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How to Clean a Stainless Steel Sink and Make it Shine: Simple 3-Step Solution with Ingredients Found Around Your Home

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy here.

July 30 by Cassie 34 Comments

Are you ready to combat the chrome and get geared up to defeat the grungy stainless steel sink? Well, we want to share with your our 3-step process on  how to clean a stainless steel sink and the best part is, there are no expensive cleaners – only simple ingredients found at home already!

awesome-3-step-solution-to-deep-clean-your-stainless-steel-sink

I love this method as you walk away with it looking like a brand new sink.  Mine is 10+ years old, has plenty of scratches and dings. I can’t say that I treat my sink nicely, as I don’t.  I work it hard, things get thrown in, things get left sitting in… etc. It is a well used kitchen appendage! So it is always a joy to see how she shines and the smile on her face after this great cleaning – it’s a day at the spa for her. 🙂

So let’s get this party started and get our sinks clean with a few minutes of work and a few ingredients.  Think of this as like a car wash – the supreme wash with the cleaning, buffing and spot-free rinse, and the waxing!

Well, that’s what we are going to do.

Step 1 for Stainless Steel Sink Cleaning

supplies needed for step 1 of stainless steel sink cleaning

Supplies:

  • Vinegar
  • Baking Soda
  • Dish soap
  • Scrubbing tools like toothbrush, scrubby pads/sponges and steel wool

How to clean stainless steel sink step #1

  • Plug the sink(s)
  • Then add about a 1/2 inch of water
  • Sprinkle baking soda all around
  • Squirt some dish soap in the sink all around

prepping big stainless steel sink for cleaning

Big sink with this solution

prepping stainless steel sink for natural cleaning with homemade mix

Small side sink with the solution

  • Then pour distilled white vinegar into the sinks and let the solution “bubble up.”

stainless steel sink cleaning big sink foaming with homemade cleaner

Bubble Fest! 

stainless steel sink cleaning with homemade cleaner foaming up

  • Then let this sit for a minute or two.
  • Go through and scrub away with your scrubby pads and steel wool. When using steel wool, gently scrub and it will also help buff away some superficial scratches (but do this carefully as you can create other scratches :))
  • This is also the time I use a toothbrush to get the crevices by dipping the toothbrush in the solution and scrubbing the outside parts of the sink.

using toothbrush on stainless steel sink for cleaning crevices with homemade cleaner

  • Then when you are satisfied, pull the plug to drain and rinse the residue away.

stainless steel sink cleaning dirty water after scrubbing

The dirty water left from scrubbing the small side of my sink – this is evidence it works well 🙂 

Here’s the results after step #1 of stainless steel sink cleaning.  My camera does not do this justice.  In person, the difference already is amazing!

stainless steel sink cleaning after step 1

After Step #1 of 3-Step Stainless Steel Cleaning – already a big difference! 

stainless steel sink small after cleaning step 1

Step 2 of Stainless Steel Sink Cleaning

This is what you might consider your spot removal and spot-free rinse step.

supplies step2 for stainless steel sink cleaning

Supplies:

  • Cream of Tartar (buffer and scratch reducer)
  • 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Rubbing Alcohol (optional)

How to clean stainless steel sink step #2

  • Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the sink.  This will help to buff and smooth out small scratches.
  • Then spray with the Hydrogen Peroxide – when you turn on the water after buffing, then this will create a “spot-free rinse”
  • Simply take your scrubby pad and “buff” the sink by working in a circular motion.

step2scrub-sm

  • Then turn on the water and rinse away. Feel free to spray a bit more hydrogen peroxide if you need to!
  • For this step, if you have rust or other spots, you may need to go a step further in removing the rust.

how to remove rust from stainless steel sink

  • This is best done with straight rubbing alcohol on a rag or scrubby pad.  Just pour a bit of it on and scrub away the rust/tough stains BTW – this is a before all of the steps picture.  I often find that the rust will fade after completing step #1 and #2, so you couldn’t see it in the camera, so I am showing rust from first picture so you can actually see it.  However, even after the first 2 steps, there is still a bit of rust visible in real life – so this is when you might need to pull out that alcohol!

Step 3 of Stainless Steel Sink Cleaning

This is what you might consider your shammy shine/waxing when you wash your car! Well, we want that stainless steel to shine as well! This also gives your sink a bit of nourishment.

Supplies:

  • Olive oil or baby oil
  • A rag

To finish up, I will use a towel to dry it up and then give it a nourishing shine with oil! Olive oil or baby oil is best.  Simply pour oil on a rag and wipe down the sink.

finishedboth_cropped

Then your sink will shine and be happy and you will be too!

full-sink-before-and-after

Here’s the before and after next to each other so you can see the awesome difference.  Again, camera’s (and my poor photography skills) do not give this justice, but it is beautiful instead of a dull stainless – it’s shining! 

