Credit:
Reviewed / Weiman / Therapy / Bar Keepers Friend
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Credit:
Reviewed / Weiman / Therapy / Bar Keepers Friend
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Spray with mineral oil that leaves a streak-free glossy shine and a protective anti-fingerprint barrier on surfaces. Read More
Plant-based cleaning spray with coconut oil and lavender essential oil scent. Microfiber cloth included. Read More
Pre-moistened, disposable wipes with the same performance as the Weiman spray cleaner. Read More
Free of abrasives but strong enough to tackle stubborn grime and grease Read More
The classic mildly-abrasive cleaning powder for stainless, copper, and brass. Tough on grime, rust, and burnt-on stains. Read More
Few things make a kitchen sparkle more than clean, gleaming stainless steel surfaces on your refrigerator, dishwasher, and the rest of the appliances. They can be towering canvases to show off your housekeeping prowess, or they can look like a crime scene of fingerprints, smudges, and splatters. Not to fear, though, because a good stainless steel polish is just the thing to wipe away the crud and restore the shine.
All the stainless steel cleaners on this list are top-rated by experts or products we use personally. We’ve got recommendations for everyday use, heavy-duty stains, eco-friendly options, and more. Plus, we’ll walk you through DIY options using regular pantry items.
Best overall: Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish
Best plant-based: Therapy Stainless Steel Cleaner Kit
Best wipes: Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaning Wipes
Best for heavy duty: Bar Keepers Friend Stainless Steel Cleaner Spray
Best for pots and pans: Bar Keepers Friend Stainless Steel Cleanser
Special-purpose stainless steel polishes are great in many circumstances. This list of recommended products, along with our personal experience, is a testament to that. But they’re not suitable for all surfaces or in all cases.
A quick internet search for “cleaning stainless steel” will yield a sprawling list of suggestions that encompasses pretty much every liquid in your house. Vinegar, lemon juice, salt, dish soap, rubbing alcohol, baby oil, olive oil, mineral oil, window cleaner, wood polish, baking soda, club soda, and corn starch are just some of the recommendations I found.
These are well-meaning sources, but sometimes offer unhelpful advice, like telling you to check the directions to ensure that it won’t harm your surfaces. Last time I checked, olive oil didn’t have Use & Care instructions on the back of the bottle.
While any of these could, in theory, polish stainless steel, you need to apply some common sense. If you’re dead-set on a DIY solution but not sure what might cause more harm than good, start with the most gentle: a little dish soap and warm water on a microfiber cloth. Rub gently. It’s great for cutting through grease and grime. Vinegar diluted with water works as well. Both of these solutions may leave streaks.
For a little shine, a small amount of mineral oil on a soft cloth goes a long way. That's the primary ingredient in dedicated stainless steel cleaners to create a polished surface. If the surfaces come in contact with food, be sure to choose a food-safe mineral oil. It’s easy to find and will be clearly marked. Using olive oil is a safe alternative to mineral oil, but it could go rancid.
Do not use multipurpose cleaners or cleaners intended for other surfaces (e.g., Windex, oven cleaner, etc.). These can cause damage. Do not use abrasive cleaners like Bar Keepers Friend Stainless powder. (The spray liquid and paste versions are ok, though.)
Never use scrubbing pads. Anything more abrasive than a paper towel could cause permanent scratch marks.
Stainless steel exteriors on appliances used to be limited to commercial kitchens, where durability and hygiene took precedence. That changed in the 2000s as the look made its way into home kitchens. But customers didn’t realize that stainless steel required a lot of maintenance to keep it looking shiny, and they don’t have a restaurant cleaning crew to wipe the kitchen down every night.
As a result, many popular stainless steel appliances have a protective coating on them that is wrapped or sprayed on. If they advertise as being “fingerprint resistant,” they have some sort of coating. If the stainless steel is tinted “black” or some other color, it’s likely—though not certain—that they have some sort of coating.
These additional layers create cleaning challenges because the outermost layer is typically not as durable as “naked” stainless steel. Using harsh abrasives or the wrong cleaning agents can cause scratches, pits, and flaking. Often, these are permanent and irreversible reminders that you should have read the appliance's instruction manual for proper cleaning directions.
Many people prioritize eco-friendly cleaning products, either for personal health reasons or environmental concerns. Some just don’t like the strong “chemical-y” smell.
Many of the stainless cleaners we recommend do, in fact, contain solvents or petroleum products that go on people’s do-not-buy lists. For those looking for a more natural alternative, our top-rated product that is purpose-built for stainless steel is Therapy Stainless Steel Cleaner. Therapy is plant-based and a 100% USDA-certified biobased product.
