Stainless-steel cleaners

If you’ve got any stainless-steel appliances in your kitchen, you’ll know that the name of the finish is something of a misnomer. “Stainless” surfaces can definitely get stained and dirty.

Just ask Kristina Murray, who thought the new stainless-steel appliances in her Cornwall, New York, house “looked really cool nestled under mocha-stained cabinets and black granite countertops.” But when her son began to put his hands and mouth on virtually everything in the kitchen she and her husband started to see stainless in a different light. “We realized it takes a lot of work to maintain its shiny finish,” she says.

To see how well some popular stainless-steel cleaners work, we smeared peanut butter, jelly, ketchup, mustard, and tomato sauce on sheets of different types of stainless steel, let the mess sit for at least 24 hours, rinsed off any goo, and used each of the cleaners as directed.

All the products cleaned up all the stains except mustard, which left permanent speckles on the metal sheets. Every cleaner also removed fingerprints easily, though they didn’t stop new prints from appearing. The Weiman spray seemed to be better than others at limiting streaking on a variety of finishes.

The seven cleaners we tested work well, so choose based on price and type. The Method, Pledge, and Weiman sheets are one-step cleaners; with the other four you have to clean and then buff the surface.

The chart (click below) shows cost per use, based on the price of one sheet or the amount of pump or cream cleaner it takes to do about 12 square feet and one sheet of Bounty paper towel.

Essential information: Read "Best home appliances for the holidays" to find top kitchen gear for your home.

 

Comments

[bob_in_sc]

The article says "The Method, Pledge, and Weiman sheets are one-step cleaners; with the other four you have to clean and then buff the surface." yet the chart shows that Weiman is an aerosol product, not a wipe.

[Pablo]

Have you guys tested the "Bar Keepers Friend" cleaners?

[Angela]

I personally use a product called Sheila Shine. It is only found in places that sell professional cleaning products. The person who cleans the retail store up every evening where I work uses it. It definately has an odor that last's for a little while, but it does actually repel fingerprints, and cleans off all the peanut butter and anything else that ends up on my fridge or dishwasher or stove.

[Paul Kierstead]

What I would like to see is an article about getting polymerized oil stains off of stainless, such as the ones you can get on a stainless steel stove or the outside (or even inside) of a stainless frying pan. This are the nice brown film of cured oil that seems impervious to just about everything.

[Melissa]

I cannot get the streaks out of my stainless steel Profile refrigerator. When the sunlight shines on it I see streaks even though I have cleaned it with a number of things including soap and water as their instructions say to do. I am very frustrated.

[Sanjeet]

Anyone try the 3M SS cleaner. I have and it works pretty good. First you apply with paper towel then you wipe off with a clean paper towel.

[Sophie]

Weimans is the best, no streaking, excellent cleaner.

[B. W.]

I've searched the web for suggestions on removing surface scratches on stainless steel appliances. My May'08 "Dream" kitchen remodel came with the price of--whatever comes in first will get nicked by what comes in next. The stainless steel appliances were installed, then, next, the cabinet crew scratched appliance fronts in spite of covering things with sheets and blankets. I researched the website discussions and saw a conclusion that the old 60's pot and pan bottom cleanser for RevereWare would remove scratches best. Is that True? What works best to remove surface scratches on stainless steel appliances? Man, you have to have been asked this innumerable times by now.

[Marigo]

Try Sheila Shine. I have found it works the best on all my SS. The best pricing I found it for is on SheilaShineDirect.

[Wayne]

Sheila Shine works oak but is very oily and is also very toxic. I found a cleaner called Bayes Premium Stainless Steel Cleaner that is oil based like Sheila Shine but is non-toxic and non hazerdous. It is also part of the EPA's , design for the environment program. Have not seen it in stores yet but you can get it at their web site - www.bayescleaners.com

Wayne

[JEANNE NIXON]

HOW CAN I GET WATER STAINS OFF OF MY GRANITE COUNTER TOPS?

[carolyn cardell]

i have water stains on my stainless steel freezer door from the water dispenser, any idea's on how to remove water stains?

[Ruth]

I have tried several SS cleaners and they all have left my SS appliances streaky and smeared. I found Signature Polish at 877-3POLISH or signaturepolishonline.com It is truly a product that works great and is easy to use. I started to regret purchasing all SS appliances in my kitchen until I found Signature Polsih. The customer service dept. is very helpful also.

[Fingerprintless in Chicago]

I read another blog recommending Murphy's Oil Soap. I love this idea because I like to simplify and don't like having a product that can only be used to clean one thing (i.e. Stainless Steel Cleaner). I already use Murphy's Oil Soap. After a little trial and error, I found that this method works best. Take a wet microfiber cloth and put a quarter size amount of Murphy's in the center. Use that to "polish" on to the stainless surface. Wipe immediately with a second dry cloth to polish. It works like a dream. The little bit of "oil" in the Murphy's polishes well, while the "soap" prevents the surface from being oily and slick like the other recommended cleansers. And the surface becomes "smudgeless" which is even better.