*One final note, you may have noticed my sink, an extra big sink with a small sink instead of it being divided in half. Let me just say I HATE this sink design. It looks like it would be quite cool and functional – but the truth is…. the small sink is useless! You can’t wash dishes and rinse reasonably without water going everywhere, it is too small for holding strainers and cleaning food (which is why I get a lot of buildup on the edges as seen in the toothbrush picture – the water always leaks out over the sides!), water not only spills over the counter tops, but onto the floor and has been a real pain.  If you have a choice, I would recommend not going with a sink like this. When I change one day – I will steer clear of this useless design.

See more specific Cleaning Tips HERE

See our Cleaning Pinterest Board HERE 

Filed Under: Daily Dose of Thrifty, Homemade Products, House

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. D. Ulloa

    Amazing!! I didnt know my sink could look this good again! Thank you so much for sharing!! I wish I would have taken before pictures to show off the final look lol!!

    Reply
  2. Sandra Lueker

    Will the cream of tarter mixture work on dishes that are scratched?

    Reply
  3. Tony Crapella

    Hey, I found this really great product for cleaning stainless steel, it’s the Innosoft B570 from Emergo, it’s 100% organic and is used in the food industry. Works like a charm! http://www.eliminaterust.com/innosoft-b570-organic-deep-cleaner-that-removes-rust-from-stainless-steel/

    Reply
  4. Pam

    I just want to agree with you on this style sink. I absolutely hate mine, and the little side is always dirty. That’s why I looked at your tip for cleaning. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Cassie

      Yes, I have yet to meet anyone with this sink style that actually finds it useful. 🙂 But thankful to have a sink with running water. 🙂

      Reply
    • Smicchic

      I used to have that sink, and there is a collander you can purchase that fits the small side, which makes it more useful!

      Reply
    • DIIY Gramma Bobbie

      I have the same type of sink, which I chose, and absolutely love it because I can lay my cookie sheets flat and let them soak. The small side is where my non-working disposal holds the compost recycle basket in use in my town. Very handy. Sorry those of you who have commented don’t like yours.

      Reply
      • Nancy Jordan

        I love my sink like this, but the smaller sink is about twice the size of yours which makes it a whole lot more useful. My larger sink is not big enough for baking sheets, but then I don’t bake as much as I used to and parchment paper is great!!

        Reply
  5. Mal

    Adding vinegar to baking soda makes nice bubbles but doesn’t clean a thing. The bubbles are from a chemical reaction between the baking soda (NaHCO3) and vinegar (HCH3COO) that makes mostly carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H20), and a tiny amount of sodium acetate (CH3COONa). Sodium acetate is the salt and vinegar flavor in potato chips. The white gritty remainder is from the baking soda which cleans only by abrasion. Don’t waste your time.

    Reply
  6. Elaine Leduc

    I’m so sick of these vinegar and baking soda cleaning tips. I need a real cleaner for stainless steel. There must be something out there.

    Reply
    • Cyn

      Powdered Barkeepers Friend! However, I like the olive oil at the end to make it really shine and repel water! I keep one that is out of date just for this!

      Reply
  7. Edith

    I must say this does really work I tried it on my sink and must say that it came out brand new..
    Happy that I tried this.
    Thanks for the tip…

    Reply
  8. Penny

    In my old house I had the opportunity to order a new stainless sink. I ordered one with the side drain such as is quite often in a laboratory. I loved it and found it so handy for washing/draining veg, lettuce and such. I would do it again if I could.

    Reply
  9. trustworthy

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    • Sherri

      What in the world does this have to do with this ad??

      Reply
  10. Natalie

    In many cases, end off tenancy cleanrs are known as dkrectly into rectify work
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  11. Dale Gerlach

    I love that type of sink and have one myself. We use the small one to cool hard boiled eggs with cold water and ice. I also use it put peeled potatoes in before cooking to keep them from discoloring. I use the small side on a daily basis! We also use it to soak the sponge mushrooms we find in our woods. They have to soak in salt water overnight before being prepared.

    Reply
  12. Peter DIYPD

    Nice article and very easy steps to follow. Thank you!

    Reply
  13. Carolina Arey

    Thanks for sharing with us all these informative tips in stainless cleaning
    Been really helpful!! Keep up the great work always!

    Reply
  14. Soren Keagan Bodhi Baldwin

    This blog serves as a reminder to take care of our mental health and well-being Thank you for promoting a healthier and happier mindset

    Reply
  15. Yaretzi Fritz

    This is such an important and often overlooked topic Thank you for bringing attention to it and offering valuable advice

    Reply

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