How to clean stainless steel?

Clean stainless steel methods

My original answer was just going to be:

“Stainless steel cleaner.”

But I decided not to be a douche.

Dishwashing detergent and water. Rinse.
Baking soda and water. Rinse.
Ammonia and water. Rinse
Bon Ami and water. Rinse.

Start with the detergent and only go down the list as far as you need to.

Finish with a bit of vinegar and water, the dry for a shine.

Barkeeper’s friend is probably the best for this—it should clean it back to a nice shine.

It’s basically powdered Oxalic Acid (5–10% by weight), not super dangerous (and you can find it naturally in Rhubarb root, although apparently it’s made industrially by dissolving carbon monoxide in sodium hydroxide)

i should clarify that i live in france, so american brand name cleaners won’t be available (bon ami, etc)

Bon Ami is a cleanser like Comet, Ajax etc, but it uses feldspar instead of quartz as the abrasive agent, therefore it doesn’t scratch. Look for something that has a soft abrasive for the last step, if necessary.

Barkeeper’s friend is a good suggestion by bpeoples.

The discoloration is an extremely thin, but hard, layer of oxide. Because the oxide is harder than the stainless itself, mild abrasives won’t work. Any thing that will abrade the oxide will also scratch the stainless. @bpeoples is on the right track with “Barkeeper’s Friend”. Only an acid-based product will remove the oxide without scratching the steel.

In France, you can find oxalic acid sold as “sel d’oseille” in some “bricolage” shops. There are also ready-made preparations like this that contain oxalic acid as the active ingredient.

thanks, all! i’ll look for sel d’oseille tomorrow.

Maybe it wasn’t really “stainless” huh?