Non-motoring > Stainless steel worktops	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Dave	Replies: 31

Tue 12 Mar 13 08:36   Stainless steel worktops - Dave

For various reasons beyond my control, my new kitchen has stainless worktops. But unless they are wiped and dried after every drip, then a stain develops that isn't easily removed. I'm trying to keep them looking new, although I guess this will be impossible, but what is the best way to do this without them getting all scratched up and stained? Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 09:00   Stainless steel worktops - CGNorwich

I wouldn't bother, just live with it - the kitchen is a workplace- Scratches and marks are all part of the "industrial" look that goes with stainless steel tops . Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 09:17   Stainless steel worktops - Dog

Weave just bought some knives n' forks from M&S, I likes em so have tried to look after em so that the business end stays nice n' new. =Impossible with s/s, unless y'all don't actually use em of course. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 09:25   Stainless steel worktops - henry k

>>unless they are wiped and dried after every drip, then a stain develops that isn't easily removed. >> ??? I have never had this problem in decades of of having a SS sink & drainer. If the stains are from the water then it is so easy to treat. Get some citric acid crystals and they will soon make the water stains go. You can also get SS polish or probably similar products that will slowly remove very minor scratches. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 09:28   Stainless steel worktops - Haywain

If stains develop readily on 'stainless steel', why is it called 'stainless'? Shouldn't somebody be sued under the trades description act, or something??? Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 09:34   Stainless steel worktops - CGNorwich

A better name is corrosion resistant steel but the term "stainless steel" goes back a long way and the name stuck. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 09:40   Stainless steel worktops - henry k

IIRC there are at least two types and one goes rusty :-) Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 09:41   Stainless steel worktops - Clk Sec

Our stainless steel cutlery sometimes has stains on it when it's been through the dishwasher. While everything else is gleaming. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 09:46   Stainless steel worktops - bathtub tom

I'm surprised Zeddo hasn't suggested vinegar. SWMBO uses it on ours with some success (you just have to put up with the smell). Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 10:09   Stainless steel worktops - Dave

Well it's not really stains, but water marks where it dries and leaves an 'edge'. I just don't want to rub it too hard! Here they call stainless 'rust free steel', which is a better description, as long as they are talking about the grades of stainless that doesn't corrode. As some have said, some grades to corrode, although nothing like steel, and some are also magnetic. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 10:31   Stainless steel worktops - Dog

>>I'm surprised Zeddo hasn't suggested vinegar He's in Marrowquiche. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 10:11   Stainless steel worktops - VxFan

>> then a stain develops that isn't easily removed. Baby oil www.ehow.com/how_6314974_clean-stainless-steel-baby-oil.html (and many other links through google - tinyurl.com/blc8xyz ) Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 12 Mar 13 at 10:14 Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 10:59   Stainless steel worktops - Mike Hannon

In France you can buy 'alcool menager' - household alcohol - that is a bit like white spirit. They use it for everything including filling petrol cigarette lighters (I think) and it brings stainless steel and glass up a treat. I think the UK equivalent might be that stuff they used to use for cleaning video recorder heads - 'denatured alcohol'? Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 11:09   Stainless steel worktops - Dave

I think I can get the alcohol stuff here. But vinegar is very hard to find - no fish'n'chips see. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 12:02   Stainless steel worktops - Roger.

WD40 works a treat - just hold your nose afterwards. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 12:09   Stainless steel worktops - Fursty Ferret

Anything mildly acidic will work - vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, aspirin, Coke, etc. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 12:52   Stainless steel worktops - henry k

>> Anything mildly acidic will work - vinegar, lemon juice, lime juice, aspirin, Coke, etc. >> >>I think I can get the alcohol stuff here. But vinegar is very hard to find - no fish'n'chips see. White vinegar available? IMO citric acid is the way to go if you can get it. It is so cheap in my local hardware shop. It was also used for cleaning wine bottles in the home brew scene. I have just checked re polishing SS and I have a tube of cream by Franke the well known SS sink maker. It is just the sort of chrome polish of old with fine abrasive in it but any old similar polish will do. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 13:03   Stainless steel worktops - Bromptonaut

>> IMO citric acid is the way to go if you can get it. >> It is so cheap in my local hardware shop. It was also used for cleaning >> wine bottles in the home brew scene. AFAIK Citric Acid was mixed with sodium metabisulphite to liberate sulphur dioxide as a sterilant. Nasty stuff capable of causing asthma attacks in the susceptible (as well as being poisonous). We used it in our early experiments with beer and wine making and often ended up with a coughing fit. Were glad to discover Chempro SDP and it's successors which were both more effective and less chemically aggressive. Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 12 Mar 13 at 13:04 Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 13:56   Stainless steel worktops - henry k

