HOW TO REMOVE A STAIN FROM A STAINLESS STEEL SINK

I took the above advice and tried Barkeepers Friend [on eBay or Amazon] on some recent stains and it worked beautifully. It not only removed the new stains but also, with a little elbow grease, nearly removed (still working on it) Lime-Away damage from over four years ago that I'd completely given up on. Everyone who has a stainless sink should know about this. Thanks to all who suggested it.

Be advised, BarKeeper's Friend is NOT recommended for Stainless Steel. Check out their website. I did have success with removing rust on my silverware, but then there was some in the grooves of the serrated blade still, so I let some barkeeper's friend set on it for awhile. When I went to clean it, the barkeeper's friend had permanently damaged the silver. It works chemically, so I'm guessing that it removed the silver plating from it. So, if you use it, do so sparingly.

Jack Jensen
- Valrico, Florida

! Hi, Jack. I did check out their website and don't quite understand your posting. Their website prominently says: "... and is great for cleaning stainless steel.", and "If you're looking for a cleanser you can trust to clean your stainless steel, ..."

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Ted, Jack began by talking about putting it on stainless steel, but ended by talking about it taking the silver/silver plating off. My guess is it is the silver plating that is not listed on the website.

Thanks everyone...I am headed to the store for Barkeepers Friend [on eBay or Amazon]. I am sure it can't hurt.

Charla Henderson
- Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

A. I found this thread because I had purchased a fantastic retro set of brass flatware and immediately stained it with Tarn-X, thinking that it would polish up the metal (yes I did read the back of the bottle, but did not realize the metal was actually brass at the time)

I will capitalize the words BARKEEPERS FRIEND [on eBay or Amazon] to make this thread seem like a blatant advertisement for the stuff. It not only polished like I thought the Tarn-X was going to, but also removed the black spotty damage that it did to my now magnificently shiny golden set of flatware. This stuff is less than $3 a can at a grocery store, go try it. My hands feel kinda funny though, maybe you ought to use gloves [on eBay or Amazon] .

Kelvin Vance
- Aiken, South Carolina
October 27, 2009

A. I had a Tarn-x stain on my new stainless steel sink, I used the Barkeepers Friend powder and my stain went away 95%, there is still a small mark but I'm sure If I keep cleaning it will eventually go away. I was worried the Tarn-x was going to be there permanently but I'm so happy most of it is gone, so Barkeeper's Friend-ly [on eBay or Amazon] powder did the job. For all of you who had the same problem, this is the solution.

Evelyne Hadida
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada
June 5, 2012

A. I own and operate a green cleaning service in NYC. Many of our clients have stainless steel appliances.

We use ONLY uses natural industrial strength products.

We've been using Barkeepers Friend for 32 years. It's made from ground up rhubarb. Rhubarb is a plant that contains high amounts of oxalic acid. It cleans metals and scours stains out of countertops.

I always wet the surface first with plain water and the sprinkle the Barkeepers on, let it sit and then scrub with a regular sponge. I prefer a microfiber sponge or cloth.

It is non abrasive and has no bleach or other ingredients.

Rinse with clean water. And that should do it

I hope this was helpful

Cindy LeBow
Great Green Cleaning of NY - Brooklyn New York USA
June 9, 2014

Q. Hi,
My Iridium brand stainless steel cooktop was cleaned with Kaboom (a mix of organic salt and surfactants) and now has an uneven coloration (parts are darker than the original finish). Is there any way to restore it to a consistent color? Help please! Thank you!

Q. Hi,
I sprayed Kaboom on my refrigerator drinking water drip tray to dissolve mineral deposits and some of the product ran down the on the stainless steel facing(Kitchen Aid). This has caused a stain or discoloration on the finish. We have tried Kitchen Aid stainless steel polish/cleaner, baking soda with mild soap, vinegar, olive oil, and most of the cleaning liquids. The stains are still there. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Q. By mistake I poured Kaboom toilet bowl cleaner into my ss sink and it left a stain. Tried comet didn't work. How can I remove the stain? Please help me. Thanks

Q. I had a major meltdown today! I brought my horse's bridle home to polish (some silver grommets on the leather had rust around them). I held the bridle over my stainless steel sink and used Rustoleum as recommended at the hardware store. OMG. it has chemically changed the finish in big places and totally taken the shine out of those places.

