Try the Mr. Clean eraser. It works well.

Ever hear of flylady? I used her method of cleaning my kitchen sink and it really worked. this is what she says:

BE SURE AND RINSE WELL BETWEEN EACH STEP OF THE WAY!

Run some very hot water into the sink. Fill to the rim. Only do one side at a time. Then, pour a cup of household bleach into the hot water. Let it sit for 1 hour.

Now, pull the plug and rinse your sink well.

Use some cleanser (Comet, Ajax, or Baking Soda) and scrub your sink. Ensure you rinse ALL of the cleanser from the sink.

Now, get out your window cleaner, I use Windex, and give it a good shine.

Now if you have a stainless steel sink, I recommend all of the above directions with one extra instruction added:

After you soak your sink, rinse well, and use SOS pads to scrub it. This will buff the finish. It will look like new.
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Ok, that's what she said. If you'd like to read her site, here is a link. It's interesting.

Here is a link that might be useful: shiny sink

Flylady is great, but I am surprised about her bleach suggestion. Bleach is a very caustic alkali and will pit stainless steel, which is why most manufacturers indicate that you are to "avoid using cleaners that contain bleach." Perhaps her solution is dilute enough so as not to damage the sink, but I would not take the chance.

As to cleaning your sink, can you be more specific on the condition it is in? For example, does it have scratches? Soap scum? Hard water spots?

For HW spots, clean with white vinegar. For scratches and/or soap scum, clean with a mild abrasive like Barkeeper's Friend. To finish up with a polished look, buff your clean and dry sink with a little lemon oil.

Lynne

I agree with Lynn... I think Flylady is great, but that advice - someone needs to give her a heads-up.

Even if the bleach is diluted enough, the SOS pad on stainless is a Really Bad Idea unless the sink is old and abraded already. It removes an important layer - along with creating scratches.

And the "good scrub with Comet" is even a bit too abrasive for porcelain sinks, IMHO. My housekeeper used it on my porcelain sink to remove a pot stain and that area forever collected coffee and tea etc.

Barkeeper's Friend is wonderful stuff. I used it on my porcelain and now stainless steel sinks and it cleans anything, but doesn't scratch. It is acidic tho so don't let it sit long or it'll etch.

Having said that, with my father's 20 yr old stainless sink, it's too late to care about scratches. So I use one of those low grit sponges with the sandpaper-like exterior - found in the paint section.

Once you get it nice, baby oil is great for keeping it pretty, and repells water. I keep a little bottle of it under the sink to mist it with then dry with a paper towel.

I've been wondering if it would be a good idea to use some turtle wax on it tho... ? I bought some to use on my cultured marble tub and sinks...

I'm thinking of going for stainless steel sink...but I'm a bit concerned regarding how easily it scratches and stains. Do you get used to it over time? Are there better options for overall durability and looks?
Also, any problems with undermounts?
What is your preference and why? Thanks

Hi Masue: I have found the best cleaner is stainless steel (aerosol) cleaner from Costco. I think it came in a 3 pack. Good stuff. If you mean by 'undermounting'...a disposal unit or connections... that was not a problem at all. I am tough on my sink and hate it when it is dirty. I think I just don't like the newer one that I got. I seem to have almost always had a stainless sink though. Good Luck ! Char

In response to Masue, my current sink is stainless steel, as have been most of the ones in my previous houses, and I don't want to have another one again. They're not aweful or hugely unhygenic, but they have issues. I find the thousands of inevitable little surface scratches dull them and make them look old fast, and I find them hard to clean.

My next sink will be ceramic, enameled metal or composite. Something smooth, glossy, scratch resistant and easily cleaned. These materials are just like those used to make bathroom fixtures, and I find these much more durable and easy to clean. The choice of colours is better too.

Also, undermounted sinks have a gap which is hard to see and reach, but it holds the dirt very well. Some designs may have solved this, but during a recent trip to a kitchen store I found lots of sinks with this gap and it put me off buying one. With a surface mounted sink the join between sink and surface is clearly visible and easily cleaned. I decided that a surface mounted sink in the same colour as the surface would look very smooth and seamless, but without the cleaning problems. Some composite surface makers also form sinks in the same material for a perfect match.

If you can't do anything about the scratches just consider it a patina (a change in appearance produced by long-standing behavior, practice, or use). If it was an old piece of furniture the patina would give it class.

We use an SOS scouring pad and Beer Keepers Friend. Beer Keepers Friend has a mild abrasive similar to Bon Ami (which we used before buying the BKF). The sinks usually have a "smooth" and brushed surface. We don't use the SOS pad on the smooth surface. Go easy on the smooth surface - here you might try a bathtub soap remover type of cleaner along with very light scrubbing with the BKF or Bon Ami. On the brushed surface, use both and scrub in the direction of the brush strokes. That will get in the grooves better and will minimize the scratching in the wrong direction. Glass cooktop cleaners contain a very mild abrasive and can be used on the smooth surface of the sink, again with very light pressure.

I have stainless steel sink and also stainless steel
pans and I keep them clean and shining with
Kleen King. You can get it in some grocery stores
and also at Walmart, Inexpensive, cleans without to
much scrubbing.

Gemfire

I wipe my SS sink with a sponge dipped in plain white vinegar after I clean it by spraying with 409 or fantastick and a sponge.

I have a ss sink and love it. I got the deepest one they had without going in to the really expensive ones. There are some that are all shiny, and I would suggest the brushed and shiny (around the edges) instead. I use barkeepers friend on it.

It is so funny to see this post today. Yesterday I discovered Flylady, through a post here, and went and shined my sink first thing. It was still shining when I went to bed, and it greeted me with a shine this am.

Now I'm off to dress complete with tie up shoes...lol

Sue

I use Barkeepers Friend on mine about once a week and that keeps it shining. In between times, I clean it every night with Mr. Clean.

I've had stainless and porcelain sinks but my favorite by far is composite granite. I had one installed in my last house and loved it so much I got another one when I moved into this house last year. Mine is matte black to match my granite counter tops, but they also come in white and bisque. It is real easy to keep looking good. I scrub it with a plastic bristled dish brush and Dawn, rinse, and it's good to go. Water marks aren't a problem, although I do wipe it down with a paper towel after the rinse.

We recently bought a house, I have never had a stainless steel sink, I did not know that bleach was not a good idea for cleaning, is there a way to fix it or is my sink ruined?

I used to clean houses and I HATE sss! Try BonAmi. That's what I used. Bar Keepers Friend works but it wreaks havoc on the skin.

I still clean houses and have used this 4 the last 20 years. I buy mine @ Home Depot but U should B able 2 find it online. U buy this in a kit and they give U pads that look like sandpaper. U start out with the coarsest an finish up with the finest grade. There is a polishing cream which U use with it. It makes SS look like new! Just B sure that U rub with the grain of the SS.

Scratch Away Sink Restore
Micro-Surface Finishing Products, Inc.
1217 West Third Street, Wilton IA USA 52778

To clean stainless steel, USE stainless steel.

Get one of those stainless steel scouring things (they look like little balls when you first buy them) and use Cameo for stainless steel (there are two - one for copper and one for stainless steel), with hot water, or Bon Ami. Cameo is also a must-have for stainless cookware, along with the stainless scouring pad. It'll keep it like new.

The scouring pad will not scratch the sink. I would not dare, however, use it on stainless appliances.

This post was edited by Tibbrix on Thu, Sep 26, 13 at 7:47

Wipe the stainless steel with magic eraser sponge, it is multi-purpose sponge highly effective in cleaning almost all surfaces.