# Stainless Steel cleaning question



## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

I know I'm a rotten housekeeper, but I'm trying. 

I have an old SS bread box that always looks awful, even after I clean it. So how do I make it shine without too much elbow grease?


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## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

Is it rusted or just not as shiny as you'd like? If it's just dull, try using cream of tartar paste to scrub it with. If it's rusted, sand it down and repaint it. If you use a nice colored enamel spray paint, you can just wipe it clean after that.

Hope this helps.


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

It's not rusty, just not as pretty as it could be. I'll try the cream of tartar - I've got plenty of it. In a weak moment I bought a rather large amount & later couldn't remember why.


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## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

Because it's great for cleaning stainless steel sinks!


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## Sparkey (Oct 23, 2004)

Try "Bar Keepers Friend" stainless steel cleanser & polisher. I use it on my stainless steel sink & Farberware pots & pans.


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## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

After it is clean maybe you could wax it or something to keep the finish looking good.


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## Bee_Rain (Jun 15, 2004)

NostalgicGranny said:


> After it is clean maybe you could wax it or something to keep the finish looking good.



Last week on one of those home-makeover shows, they said to rub stainless with olive oil and buff it with a soft cloth to keep it looking new. 

I never heard of that before, so I thought I'd share.


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## Seagrape (Aug 4, 2008)

Sparkey said:


> Try "Bar Keepers Friend" stainless steel cleanser & polisher. I use it on my stainless steel sink & Farberware pots & pans.


I second this. I use Bar Keepers Friend on everything--stainless steel cookware, my stainless sink, copper bottom pots (works great!), enamel sink, etc.

If your stainless bread box has brown grease spots on it, you might try a heavy duty degreaser like Thunderblast (from the Dollar Store) and scrub with steel wool. The steel wool may leave fine scratches but it will be clean. To make it as shiny as possible, wash with soapy water, rinse and rub dry with a dish towel.


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## catmar (Nov 25, 2006)

Will bar keepers work on stainless steel appliances?


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## 10Gauge (Jun 5, 2008)

Once you clean stainless steel, the trick is to buff it out with a clean, dry cloth.


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

I clean my kitchen stainless with rubbing alcohol, then polish it with just a few drops of olive oil and one of DH old cotton undershirts. All my cleaning rags are old cotton undershirts that are cut up into nice size cleaning rags.


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