grime off and restore the polish to our fridges, stoves, and dishwashers? Don’t forget pots, pans, and sinks made of the same material!

In case you didn’t know, there are special cleaners and polishes for this material.  Let’s take a look at a few, but first, what do we apply and scrub with?

Microfiber is the standard for home use and cleaning, and doing your final wipe “with the grain” can lead to an even nicer look.

For stubborn pots and pans:

Barkeeper’s Friend Cookware Cleaner and Polish – this is an old reliable brand and some report it’s much better than elbow grease!  If you are a light scrubber this can get you out of some trouble with the spouse as well.  It would probably be good to use some gloves.

Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish for Appliances – this spray is a bit expensive, but it really does a nice job.  It can clean an polish and leaves an excellent finish.  This is one spray that many people buy and then repurchase again as it’s a set-it-and-forget it type of buy.

Spraywell Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish – some people really like this spray, and one of the benefits of it is a continuous sprayer with propellant instead of a manual pump sprayer.  This can speed things up, especially for commercial kitchens which often have miles of steel.

Magic Stainless Steel Wipes – for quick use at home, maybe this is the answer – no need to chase down bottles, or jerk at paper towels, and no need to wash rags.  Just grap a wipe and quickly cure your problem

Tips to keep it looking good:

Cookware: You can limit yourself to using wooden, plastic, or silicon covered utensils.  You can soak pans overnight, even with stronger cleaning agents.  this means less wear and tear on your chef grade gear.  If you don’t care about the perfect surface, green scrubbing pads and even steel wool can make quick work of blasting away burnt on gunk.

Appliances:  In a pinch, Windex is a good way to just knock away simple smudges. Some people put transparent decal sheets (vinyl wrap) on appliances that sit near a high traffic corner that will lead to tons of scratches from people dragging rings and watches across the fridge or stove.

Whether you like things perfect, or quickly dealt with – even higher end surfaces can be cared for without extreme caution.  When in doubt, it’s best to get a cleaning agent meant specifically for the surface.  As always, if you don’t want to clean anything at all, and you’re in our area, a quick call can get you an appointment.  We’d love to clean your appliances at the same time we take care of the rest of your kitchen!