How to remove streaks from stainless steel appliances
Q: Pet sitters decided to use Bar Keepers Friend on my stainless steel refrigerator doors. (They said the internet told them this was how to clean them.) Both doors are now slightly discolored and have streaky spots. I have tried applying a light film of olive oil (more internet advice) as well as Weiman’s Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish, neither of which has removed the streaky shadows. Is there anything I can do to return the doors to their original streak-free state?
A: Many people have a love-hate relationship with their stainless steel appliances. They look sleek and elegant, but they’re also known for showing fingerprints and smears. It might seem like a good idea to use Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser to remove the marks. Around the top rim, the label lists a parade of suitable surfaces. “Stainless steel” is centered above the product name, followed by porcelain, ceramic, copper, brass, fiberglass, Corian, chrome and aluminum. The remaining space, flagged in red, says “works great on stainless steel sinks.”
Smaller type on the back of the label reveals more. There, under kitchen uses, the label advises using it on cookware, sinks, stoves, oven doors, backsplashes, non-stone countertops and drained floors. But it warns that the powder can scratch or dull delicate surfaces, and it specifically recommends against using it on appliances with a brushed metal exterior or on stainless steel that a magnet sticks to. That’s because the powder contains mild abrasives that add muscle for cleaning pots but can scratch a refrigerator door, especially if it’s rubbed on in a direction different from the way the metal was brushed.
Recommendations for cleaning a stainless steel sink or pot differ from those for cleaning a stainless steel refrigerator door because of nuances in how the stainless steel is made. And even for refrigerator doors, the advice isn’t always the same; high-end refrigerators (with price tags around $5,000) usually contain higher-grade stainless steel than lower-cost models.
Stainless steel is a mixture of iron, chromium and other metals, but the specifics and their proportions vary. Chromium, which needs to make up at least 10.5% of the mixture for the alloy to be considered stainless steel, protects the iron from rusting. Chromium atoms at the surface combine with oxygen in the air to form a layer that blocks other oxygen atoms from combining with the steel and forming rust. If the chromium-oxide layer is removed, it can form again — but only if the chromium is able to be in contact with oxygen. If the metal is caked with rust, that needs to be removed first. Coating the surface with oil, the key ingredient in many stainless steel polishes, slows the self-healing.
Janet McKinley, corporate administrator and a 47-year employee of SerVaas Laboratories Inc., which makes Bar Keepers Friend, said she suspects that whoever used Bar Keepers Friend on your refrigerator didn’t read the full label. The brand’s powdered cleanser and its Soft Cleanser both contain oxalic acid and citric acid, which can eat into the chromium oxide layer, leaving the stainless steel looking stained rather than shiny and bright. To prevent this, even on surfaces where the cleaners are recommended, the directions say to rinse thoroughly within a minute of application. “They left it on too long,” McKinley said.
Her advice: Clean the refrigerator door with a little Dawn hand dishwashing detergent and warm water. “Use a sponge. Clean and rinse. Don’t use anything else on it.” Dry the surface with a clean cloth, ideally microfiber.
The idea, she said, is to remove oily residue from fingerprints, as well as the stainless steel cleaner you used. Then give the bare metal a chance to self-heal. Eventually, when you need to clean again, she recommends using Bar Keepers Friend Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish spray.
Like the Weiman’s Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish that you used, the Bar Keepers polish contains mineral oil. The oil fills minute crevices in the stainless steel, resulting in a smoother surface that reflects light more uniformly. The tips you read about using olive oil are based on the same idea.
A woman who answered a call to the Weiman company, based in Gurnee, Illinois, didn’t have any suggestions for what else you could try, other than calling the manufacturer of your refrigerator. But Gerry Golden, president of Golden Ventures, which makes Cerama Bryte Stainless Steel Appliance Cleaner and Stainless Steel Polish, said you might get better results by using more of the polish. “Usually, when people say it still looks streaky, they didn’t apply enough,” he said.
He agreed that you might be able to restore a like-new look simply by cleaning the door with hand dishwashing detergent, rinsing it thoroughly and drying it. But it might take a long time — even months — for the color of the metal to become uniform, he said. And it wouldn’t heal any scratches.
To get a better look more quickly, he recommended using Cerama Bryte Stainless Steel Polish, which he said has one of the highest concentrations of mineral oil among commercial stainless steel cleaners. Apply it liberally to a 12-by-12-inch section of the door and wipe off the excess with a microfiber cloth or paper towel. Then reapply and again wipe off the excess. “Keep applying until you get a completely uniform covering.” Once you realize how much you need to apply, do the whole door. Golden said to reapply the polish periodically, when the door looks dry.
Even though the Cerama Bryte polish and similar mineral oil polishes from other manufacturers come in spray bottles, Golden recommends against spraying a refrigerator door because overspray is almost guaranteed to wind up on the floor, making it slick. Instead, he said, spray the polish onto a cloth and rub it on.
Mineral oil polishes create a protective barrier that helps prevent fingerprints, water spots and oxidation. The polishes could be used on any grade of stainless steel without hurting the metal, but they are not always needed. GE does not suggest mineral oil polishes for the refrigerators it makes with high-grade stainless steel. Instead, it recommends cleaning them with hand dishwashing soap and water, or with the water-based Cerama Bryte Stainless Steel Appliance Cleaner.