But Therapy, along with other plant-based cleaners, still has strong aromas. If something even more gentle is needed, check out our advice on DIY alternatives.
Stainless steel cleaners come in a variety of containers and formats.
Liquid sprays are typically the most cost-effective because you control how much you need. However, they’re runny and may drip when used on vertical surfaces. Foam sprays are similar, but avoid the drip.
Pastes and creams work well. No drips, but you may find yourself having to apply it more frequently because it doesn’t have the coverage of a spray bottle.
Disposable wipes are a no-fuss, no-muss solution, but less cost-effective because they have the same amount of cleaning solution with every wipe. You can’t right-size it for the job. Plus, you’ll pay a little extra for the convenience.
Powder cleaners and polishes are the ones to be cautious of here. Bar Keepers Friend Stainless Steel Cleanser and similar powder products are fantastic at cutting through tough, baked-on stains, rust, and hard water. However, they’re also abrasive and can damage stainless steel surfaces if you’re not careful, especially if those surfaces have an additional coating on top. We named them our top pick for stainless cookware, but extreme caution is advised before using them on appliances. Always test in an inconspicuous spot first if you’re not sure.
A frequent complaint when cleaning stainless steel is streaking or hazy residue. Usually, this is because the wrong product was applied or that a little extra elbow grease was needed.
Most of the products we recommend in this article leave a whitish cloud on surfaces when first applied. That’s normal! Just take a clean, soft cloth (microfiber is best) and rub back and forth in the direction of the grain. That haze will buff to a shine in seconds. If there’s still a little streaking left, use a new, dry cloth for the final pass.
None of the stainless steel cleaners we recommended is safe to be in direct contact with food. They’re intended for exterior appliance surfaces or, in some cases, for stainless cookware. Anything that’s been polished should be rinsed thoroughly with a mild detergent before touching food.
If you’re going the DIY route and want maximum shine, olive oil is perfectly food safe, but runs the risk of going rancid. A little bit of food-safe mineral oil (make sure it says “food safe” on the bottle) and a soft rag is the preferred option.
A: For day-to-day cleaning, a bit of mild dish soap and warm water is fine. Dish soap is great for breaking up oils and grease. If this is the only thing you’re using, though, you may end up with water spots or streaks. Purpose-made stainless steel polishes like the ones we recommend on this list will also cut through grease (though sometimes not as well as soap), and also give your surfaces a shine and a temporary layer of protection against fingerprints.
A: No. These cleaners are for exterior or non-food-contact surfaces. The oils, solvents, or other chemicals that make up the formulas aren’t things you want touching food. Instead, use food-safe cleaners or DIY it with a vinegar and water mixture applied with a soft sponge. If you do get stainless steel polish on a food surface, just wipe it off with a mild detergent and water.
The notable exception is the stainless steel grates on your grill. Those are often very tough stains and grime to remove. Creating a paste of water and Bar Keepers Friend Stainless Steel Cleanser (the powder), a whole lot of scrubbing with a wire bristle brush or chain mail sponge, and a thorough rinse afterward should have them looking nearly good as new.
A: Most stainless steel surfaces had a visible “grain”, not unlike wood. They appear as fine lines or streaks running in a similar direction. Wiping or buffing with the grain means you should move your cloth parallel to those lines. You do this to avoid scratching or, if you do scratch, to hide the scratches better. However, if you use a soft cloth and the right polish, you can avoid scratches altogether.
A: Generally, no. Sometimes people only begin researching how to polish stainless steel after they’ve damaged their appliance. It’s unfortunate and avoidable. Often, it’s because they used something that was too abrasive or because they used a product not intended for the purpose, which has created pitting or discoloration in the protective coating on top of the stainless steel.
Polishing can minimize or hide scratches in some cases, but it can’t fill in or “fix” the damage.
Rust and discoloration are sometimes removable with Bar Keepers Friend because it’s lightly abrasive. But by that same token, it can cause further damage if applied too vigorously. Also, if there’s a damaged area that is opening up the steel surface to oxidation, the rust may reappear.
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David Kender oversees content at Reviewed as the Editor in Chief. He served as managing editor and editor in chief of Reviewed's ancestor, CamcorderInfo.com, helping to grow the company from a tiny staff to one of the most influential online review resources. In his time at Reviewed, David has helped to launch over 100 product categories and written too many articles to count.
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