The sink is relatively new. I'm freaked! What can I do? This is not about "scratches", It's more like chemical burns. Help!!

A. I found this thread on-line earlier today. Like most of the others who stumbled across this, I was looking for help for discoloration of my stainless steel sink.

In my case, I used Whink rust stain remover [on eBay or Amazon] on a soap dispenser (it took the rust off) and left the brush I had used with the Whink product residue overnight in the kitchen sink. This morning I discovered that my stainless steel sink had discolored where the brush had made contact. It looked awful and I was afraid the sink was ruined.

I emailed Whink and asked them for advice. Here's their response...

Others who have posted in this thread have also recommended Barkeepers Friend. I looked around my house thinking I might have some but instead found a product called Cameo Aluminum and Stainless Steel Cleaner [on eBay or Amazon] hiding under my sink. I think I purchased it a long time ago to use on my Calphalon cookware. It is manufactured by Church & Dwight Co. and available from Amazon. It's inexpensive.

Anyway, I tried it and it worked great! It removed all of the discoloration with very little effort. My sink looks better than it did before this mishap.

I hope this post is helpful. Good luck.

A. Tried everything on my stainless appliances and got NOwhere. The stain was from muriatic acid that was used as a cleaner for the floor. Then I found a bottle of stuff I haven't thought of for years and it worked like like magic with NO scratching and the stains are gone: Brasso [on eBay or Amazon]

A. I just moved to a house with my first stainless sink. As usual I put C-L-R around the faucet to clean hard water stains. I got busy elsewhere and when I came back there were terrible black stains around the faucet and running down into the sink. I read all these posts and tried the only one I had on hand....Brasso [on eBay or Amazon]. It worked great! It did take a bit of elbow grease though.

My sink was stained with Tarn-X, but I didn't know what had caused the stain until I shook the bottle with the lid not tightly closed. After reading all the kind entries on this site, I decided to try Silvo Silver polish [on eBay or Amazon], the only silver polish that I had in the cupboard. After much elbow grease, it worked. I'm thrilled!!!

A. To get dark stains out of stainless steel use ceramic cooktop cleaning creme for smooth ranges [on eBay or Amazon]. Used some on a scratchless cleaning sponge rubbed in a circular motion -- it came right out, no problem.

A. Bar Keeper's friend is what ruined my stainless steel sink with black spots all over. I tried ceramic cleaner for stove tops and with a little effort, it did work! I needed to repeat the process, but it was worth it. Great forum. Beware of false advertising!

A. Caressa,
According to the SDS for The Works, it's hydrochloric acid. So that was a mistake using that on stainless steel. I would suggest getting a citric acid based passivation/rust removal product.

A. Hi Caressa,
You've unfortunately used a cleaning chemical that has damaged the factory passivation of your Stainless fridge. Stainless steel is treated, usually in Citric or Nitric acid, sometimes with Chromium in it, before leaving the factory to remove free iron on the surface, leaving behind the alloying Chromium and Nickel, which form colorless and minimally-reactive oxides. Once that protective layer is stripped away by abrasion, chemical attack, or excessive heat (such as around welds), it must be repassivated to return to its clean looking and nonreactive state. There are some alloys of Stainless that will self-passivate in air, but it sounds like you didn't hit that particular jackpot with your fridge! Chemicals that are safe to remove staining on highly inert materials such as glass, enamel, or ceramic aren't necessarily safe to use on Stainless.
While this thread doesn't address your *exact* question, it contains a ton of great info about restoring passive qualities to Stainless without relying on immersion methods such as the factory would use.
https://www.finishing.com/121/32.shtml
As a general rule, Stainless appliances are best cleaned using mild detergent solutions and hot water without abrasives, or a product specifically designed for use on Stainless. Good luck, I know how frustrating it is to keep Stainless appliances looking good!