Care and Maintenance of Stainless Steel Sinks
Stainless steel is the ideal material for kitchen and bathroom sinks: it is hygienic, tough, resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel sinks do not require much maintenance, while some form of routine cleaning is necessary to preserve the appearance and integrity of the surface.
Follow these simple instructions to remove scratches, spots, and stains, and restore your sink’s original appearance.
Daily Care:
For daily cleaning of stainless steel sink, warm water and a normal household cleansing product are sufficient. To avoid limescale build-up, we recommend cleaning the sink after each use with warm water, soap, sponge or soft cloth. The process is quite simple: squeeze some detergent onto the soft side of the sponge. Clean the stainless steel surface by working in the direction of brushing. At the end, simply rinse with clean water and rub dry with a microfibre cloth. This also helps to prevent limescale. And you’re done!
Attention: when cleaning, avoid circular movements, as this can cause permanent changes to the surface structure.
How to avoid “dark stains”？
The formation of dark stains similar to rust stains is caused by the deposition of limescale or iron particles, coming from external sources, such as tap water with high content of mineral substances; leaving a wet sponge on the sink for a long time may also lead to the formation of dark stains. So to keep the sink clean and dry after use is very important to avoid the unpleasing dark stains.
How to remove stubborn limescale?
Vinegar- or lemon-based cleaning agents are good for dealing with limescale. They clean thoroughly and are easily biodegradable. However, if your cleaning agents contain any additives, you need to tread a bit more cautiously: ingredients added to such detergents tend to be too aggressive for most stainless steel surfaces. If they also contain limescale-removing substances, small particles in the fluid may rub against the stainless steel surface and cause it to change appearance.
To be on the safe side, it’s best to opt for pure vinegar essence of the sort your grandmother might have used. Dilute the vinegar essence with water in a mixing ratio of 1:10.
The same applies here: when cleaning stainless steel, always work in the direction of brushing. Avoid circular movements. Afterwards, rinse surfaces down thoroughly with clean water so that no traces of the cleaning agent remain. Finally, rub the sink dry with a microfibre cloth.
What to be avoided and a few Dont’s for Stainless Steel Care:
- Do not use abrasive cleaning agents, such as abrasive pastes, steel wool, metal scourers or abrasive sponges.
- Do not use acid cleansing products or synthetic agents containing chlorine, hydrofluorid, hydrogen peroxide,ammonia, muriatic acid, oxygen.
- Avoid using harsh chemicals or bleaches.
- Avoid prolonged exposures to acids from fruits, fruit juices, salts, tea bags etc, as these may leave stains.
- Avoid leaving liquid soaps, hand sanitizing liquids etc on the surface for long time, as these may leave stains.
