How to Clean Stainless Steel Appliances | I’m Lovin’ It
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Stainless steel appliances are known for their beauty and ability to be a clean surface that resists corrosion and rust. Unfortunately, stainless steel appliances are also know to be the source of great grief in many home kitchens, due to their ability to show every fingerprint, smudge and bit of residue left behind from daily use.
(my 16 yo took this picture and insisted I use it! lol)
HOW TO CLEAN STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES
I’ve had Whirlpool stainless steel appliances in my kitchen for 5 months now. If you own stainless steel appliances, you may be in the same boat I was in…… losing a battle……..a battle against fingerprints and smudges. The grimy streaks were winning!
I whined to my friends about the smudges all over my pretty new appliances. I asked everyone I knew, including Mr. Google, how to clean stainless steel appliances. I got a slew of answers, from window cleaner to alcohol and baby oil, to simply pure water and numerous specially formulated cleaners. I tried, a clean dish cloth, paper towels and cloth diapers.
Nothing was working.
I vented my frustrations one day when I was on the phone with Jim, product manager at Whirlpool, when he told me something that changed my life! He said he uses affresh™ Stainless steel cleaner and a microfiber cloth. Jim told me he sprays the cloth with affresh™ Stainless steel cleaner then wipes down his appliances and has had great luck with that method.
To be honest, I doubted it was going to work, but figured what did I have to lose? I already had a bottle of affresh™ Stainless steel cleaner and a clean microfiber cloth.
As soon as we hung up the phone I headed to the kitchen to give it a go. To my amazement it WORKED!!!
- If appliances have visible grime and food, take a clean microfiber cloth and a little warm soapy water to wipe down surface (always wipe with the grain of the stainless steel). Then take the same cloth, rinse it well and wipe down surface again, removing soapy residue.
- Use a dry microfiber cloth and to spray the affresh™ Stainless steel cleaner on the cloth, NOT on the appliance (I usually just give it 2 squirts – don’t saturate the cloth)
- Wipe entire surface in the direction of the grain.
- Flip microfiber cloth over and buff surface using a little elbow grease until shiny!
I still have to clean them daily, but I have to tell you, I recently hired a cleaning lady to help me out a few times a month and when she walked into my kitchen she said “your appliances look AMAZING! how do you keep them so clean?!” ….TRUE STORY!
5 DON’TS WHEN CLEANING STAINLESS STEEL
- Do NOT use anything abrasive, such as steel wool or scrubber sponges. These may scratch the finish.
- Never clean in circular motion or against the grain. Always clean stainless steel with the grain.
- Never use chlorine bleach on stainless steel. It will ruin the finish.
- Do not allow residue to sit on surface. Grime, dirt and cleaning products should be removed as soon as possible.
- Do not expect stainless steel to look beautiful on it’s own. It’s going to take a little elbow grease and good daily maintenance to keep it looking shiny.
Not only am I still using the affresh™ Stainless steel cleaner on all of my stainless steel appliances daily, but I REALLY think the key is to use a microfiber cloth (I keep two that are only used on my appliances) and to spray the affresh™ Stainless steel cleaner on the cloth, NOT on the appliance. I’m now winning the battle with the fingerprints and smudges……and the BEST part….my appliances are clean AND streak free!! (so many other methods would remove smudges, but then left streaks).
I talked to the people at affresh™ and they said they’d be happy to hook up some TidyMom readers with their Stainless steel cleaner!
Giveaway! 3 (three) lucky TidyMom readers will win 2(two) 16 oz bottles of affresh™ Stainless steel cleaner + 1 microfiber cloth
Giveaway has ended. Congrats to Julie B and Meredith H
How to enter: Simply leave a comment on this post telling me if you’ve had trouble or success with keeping stainless steel appliances clean. (as always, if you are reading this via email or rss reader, you must click over to the blog to enter)
For an extra entry: You can share this post on pinterest, twitter, google+ or facebook and leave a comment letting me know you shared it (one extra entry per person)
Giveaway sponsored by affresh™. – I was not compensated for this post, but I do have a working relationship with Whirlpool – I truly use and love this product and wanted to share!
Official Rules: No purchase necessary. Open to US residents only. Must be over 18. Giveaway will end on Feb 13, 2013 at 5:00 pm CST. Three (3) winners with a valid entry will be selected at random using random.org. Winners will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be selected. TidyMom and affresh™ are not responsible for lost or undelivered emails. Prize: 2(two) 16 oz bottles affresh™ Stainless steel cleaner – value ($6.99/bottle) and 1(one) microfiber cloth
WHERE TO BUY affresh™ Stainless steel cleaner
you can purchase affresh products online from Whirlpool and Amazon, or at your local Best Buy, Home Depot, Walmart, and Target.
I’m Lovin’…….affresh™ Stainless steel cleaner
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Hi there, I'm Cheryl!
As a wife, mom, and caffeine enthusiast, my journey has taken me from bustling mornings with my family to sharing delicious recipes, home care tips, and heartfelt decorating insights with wonderful readers like you. My love for baking, photography, and tidiness shines through every post I craft. Dive into my world and discover the art of homemaking, one tidy moment at a time. Read more...
