Make Your Stainless Steel Sink Sparkle! {Tiny Tip Tuesday}
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Wooh! That’s a mouthful – try saying that title 5 times fast! Go ahead, try it…it’ll probably take you longer than today’s Tiny Tip!
Stainless steel has become the norm in today’s home kitchens – from the sink, to the cookware, to the appliances. Some really snazzy kitchens are made entirely of stainless steel! That’s way too much steel for my taste, but I do love my trusty stainless steel sink.
And although I scrub it down with a soapy sponge once a day, over time, it accumulates a light film. A slight discoloration from days and weeks of all the liquids, food scraps, and dirty dishes that have graced its surface. It’s such a gradual process, but one day you look down and there it is…the dreadful brownish tinge staring back at you reminding you of your lack of diligence in cleaning.
And that’s when I bust out 2 of my favorite little kitchen helpers: baking soda and salt. If you remember, I used these guys to help me “scrub” my grapes clean a few weeks back – and they worked wonders! So this time, I decided to test them on my sink.
And guess what? Again, they worked wonders! After finishing a load of dishes, with the entire sink nice and wet, I scrubbed it with a soapy sponge (I keep a separate sponge near the sink just for cleaning – not the same one I use to wash the dishes, of course), then sprinkled some baking soda and some salt all over the base of the sink. Then, I went to town scrubbing away at every little crevice that my hands could fit into – all around the base, in the corners, up the sides, all up in the nooks and crannies of the drain, everything. It took all but a few minutes before I was satisfied that I’d covered every spot. To finish off, I just rinsed the whole sink clean with warm water.
I’ve tried to clean my sink with just baking soda before, but a) it never really scrubbed as well as I’d like (don’t get me wrong, baking soda is my favorite scouring scrub of life! just not for my sink, unfortunately) and b) the grittiness of the baking soda always left a white film on the sink, unless I scrubbed it down again while rinsing – double scrubbing? Not for me, sorry. So the salt served two purposes here: it gave some extra scrubbing power and it also helped to minimize the left over grittiness from the baking soda – Score!
Baking soda and salt are cheap, non-toxic, and readily available in my pantry, so this is just a no-brainer 
How do you clean your sinks (stainless steel or not)? What helpful tips can you offer from your home cleaning routine?
This post was shared here: Kitchen Tip Tuesdays, Frugal Tuesday Tip, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Simple Living Wednesday, Works For Me Wednesday,
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I’ve been doing baking soda and a little soap – works amazing. Didn’t think about adding salt, I will try that next time. Thanks for the tip.
This is such a great tip! Thanks for posting it! Off to scrub…
Unsurprisingly, I clean mine exactly like you do
What can we say? Great minds think alike
Well unfortunately, Sarah, I have this ugly old white acrylic sink that some goofball installed in our condo years before we bought it, and it is a nightmare to try to keep clean (seriously… WHO installs a WHITE sink? I’ll tell you the answer: someone who never uses it!). So far the only thing I’ve found that works is bleaching it once a month. I’ve tried *everything* natural but the surface is just so darn pourous and damaged from years of wear and tear that I just fill the sinks up with hot bleach water once a month to get it back to at least beige (its never really white anymore). If the Lord ever blesses us with enough money to get a new sink, stainless steel ALL the way, baby! Thanks for sharing this tip today.
You know, I always wondered who the heck would purposely get a white sink..for the kitchen?!? And now I know…people who don’t use it LOL
Well, here’s praying that you’re blessed with a new sink sooner, rather than later 
P.S. Like the new name
Have you ever tried plain ole peroxide on your white sink? Just pour in, spread around to the sides and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Your sink should get white fast!
This works on tile grout too! If really dirty leave standing on it for longer. Scrub with a brush. Leave a little longer then mop it up with clean water!
i have just learned about all the things you can do with peroxide,and this was one of them. it is almost as good as baking soda, no as good as! all these years and now i’m in my sixty and just learning all this good stuff!
Hi baby thank God I have stainless steel and its still new but yes I’ll try this later maybe when u come over lol
Haha! Sounds good, Mom
Sarah,
Just wanted to say I so appreciate the traffic I’ve been getting because of you linking to me (or so says my blogger stats page!
) and just how cute your blog is in general I linked to your post about dandelions on my current post about the same and I also added you to my homemaking blogroll. I cant promise you as much traffic as you’ve sent my way but just wanted to let you know. Blessings. 
Oh yay, that’s exciting! Thanks for adding me to your blogroll, that means a lot
Do you think this will work on stainless steel appliances as well? We have a stainless steel dishwasher and the outside of it is always covered in nasty fingerprints and fur from the animals rubbing against it.
Budget Earth – How to Save Money on Groceries
I wouldn’t use this on your appliances for fear of scratching the surface, but check out my laminate floor cleaner post. That’s what I use on my stainless steel appliances and it works like a charm
Hey sarah just wondering- have you ever thought of doing tiny tip thursday as a blog carnival? i would totally join every week if you did, I like the idea of one quick useful tip and Id like to join and see others’ tips as well. Just a thought.
Hey Nicole, I actually have thought of it! I was just waiting for my readership to grow a little before I felt confident enough to get one started
I think we’re getting there, but your comment has given me an idea – I’m going to check with my Facebook fan page peeps to see how many of our fans have blogs and would be interested in linking up every week- yay!
I’ll keep you posted
I love your website! I’ve found lime juice, salt, and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works great for cleaning stainless steel.
http://www.ourhomemadehappiness.com/2012/04/homemade-rust-remover-and-stainless.html
That sounds wonderful, Kendra! Thanks so much for sharing – I’m off to check out your site now
Just tried this and it worked. Thanks so much for the great tip
Yay! Glad it worked for you, Michelle! Thanks for commenting and letting us know
I didn’t think my sink could even BE this shiny!!!!! I used your laminate floor cleaning solution yesterday and decided to try this one today and I might be in love with you now. Lol Thanks for the tips!
This is an amazing tip! I was cleaning my kitchen, scrubbing the sinks down and I made this face because I noticed how ‘brownish’ the bottom of my steel sink was. No matter what I tried, it wouldn’t come off. So I went to good ol’ Pinterest and I found your tip! Thank you, it worked wonderfully!
That’s awesome, Amy! You’re very welcome. LOL, I know that face
Glad it worked for you, and thanks for coming back to comment!
That is amazing. Baking soda is an handy item that can also be used in many area including countertop.
Do you know that you can use baking soda for your stains on your granite counter top? You simply mix the baking soda with some soapy water into a paste, and cover up the stains for at least 12 hours. Then simply rise off the water, and you will notice the stains disappear, or at least dimenish.
It really is amazing, isn’t it? Thanks for the granite tip, Karine! I don’t have granite, but my mom does, so I’ll be passing this on to her.
I have a cast iron sink that had that awful brown staining on it. I scrubbed it with everything I could think of (including baking soda), but nothing worked. Finally, I tried the following: 1-2 inches hot water, a splash or 2 of vinegar (probably 1/2 cup or so), a squirt of liquid dish soap. I let that sit in the sink for 30 minutes or so and then scrubbed with my green dish scrubber (didn’t take too much elbow grease). Like new! Just thought that might be helpful for those with cast iron sinks!
We are moving in less than two weeks and with my husband painting and using our kitchen sink as a rinse station, it was getting grimy and gross so I just tried this and it came out so shiny and clean! This will for sure be the first thing I do when I get into my new place. Thanks for sharing!