>> AFAIK Citric Acid was mixed with sodium metabisulphite to liberate sulphur dioxide as a sterilant. >> Nasty stuff capable of causing asthma attacks in the susceptible (as well as being poisonous). >> We used it in our early experiments with beer and wine making and often ended up with a coughing fit. >> Wow! How has out household survived all these years! SWMO has asthma for years with no effects from me using citric acid. I do not mix it with anything like S M so no idea of those effects. What we have done for years is to ingest it. We use citric acid BP to make our own lemon squash so again how have we survived ? Some points from the householdpackaging "- also suitable for descaling baby bottle sterilisers... Do not use on enamel, decorative or metal plated surfaces" I am aware that some metal plating can be affected such a kettle elements. IIRC it causes de zincification? I avoid it and many other "cleaners" with regard to enamel. On the citric acid monohydrate BP pack - " suitable for culinary use..." " may be used...jam and other conserves Do not mix with bleach or other chemicals" Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 14:08   Stainless steel worktops - Bromptonaut

Sorry Henry I wasn't trying to 'make a point' just relate my own use of Citric Acid together with another product as a homebrew sterilant. For clarity, it's the mixing with Sodium Met that produces the nasty stuff, ie SO2. It's the So2 that kills off the bugs that might otherwise spoil the brew and produces a choking effect in the user. As you say, Citric Acid alone is a food grade product and harmless. Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 12 Mar 13 at 14:08 Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 14:18   Stainless steel worktops - henry k

Bromptonaut. Thanks for explaining your experience. I had wrongly assumed that just citric acid alone was used to clean bottles. I do not think I will attempt home brew especially re the risk SWMBOs health. The only alcohol that SWMBO can tolerate is Champangne ( or Cava) so I will stick with commercial products. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 13:06   Stainless steel worktops - TheManWithNoName

I'm a bit of an anorak when it comes to cleaning the kitchen but I always use lemon juice. A cheap own brand bottle sprinkled on surfaces and sinks is great for stains and limescale too. Soak a cloth in it and leave tied round the base of a tap will rid it of scale build up and it leaves a nice lemon smell (Jeez, I'm starting to sound like a TV advert!). Wipe with a damp cloth and buff with a microfibre one for that fresh shiny zingy feel, STOP IT! No harmful chemicals and its safe for children too. Turns to camera with cheesy grin on face. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 13:32   Stainless steel worktops - Armel Coussine

I really can't understand what people are on about. Dried water stains on our stainless steel sink and draining board wipe off with the abrasive back of a plastic washing up sponge. You can use a bit of washing up liquid if you want but it isn't essential. The sponge doesn't scratch the surface. Mind you, the sink itself has acquired a sort of milky satin-finish look. No doubt one of these houseproud products would deal with that, if we could be bothered. The worst thing here is the waste pipes filling with nasty gunge. But bleach down there followed by a bit of violence copes with that. I've never had to use a plunger. The heel of my hand does the trick. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 13:34   Stainless steel worktops - Roger.

I concur with the lemon juice option. Half a lemon, juice side down, also works well on glass shower screens to get rid of lime scale. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 13:59   Stainless steel worktops - henry k

>>The worst thing here is the waste pipes filling with nasty gunge. But bleach down there followed by a bit of violence copes with that. >> Soda crystals are the normal traditional treatment for clearing such gunge Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 14:39   Stainless steel worktops - bathtub tom

Citric acid crystals look just like sugar in the sugar bowl. ;>) I put them through the dishwasher and washing machine occasionally. Don't know if it does any good, but doesn't seem to do any harm. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 14:49   Stainless steel worktops - henry k

>>Citric acid crystals look just like sugar in the sugar bowl. ;>) >> A good description of the BP version. Boots no longer stock it. Some chemists have it hidden but need a good reason from you before you can buy. ( it is used in the drugs scene) The household version has much larger crystals, I suspect to make it more difficult for the drugs scene.l Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 15:03   Stainless steel worktops - DP

We used to use glass cleaner (vinegar) on our stainless hob in the last place. Will never have stainless appliances or surfaces in a kitchen again. You spend fruitless hours chasing the visual perfection that followed the initial installation and then vanished forever the first time you used it. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 17:14   Stainless steel worktops - legacylad

HG make some products for cleaning SS surfaces. We sell them in the shop where i work and get very favourable reports. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 19:34   Stainless steel worktops - Stuartli

Do you have hard water? Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 20:34   Stainless steel worktops - Armel Coussine

>> Do you have hard water? Where have you been Stuartli? Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 12 Mar 13 21:22   Stainless steel worktops - TheManWithNoName

>> Do you have hard water? >> We do. In fact it's so hard, the annual bill from Anglian Water is delivered with menaces by two huge bald headed tattooed blokes wearing leather jackets. ;-) Reply to this message | Report message