Stainless steel cleaning tips
Stainless steel looks great when it is new. You get those stainless steel appliances in your kitchen, and the look and feel is just awesome. However, if they get dirty, such as greasy finger prints, etc. you will want to clean them without doing any damage. Stainless steel will last a long time, and look great for a long time if properly cared for. So, how do you real it keep this clean without doing any damage to it? The following are some tips for how you clean stainless steel:
Don't Do:
When it comes to cleaning stainless steel, it is more important to know what not to do then it is to know what to do. For example, stainless steel is not actually stainless and it can be easily damaged (especially if it is new), by acids, bleach and metal scouring pads. Never use any of those three things to clean you stainless steel appliances.
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You do not want to have to replace your stainless steel appliances because careless action lead to them being ruined. So read the user guide, buy the appropriate cleaners, and take care when cleaning so that you do not run the risk of ruining them.
What to do:
To clean stainless steel, you want to use a degreaser. You can use a good one like a 2% caustic soda solution, which will not damage the steel. Just be sure to read the labels of degreasers to make sure they will not damage the steel. Then spray it on the dirty stainless steel and leave it to soak to remove the grease and any burnt bits and residue.
After it has soaked for a little while, you can wash it again in a hard surface cleaner solution.
Once you are cleaned it with the hard surface cleaner (again read labels to make sure it is not acidic and will not ruin your stainless steel) then rinse it off with water so that the steel is grease free and clean.
After rinsing off the steel you will want to dry the steel using paper towels or a clean cloth. If you do not hand dry it, it will dry to a dull, sometimes smeared finish. So hand drying will get the best looking results.
After the steel is dry, you can dress the dry steel with oil. This will keep it looking nice, and will keep it from getting brittle. You can use baby oil, but if you can use food grade mineral oil. It shines and looks good, and is better for the steel.
If you have dried on food or mess that needs scouring, there are only a couple of different scouring pads you can use (never use a metal one). You will want to find the scouring pad that was designed specifically for stainless steel. This will not scratch it, and will not ruin it.
Stainless steel can also be steam cleaned, but you will soak it in a detergent to loosen the grease before steam cleaning.
If you need to, you can restore stainless steel with a very dilute solution of phosphoric acid detergent. When doing this you will want to rinse well and dry well.
Now that you know how to clean your stainless steel appliances, you can enjoy their clean sleek look without worrying about ruining them as you clean the dirt, grime, and grease off their surface.