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Tweeted:
https://twitter.com/Eligonma/status/299891716918501377
I so need this….haven’t found anything to really clean the stainless steel appliances.
I pinned this!!
Ahh! I would love to win. Everything I use on my stainless steel appliances always leaves streaks and I hate it! Thanks for the information. I can’t wait to try it out. I hope I win a free one!
I shared this post on my Pinterest board.
We have a big stainless oven and I have a lot of trouble keeping it looking nice.
Yes, I’ve been having trouble with streaks and fingerprints on my stainless steel appliances. Will have to try this…
Cleaning SS is an ongoing challenge around here. I’ve also found that a micro fiber cloth and a SS spray does the trick. Happy Friday, Cheryl!
Keeping our appliances clean wasn’t a problem until our grubby handed son came along! 🙂 Now there are fingerprints all over everything, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Thanks for the giveaway!
Oh Boy!! If this works, I will be the happiest person on earth… (may be an exaggeration, but very happy none-the-less)!! Thanks so much for the tip!!
Just pinned the article on Pinterest!!! Thanks!!!
Yes! Thank you! I sigh a loud “ugh” every evening when I walk into my kitchen after a long day at work. Those streaks are everywhere and I have tried everything, except this. Can’t wait to give it a shot! Thanks so much.
I just got a stainless refrigerator and was wondering how to clean it!
THANK YOU for this post! I struggle with keeping my stainless steel appliances smudge free and I look forward to trying affresh and picking up a microfiber cloth of two! Thanks for the suggestion!
I love my stainless steel appliances but keeping then clean has been an ordeal. I cant’ wait to try this product. Thanks for the post!!
uh! a toddler and 6 year old make ss appliances a daily struggle in my house as well, thank you so much for this tip!
Great giveaway – I’d love to try this stuff. I’ve had good success with Griot’s Garage Window Cleaner on shiny stainless steel, but the brushed stuff is still an issue.
With a 3 year old and 4 other children in the house, it’s so hard to keep my stainless steel fridge clean. I tried just using a paper towel and wetting it. Ive tried using a wash rag and Lysol, but to no success. I had no idea there was even a thing out there for stainless steel cleaning of fingerprints! Wow! I’m amazed!
Just Tweeted it! 🙂
I was just trying to clean them yesterday. I can get the fingerprints easier than the streaks, so frustrating, would love a solution.
Till now, I used Windex and a microfiber… but now I’ll use Affresh!! 🙂
I have a SS stove and I am going to try this………I can never get mine to shine!
Thanks for the tip
I have a love/hate relationship with them. Love the look when they are new and have been unsuccessful yet to find anything that keeps them clean til now
Our stainless steel fridge drives me crazy when it is not clean! I have tried a little of everything. I can’t wait to try this product and get my fridge sparkling again!
Pinned – http://pinterest.com/pin/251779435389812813/
shared on FB (carole c)
I have had the worst luck keeping it clean! With little kids they are always have fingerprints!!
I usually use Windex and then get streaks. So glad you wrote about this! I need to get some Afresh!!!
Shared on FB too!
Eager to try this! Too many products leave behind a film.
I do have issues trying to keep my stainless appliances smudge and streak free. My husband trys to help, but he’ll’ be the death of us. Seriously, he sprays directly on the appliance and when he’s near the floor, the over-spray acts like silicone on our laminate floors. I don’t know how many times I have darn near landed on my ears!! Even the dog has slipped and fallen walking by!! So this is great news….
I have been using a combination of things to clean my stainless steel appliances. None of them work the way I want them to. I am excited about this and am going to get some this weekend. I have people coming over and I hate that my fridge always looks awful!
I don’t have stainless appliances for just this reason – cleaning them! My DIL, however does and I’d love to give these products to her.
i would love to find something that leaves stainless looking pretty. if i don’t win, i will go buy and try. thank you for posting about it.
i am posting to fb now, so when you read this, i will have posted to fb for an extra entry. thank you.
I pinned this on Pinterest Kari Shifflett
Oh my do I have trouble with smudges!!! 4 kids and a messy hubby makes for an annoyed mommy 😉 this would be awesome. I’ve tried all sorts of products that just leave streaks.
I use WD-40 to clean my appliances. Can’t remember where I heard that but it seems to do the trick 🙂
Thanks for hosting! Have a great weekend!
Cindy
I pinned 🙂
I would be thrilled to make the prints fade away. Our dishwasher and refrigerator are stainless steel and microwave too. Phew this sounds great!!
Problem with finger prints?!!!! YEAH! It drives me crazy. Thanks for a solution and the giveaway.
I still have the plastic wrap on my fridge, in a last-ditch effort to keep it clean!
Pinned this tip!
I have trouble with streaks.
I wish I could find a product that would really clean my stainless steel fridge. This looks like it could.
I have all stainless appliances… Thanks for the product tip! I will give it a try!
I shared on twitter here…………https://twitter.com/ciaomjc/status/299930529082507266
Have never been able to keep them clean for longer than 5 minutes it seems. Would love something that actually works.
All of my appliances are stainless steel and I have a difficult time keeping them clean. The fingerprints drive me nuts! Thanks for the product review. Great giveaway.