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    Home » House Stuff

    How to Clean Stainless Steel

    January 5, 2020 by Karen 149 Comments

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    Stainless steel isn't nearly as hard to clean as I thought it was. It turns out the BEST way to clean it is by using no cleaners at all.  Just grab yourself a microfibre cloth or two and get rubbing.

    Skip right to the tutorial.

    The looney bin, in fact, has a whole ward devoted to those who have tried to clean stainless steel with the wrong product.  It's right next the the ward filled with women who tried to convince their husbands The Golden Girls was a great show.  Good intentions all around, but the end result is the same.  Looney bin.

    For years I struggled with keeping my stainless steel appliances clean and in fact ruined both of them in my attempts.  I used abrasives and sponges and things that could clean the bottom of an elephant's foot, but maybe weren't the best things for stainless steel.

    But I was desperate.  There HAD to be something strong enough to cut through the dreaded fingerprints. Do not do what I did.  Do not use dish soap, steel wool or glass cleaner on your stainless steel appliances.  It's a very, very bad idea.

    When I got my new Blue Star range and glass front refrigerator I was determined to learn how to clean them properly.

    When my stove arrived I actually emailed the Blue Star representative in my area to ask him HOW to clean it so I'd end up as the owner of a sparkling appliance and not the resident of an institution.  Was there a secret spray I didn't know about?  The latest and greatest killer chemical that would make you grow a second chin but ALSO obliterate the smudges on my stove? Because I was O.K. with that.

    The answer he gave me was embarrassingly simple and I wish I knew about it 15 years ago.

    TO CLEAN STAINLESS STEEL ALL YOU NEED IS A MICROFIBER CLOTH AND WARM WATER.

    How To Clean Stainless Steel 6

    That's it.  2 microfiber cloths if you want to do an especially impressive job.


    Since originally writing this post I've switched to The Ultimate Cloth which is even BETTER than microfibre.  It's Mirafibre.  You can literally clean your windows with nothing but water with it.


    Observe the prints below.

    How To Clean Stainless Steel

    I made those prints special for you. Please don't enter them into any database.

    How To Clean Stainless Steel 2

    Would you like to save this stuff?

    We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.

    That little squiggly mark to the bottom right is a scratch, not a print. No idea how it got there.

    How To Clean Stainless 2

    To clean the prints from your stainless steel, dampen a microfiber cloth with warm water and rub with the grain of the steel.

    How To Clean Stainless Steel 3


     

    Once you've gone over it with a the warm damp cloth, dry it with another microfiber cloth.

     

    How To Clean Stainless Steel 4


    Done.

    The prints are gone, it was easy, there were no chemicals and no special supplies other than the microfibre cloths which you can grab just about anywhere. I'm not sure if you can get The Ultimate Cloths anywhere, or only on Amazon which is where I got mine. I imagine some local speciality stores might have them.

    How To Clean Stainless Steel 5


    If this WASN'T enough oven cleaning for you I have a bigger challenge for you, with even bigger reward.  You can learn how to remove your oven door and clean between the glass in window in this post.

    So there you have it. Smudge free appliances in no time at all, leaving lots of time for other things like dancing, watching television, dirtying up the appliances again and of course ... visiting people in the looney bin.

    How to Clean Stainless Steel

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    1. Camille Olivia

      March 26, 2025 at 3:02 pm

      Hey Miss Karen ~ Amazon is out of the Mirafibre cloths (U.S. Amazon) with no clue as to their return. SO...my question is what's so special about them. I have about a gazillion microfiber cloths already but since YOU recommended them I thought I'd give them a go. So what's the story?

      Thanks (in advance) for responding.
      Camille Olivia
      SuperFan (of YOU and all things TAODS

      Reply
      • Karen

        March 26, 2025 at 4:26 pm

        Hi Camille! It's a different kind of microfiber. It's finer somehow. I did find it on Amazon, it's just the unbleached version. ~ karen!

        Reply
    2. linda

      March 05, 2025 at 12:33 pm

      ok, you convinced me about finger prints, smudges but how to get rid of stains caused by spills that somehow no one ever wipes up??

      Reply
    3. Peggy

      March 05, 2025 at 10:01 am

      Ultimate cloths are AMAZING! I clean my windows with water only. Rinse them first, then go over them with the bucket of water & the ultimate cloth. You don't have to dry your windows. Haven't bought window cleaner in 6 years.
      Use my cloth in shower (aluminum edge of shower, taps, etc), marble vanity top.
      Also s.s. fridge & dishwasher. I rarely purchase cleaning products.

      Reply
    4. reba

      March 17, 2023 at 1:12 pm

      If you have never cleaned stainless steel with a spraycan of beeswax, you're missing out. Try it and tell me you weren't impressed.

      Reply
    5. Carolyn

      March 15, 2023 at 5:37 am

      Admittedly, microfiber cloths are amazing things, they work great for cleaning many things.
      But one more item to add to the list that works GREAT on stainless is Lemon Pledge. It'll remove any hard water deposits (let it set just a bit) as well and leave that appliance shiny.

      Reply
    6. Susan

      March 15, 2023 at 1:49 am

      Baby oil. Use that micro fiber cloth with some baby oil on it. Shines the stainless and helps prevent fingerprints for awhile. Also super great on stainless sinks like mine prevents water spots from hard water and covers scratches 😊

      Reply
    7. Ariel Nievera

      September 22, 2022 at 4:56 pm

      did you find a way to remove the scratch?
      what's a good product to use on minute hairline scratches believe made by a microfiber on a stainless steel. appliance. i think its only in the coating. its like z swirl mark. thank you

      Reply
    8. Corten

      December 18, 2021 at 4:06 am

      This is so cool. I tried it and it work really well on my Stainless. It felt like magic. Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
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