A realtor told me to spray the sink with Pledge to get it to shine for viewings. However, I didn't and have no idea what lasting effect that would have on it. I just use BKF and dry afterward with a towel. Shines fine for me.

I wonder if car wax would work- those water marks drive me nuts too. I've never tried it but I'm going to now!!

Actually stainless steel does not mean it doesn't stain...it means it stains less than other kinds of steel. So don't expect it to be perfect.

We usually clean the sink (with a little BKF or Cameo) every night, or at least every couple of nights (usually after washing stuff that we don't put in the DW--our wood cutting boards, knives....). We usually have to wipe out the sink after cleaning up from dinner anyway, so adding a sprinkle of cleanser isn't a big deal at all. I find doing this helps keep the sink from being too spotty or "groady" looking on any given day (fewer days worth of build-up).

You can use a SS polish or something like that to coat the sink (so the water runs off the surface a little more "cleanly"), but realize that most of it will be removed when you clean stuff in the sink.

If I'm the person wiping down or cleaning the sink (vs DH), I will often spritz it with my alcohol-water spray after I've cleaned it with the BKF/sponge, and then dry the surface with a micro-fiber cloth, and it looks pretty good.

I use a tiny bit of olive oil on a paper towel. I'll clean out the sink, get it fairly dry with a towel. And then I keep an oil impregnated paper towel in a small glass jar under my sink - it has just enough oil on it to coat the paper towel, but it's not dripping, and I just wipe that over the inside of the sink. The bit of oil tends to help the water bead up a bit and seems to make it easier to clean the sink. I've been doing this for years. I figure that it's about as natural as you can get and virtually everyone always has oil in their kitchen.

Try a completely wrung out miracle cloth or similar item and just wipe it down. It should not be dry but not damp enough to leave a trail. The "spots" are just dried on water beads.

The SS sink is a workhorse in our kitchen. I frequently use it to soak my boys' whites in oxyclean before tossing them in the washer. The oxy leaves the stainless sparkling afterwards. I haven't tried just wiping down the sink with oxy to see if it gives the same shine.

There was an old Brenda Starr comic strip where she was masquerading as an applicant for housekeeper to get into a big house to solve a mystery. In the interview, the owner asked her "How do you keep SS from getting spotted?" Brenda, who had studied for the interview, answered promptly, "Wipe it dry after every use."

I don't actually do this consistently, but I never forgot it, and it is true.

I miss Brenda Starr.

I remember Brenda Starr! Used to love reading the Daily News Sunday comics when we visited my grandmother or grandfather. :-)

Water spots are not your sink's fault. Pure water with no mineral inclusions will not spot sinks. It's the mineral inclusions that are left behind by the evaporating water that cause water spots.

Yes, the cure is to dry the sink after use.

Or to treat the water with a filtration system.

Or don't get a shiny sink. Matte or brushed is your friend.

Or, to develop enough of a patina of small scratches in the stainless that the water spots aren't noticeable. Patina is also your friend.

I think I went to school with her...

Yeah, hollysprings is right. That mirror finish looks good in the store, but it just screams "Clean me all the time! Careful! I'm going to show every scratch!" My SS has a sort of brushed finish, and 10 months in, it already has some patina. BKF does work well to clean it up, since I don't wipe it out every time. It looks fine.

LOL, weedmeister. Did she bring that guy with the eye patch to your class reunions?

On my Franke SS sink, I use BKF every other day or when it is extra spotty. I soak it and the grid in Oxyclean one time a week--more for grid cleaning than sink. To shine, a couple times a week I spray with alcohol/water/lavendar oil spray. Wipe with microfiber cloth. My sink is 7 years old, get HEAVY use and shines like a showroom demo.

i too us BKF and dry the sink. I was wondering if using Rain-X, (used on windshields on cars that makes the water roll off) would work on SS sink?

Worth a try: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-your-stainless-ste-57954

I'm seeking the same help; it drives me crazy. i wonder if Rain X would work?

Try this, please.

Gel Gloss works really well . Home Depot and Lowes both carry it. It is a polish that has that "rain x" effect.

My cleaning ladies use a product that makes my stainless look fabulous. This is what they use. She said they have tried it all and this is the one.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sprayway-15-Oz.-Aerosol-Stainless-Steel-Polish-and-Cleaner/19662668?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=1103&adid=22222222228000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=42423897272&wl4=pla-51320962143&wl5=9027642&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=19662668&wl13=1103&veh=sem

Use Bar Keepers Friend of Comet - both work like a charm to get rid of spots, not prevent them! Without fail.

My parents have a stainless steel sink that never leaves water spots, so I didn’t give it a second thought when I bought one for my new home. We live in the same city and so have the same water but my stainless steel sink ALWAYS looks dirty with water spots. We figured it must be because my sink was made cheaper? I bought one that came with a faucet from Costco by Kohler. I even tried running softened water to the kitchen sink, and it didn’t help at all. I wish there was some sort of wax or coating to prevent it.

First clean your sink with Bar Keepers Friend. It may take two tries to get all the gunk off. Then use GEL GLOSS ( HD & Lowes both carry) . Thick coat, let stand a few minutes, wipe off with the grain. Allow to dry over night. Should help the water spots. Have a customer in Dover, De who installed both the Reality Sink and a Kohler for prep and had waterspotting on both . Found the above solution worked for her. ( main causation with her spotting was a new house that was still off loading oiling found on the new plastic piping. An instant hot water maker vs a hot water tank exasperated the problem ) Good Luck!

I too just got a new shiny stainless steel sink and the water spots are bugging me. I really don't want to dry it out every time I use it. Thankfully my sink is deep so you don't see too far down. I never had water spots in my old stainless sink...but it was 20 years old and probably very dulled from all the years of use. I will try the Gel Gloss. Anyone have any newer solutions?

I put a small amount of Jet-dry Finish on my SS sink. The water runs off & does not spot. But, I cannot find any info to verify that it won't damage the sink.

I have two Elkay sinks and the water beads up in the sinks badly. It drives me nuts!! I had Franke sinks before, and this did not happen. One thing I do notice is that these Elkay sinks are shiny, and seem to have some kind of finish on them. I am going to try my ol’ friend Barkeepers Friend for several days, and see what happens. There is a noticeable difference in the quality between Franke and Elkay. You may not get what you pay for, but you will pay for what you get.

I’ve had an Elkay since February 2014 and I have zero problems in my hard water location. I don’t get it.

No spots.