Water Spots on SS Sinks

10 years ago

I have been enjoying my new SS single bowl sink so much---I think I'm as excited about that as I am about the new granite countertops and upcoming backsplash. I'm firmly in the single-bowl camp of sinks, so finallly having a single bowl after 20+ years of discontent with my double sink is proving to be just as wonderful as I thought it would be.

However, I had forgotten about the water spots that come with SS. I stil prefer that over the constant black marks on my cast iron sink. However, my new sink is so pretty, I hated to see it marred by the all the spots. I read all the advice, and the main constant was to dry the sink after every use. I would just read that, roll my eyes, and say, "Yeah, right!"

Recently, though, I realized that almost all of the water spotting occurs on the back wall of the sink and, what does occur elsewhere isn't that noticeable. I have a magnetic rod on the side of the sink that holds my dishcloth, which is nearly always dry. I realized I could quickly wipe off the water (which beads up on the SS surface until it settles into water spots) with the dry dishcloth with no trouble at all. So now, when I use the sink, the last thing I do is quickly wipe the back wall of the SS sink. Each time I approach the sink now I find myself smiling at the lovely, gleaming, spot-free surface. It's a little thing, but it makes a big difference.

Of course, the sink still gets regular cleaning all over with baking soda and vinegar, but in between it stays so pretty now. You clever people here have probably already come up with your own way of dealing with the spots (including just ignoring them), but I thought I'd share mine.

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Comments (10)

Maria33904
10 years ago
Thanks for sharing, what a great tip! I don't have my sink yet. I'm also going from a cast iron double bowl sink to a single bowl ss sink and I hope I'll love it just as much as you do.
Anne Harris
10 years ago
Can you show a picture of the rod you used in your sink? Interesting idea! I have had SS sinks in my kitchen for years and don't have trouble with spots--but our water here is soft. Just put in a new sink in another home that has hard water--it's just occurring to me that it may need a little more upkeep! Thanks!
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ginny20
10 years ago
That is a good suggestion. I sometimes wipe out the sink with a dish towel before it goes in the laundry, but not consistently like you do. As a result, I need to remove the spots weekly with BKF.
sail_away
Original Author
10 years ago
My SS magnetic dishcloth holder is made by Magisso and can be hard to find. I've attached a link to show you what it looks like. It's more expensive than when I bought it (plus they were having a sale), but it was still more than I wanted to spend. I bought it anyway about a year (maybe more) before we actualy started working on the kitchen. I'm glad I did, because it works perfectly.

They do make a plastic version, but I don't know anything about it.

Toward the bottom of the page that I've provided a link for there is a short video showing how they work. Even with very thick insulation around the sink, the magnet holds it tight. I don't regret spending extra $$ on it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Magisso Dishcloth Holder
sail_away
Original Author
10 years ago
The following is an idea posted some time ago by fouramblue as an alternative to the Magisso dishcloth holder. (It was written long after I'd bought mine already, but it seems like it would be a viable option.):

''The Magisso is very cool, but I'm too cheap to spend that kind of dough on it. So I made a fixed (no swing arm) cheapo-magisso with rare earth magnets and a cabinet pull. My sink is stainless and the magnets hold through it very well.''

Also, I just came across a reference to another type of magnetic holder for your dishcloth. I've added a link that shows it, as well as some other things for the sink.

Here is a link that might be useful: Reenberg Dishcloth Holder

This post was edited by sail-away on Tue, May 21, 13 at 19:39
Bunny
10 years ago
How do you get magnets to stick to your SS sink?
sail_away
Original Author
10 years ago
Linelle, The Magisso comes in two pieces. One is a magnet that you place on the outside of the sink, and the other is Magisso dishcloth holder that has a second attached magnet, which you place inside the sink wherever you want the holder for the dishcloth to be. They then are drawn to each other by the magnetic field through the SS sink---so they have to be fairly strong magnets.

Take a look at the video at the link for the Magisso. It is toward the bottom of the page, and it shows how they work.
Anne Harris
10 years ago
Thanks for the links!
sail_away
Original Author
10 years ago
You're welcome. I noticed that the pictures of the Magisso show it placed in front. However, I put it on the side, as I thought it might feel more in the way in the front. It looks nice, doesnt really take up much room, and, since my sink is large, it is out of the way of anything I want to do in the sink. Despite the tight budget we were operating on, I don't regret this purchase at all. Of course, it helped that I bought it a year or more before we started the actual work on the kitchen.
DiggingInTheDirt
10 years ago
Thank you, SailAway, for being a SS sink lover and admitting that those *%^($&$(# water spots are a pain in the (*&^!

I've dealt with my SS sink for 22 years, and can't wait to replace it with a Silgranite so I don't have to clean those water spots any more. Full disclosure, I grew up with a cast iron sink, so my role model, my mother, never had to deal with the water spots. Occasionally she would use comet to get rid of the dark marks. But if you really use your kitchen to cook, you're running water frequently, and having to wipe out the sink each time is not my idea of having fun in the kitchen.

My cleaning lady gets my sink to really shine, and I have finally mastered the skill. What I have learned is that not only does the stainless need to be clean, but it needs to be very dry, and then buffed, to achieve that shine. So, at the end of the day, I will wash it with Dawn, rinse thoroughly (I forgot that rinsing it thoroughly is another part of the process), dry it with a towel, then REALLY dry it with a paper towel, then buff it with a soft clean cloth.

Seems like a lot of work, doesn't it? I think I'm going to try your method of just focusing on the back portion and see if I like that better.