Walk into any kitchen, and more often than not, you’ll find a stainless steel sink. These popular sinks match all kitchen designs and are durable and attractive as long as you know the best way to clean a stainless steel sink.

Most of us fall in love with the gleaming shine of new stainless steel appliances and fixtures in the kitchen, but admittedly, it takes a little effort to keep them that way. You might spend a little time every day wiping the fingerprints from the front of your stainless steel refrigerator, but the sink probably gets less attention. Even though they don’t chip or crack, they can start looking dull and stained.

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Don’t fret If your sink is looking less than its best – we’ll show you how to clean a stainless steel sink and bring it back to its original beauty.

How Often Do I Need to Clean a Stainless Steel Sink?

Disinfect your sink anytime it comes into contact with raw meat. You should also rinse the sink out daily or after each use. After that, you want to deep clean a stainless steel sink at least once a week. 

What Tools Do I Need to Clean a Stainless Steel Sink?

While you can opt for commercial disinfectants and stainless steel cleaners, you don’t need to purchase them if you don’t want to. When learning how to clean a stainless steel sink, most of the things you need are probably already in your pantry or cupboards. These simple items will help you take care of a dull finish, stains, as well as minor scratches.

• Dish soap
• Baking soda
• Nylon scrub brush
• Vinegar (white or cider)
• Spray bottle
• Cream of tartar
• Microfiber cloth
• Olive oil

Once you’ve assembled your tools and products, just follow this step-by-step guide for how to clean a stainless steel sink:

1. Rinse the Sink

You can’t effectively clean a stainless sink if it has scraps, bits of produce, or last night’s dinner stuck to the surface. Rinse everything away with hot water first. Use dish soap and a scrub brush to dislodge food that’s stuck to the surface.

2. Bring on the Baking Soda

Sprinkle baking soda all over the damp sink, covering the surface. Make sure you get it on the sides as much as possible. Baking soda is ideal since it neutralizes odors and is powerful enough to clean without scratching or marring the stainless steel. Even better, it’s completely non-toxic.

3. Start Scrubbing

Now it’s time to grab your soft nylon brush and start scrubbing, but make sure that you go “with the grain.” You will have noticed that the metal has a grain that goes in a specific direction, and you’ll want to follow that.

You can use an acrylic or nylon scrubbing pad as long as it’s not very abrasive. Never use any type of abrasive material, such as steel wool or steel brushes, since they can scratch metal.

As you scrub, the baking soda will start to make those tiny scratches disappear or at least become less noticeable. If you have any grimy spots that need extra attention, such as crevices or the seam around the drain, grab an old toothbrush to work on those.

4. Add Vinegar

Before you rinse away the baking soda, pour plain white vinegar into a spray bottle and spritz it all over the surface of the sink that you just scrubbed. When you do, it’ll start fizzing. Let it sit for a few minutes.

The vinegar will help get rid of calcium-based spots thanks to its natural acidity. Even better, vinegar is a great disinfectant. When the fizzing stops, rinse the sink and dry it with a cloth. If the sink was super dirty to begin with, you can do this step a second time.

5. Treat Any Remaining Stains

If the sink still has a stubborn stain that didn’t go away in the initial cleaning, you can spot-treat it with a mixture of vinegar and cream of tartar. Combine one cup of vinegar with one-quarter cup of cream of tartar and use that to scrub the stained area. If you prefer, you can also make a paste of equal parts vinegar and cream of tartar, which is also handy for almost any surface in your home.

Whichever mixture you choose, apply it to the stain, gently rub it, and then let it sit for about five minutes. Then, rinse the sink and dry it with a cloth. While this works really well, it should not be your go-to method for cleaning the whole sink. Stick to the previous steps using vinegar and baking soda for general cleaning.

6. Make it Shine

After the sink is clean and dry, put a few drops of olive oil on a cloth and buff the sink and hardware until it’s gleaming. Be careful not to use too much oil, or you’ll end up with a greasy sink.

Some Random Tips for How to Clean a Stainless

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Vinegar and baking soda are non-toxic and great for all kinds of household cleaning jobs, but that doesn’t mean they’re great for your skin. Baking soda can make your hands feel dried out.

No Vinegar?  Try Lemon.

If you don’t have any vinegar, use lemon juice.  Give the sink a scrub with baking soda and rinse. Then wipe the sink down with lemon juice and rinse.

The Flour Polish Method 

An alternative to polishing a stainless steel sink with olive oil is to use regular flour from your pantry. Make sure that you’re starting with a clean and fully dry sink – using flour is how to polish, not how to clean a stainless steel sink.  All you need to do is sprinkle a thick dusting of flour into the sink and start rubbing. Use either a paper towel or a soft cloth, but just remember to keep buffing. When you’re done, do not rinse the flour down the drain. This can cause a clogged drain. Instead, wipe the flour out of the sink.

Prevention is Good

Preventing water spots and stains will make a deep clean go much faster and easier. To do this, rinse the sink after each use and dry it with a towel to prevent water spots.

Any of these methods for how to clean a stainless steel sink will restore it to shining beauty as well as get it very clean. As we already noted, you probably need to clean the kitchen sink more than you are already doing, but incorporating a deep clean once a week will go a long way to keeping a stainless steel sink clean and sanitary.