http://www.care2.com/greenliving/green-clean-stainless-appliances.html
Eco-Clean Stainless Appliances
By Annie B. Bond
Who is sorry to say goodbye to those avocado colored refrigerators in favor of shiny stainless steel ones that
instantly give your kitchen a gourmet makeover? A rare retro fanatic might be. But the old ones were sure easy to clean! Not so with stainless steel. Learn how to be contemporary and clean, too.
Like marble counter tops and no-wax floors, cleaning stainless steel appliances isn’t as simple as you’d think. An all-purpose cleaner doesn’t do the trick for any surface like it did in the “old” days. So, while I’m envious of my friends who have stainless steel appliances in their kitchens because there is such a gourmet look to the space, I also notice that those same friends compare notes about what appears to be the bane of stainless steel owners, streaks and fingerprints.
New stainless steel is protected for a number of years by a chromium film that protects the metal from rusting, staining, and even tarnishing. But if you don’t keep up with the stains as you go along, the film can be compromised and actual repair after that is difficult.
Here is a stainless steel cleaner that is as good for everyday cleanup and the more heavy duty cleaning that is sometimes needed:
Ingredients
½ cup baking soda
?A few squirts of a green liquid soap or detergent.
Place the baking soda in a bowl and add enough liquid soap or detergent to make a texture like frosting. Scoop some of the mixture onto a sponge and scrub the stainless steel. Rinse well.
After cleaning with the above soft scrub, some people like to bring the stainless steel to a high polish by rubbing the surface with straight household vinegar. I’ve found that just rinsing the soft scrub well does the trick.
Stay away from all chlorine-based products on stainless steel.
A nice aspect of clean stainless steel is that the reflective surfaces pick up the look of the rest of the décor as in a mirror, always fitting in, neutral in a way.
Watch for a new trend of non-shiny metal appliances such as those made with brushed chrome, nickel and pewter, but beware of pewter because I’ve never figured out how to remove stains from it, and I’ve tried.
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24 comments
add your comment »I have tried store bought products to clean my stainless steel appliances. I'm also with Natalia N and olive oil with a soft cloth is the best and is also green.
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I've tried cleaning stainless steel appliances with store bought products. Olive oil and a soft cloth work the best.
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Sorry for the typo, that was a 1/4 cup of lemon juice, not 1/2 cup.
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I cleaned for a metal shop for about six months and insisted on using my homemade cleaners for the job. They had stainless steel backsplash and wall covering near the hand sinks and I concocted a mix that worked pretty good on it.
I used 1/4 cup white vinegar, 1/2 cup lemon juice and a few drops of dish soap in a 32 oz spray bottle filled the rest of the way with water.
Two other things I used that worked pretty good on the SS was Bon Ami Original and Barkeepers Friend. The Bon Ami has had the same formula for about a hundred years and the BK F is oxalic acid, which I believe is a naturally occurring substance.
Anyway, all three of those seemed to do a good job on the SS. The spray mixture didn't need to be rinsed off though.
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I have been using a cleaner by Bayes for the last 3 years and it works better than everything else I have tried. I found it at my local hardware store.
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I HAVE FOUND THAT GOOD OLD SOAP,WATER AND
CLEAR WHITE VINEGAR DOES AS GOOD A JOB AS
JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE. THE WHITE CLEAR
VINEGAR IS STILL THE BEST COFFEE POT CLEANER AND YOU ONLY NEED A COUPLE OF CLEAR
RINSES RUN THRU TO FINISH OFF THE JOB.
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This baking soda/dish detergent method (I assume by "green" you meant "natural," like Method or Seventh Generation) works very well. But it can be a little harsh for everyday cleaning--it might even scratch some stainless steel finishes. For gentler everyday cleaning, you can just use plain water on a soft cloth, or add dish detergent to the water for a little extra cleaning power. To remove grease, rubbing alcohol works well. Just make sure you rinse the alcohol off when you're done. There are more tips (and detailed cleaning instructions) at How to Clean Stainless Steel.
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why is this inappropriate?
This baking soda/dish detergent method (I assume by "green" you meant "natural," like Method or Seventh Generation) works very well. But it can be a little harsh for everyday cleaning--it might even scratch some stainless steel finishes. For gentler everyday cleaning, you can just use plain water on a soft cloth, or add dish detergent to the water for a little extra cleaning power. To remove grease, rubbing alcohol works well. Just make sure you rinse the alcohol off when you're done. There are more tips (and detailed cleaning instructions) at How to Clean Stainless Steel.
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For years I clean my Stanless Steal sink with elbowgrease and Backing Soada and nothing else.
Diana Fry
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When it said a green liquid soap did it mean something such as Palm Olive Dawn
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