Stainless Steel Cleaner

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet. I’m sharing with you an easy way to clean your stainless steel appliances. 

Until a few months ago, the only stainless steel I had ever had in my kitchen was a sink. I never gave much thought to cleaning it. I just got in the habit early on of wiping the sink and faucet dry with my dish towel each day after doing dishes. Occasionally, I would get out the Brillo pads and give it a good scrub, but that was it. 

I had heard people complaining about fingerprints on their appliances, but paid them no mind. How hard is it to wipe off a refrigerator??? Well, it is hard. I very quickly lost interest in keeping it nice and shiny because it was impossible, and I knew if I kept trying I would be institutionalized within the year. I would swipe at it throughout the week and on Sunday afternoon as I prepare to host a life group at our home I would wipe it off best I could and turn off the lights in the kitchen so nobody could see the streaks. Just kidding about that part. Our group shares a meal together each week so we’re all in the kitchen and there is no way to hide them. Fortunately they come to talk about Jesus, not to look at a shiny refrigerator, so nobody but me notices or cares.

BEFORE:

I asked around to see what my fiends friends use on their SS appliances, because I’m the newbie and they've been fighting this battle longer than me. I got a variety of replies ranging from misc. brands found at the grocery store, straight vinegar, DIY cleaners, essential oils, and plain ol' oil. I knew I did not want to spend the money on a commercial product because of the chemicals. I tried using straight vinegar. That worked pretty well. I made a spray bottle that contained a blend of vinegar, dish soap, and water and that was okay. I fixed up a little travel bottle with distilled water and lemon essential oil and that worked better. I used a variety of cloths with each method to see if that made a difference. 

What I found was, with enough elbow grease, all the methods could be effective at removing smudges, fingerprints, and greasy forehead circles above the water dispenser. (Apparently thirteen year old boys get pretty tired while waiting on their glasses to fill and have to lay on the refrigerator. Trust me, I was as shocked as you are.)

They all worked. For five minutes. Then more smudges, fingerprints, and greasy forehead circles mysteriously appeared in the same places. I knew it couldn't be my three precious cherubs making all these marks, so I called Ghostbusters. They said we didn't have any ghosts, so the only other logical explanation is that the neighbors break in and use our refrigerator when we’re gone or sleeping.

All right. I’m sorry. This post isn't that short after all is it? My bad. I’ll get straight to the point. I DID find a solution. It is the only one listed above that I had not tried. Plain ol' oil. In actuality, it was OLIVE oil. Leslie suggested it to me originally, but it sounded like a stupid bad idea to me. The last thing I needed was more oil to smear around when I cleaned it. Finally, out of desperation, I decided to try it. After all, Leslie is pretty particular about keeping her house clean and if she used it, maybe it would work. Well, lo and behold, it did. It worked! <cue angelic host>

AFTER:

I put a tablespoon or so of olive oil on a microfiber cloth and started working it into the metal going with the grain. The fingerprints came right off. I went back over it with a dry microfiber cloth to absorb any excess oil. Easy peasy, lemon squeasy.

The best part is that not only does it REMOVE smudges easily, they don’t come back! Even after several days, the fridge is nice and shiny like a baby's hiney. It looks like we won’t have to host our life group in the dark this week. I guess that means I have get to mop now. Great. I guess it will take something else to get me locked up in a padded cell, because I’m calling this battle officially OVER and I won! Please excuse the melodrama. I have a tween and a teen in my house so that’s just how it is around here these days.

Speaking of drama, please say a prayer for my husband. As you know, college football has started back. By the time you read this the outcome will have been determined, but my husband's team is playing and from the sound of it, they're not doing well. I'm worried he's going to bust that big vein in his neck. 

 Kristy~