How To Make The Best DIY Non-Toxic Cleaner For Stainless Steel
Recently I stumbled upon the best DIY non-toxic cleaner for stainless steel and it’s a serious game changer! It’s super easy to make using just TWO ingredients from your pantry (not to mention cheap). Before I go into what it is, let’s go back a bit and chat about the why (because there are so many “non-toxic cleaners” out there. I have a lot of stainless steel appliances, both large and small, in my kitchen. There’s the fridge, dishwasher, stove and microwave…and I can’t forget the toaster or tea kettle! That’s a lot of surface to get dirty with oil, grease, fingerprints, you name it! If you have any or all of these appliances in your kitchen and they are stainless steel, you know what I’m talking about. They can be a challenge to get clean as well as not scratch in the process.
A while back I was looking for a way to clean my wooden cabinets and ran across a few articles that used baking soda and cooking oil. The oil was supposed to help break down the dirt and grime and the baking soda acted as a mild abrasive. I must admit…it worked pretty good considering the cabinets in our apartment are probably at least as old as I am. I also liked that everything I needed I could get from my pantry and that it was non-toxic.
When it came time to clean the appliances I tried the standard multipurpose cleaner and dish soap. No dice. Then I tried an SOS pad which worked better, but started to leave scratches on the tough to clean spots. As a last ditch effort I decided to try the baking soda/oil method. What did I have to lose except another mess to clean up? And then it happened…MAGIC! Yes, it’s a bit messy and gross looking while cleaning, but it was taking everything off and I mean EVERYTHING!! And I do warn you, it becomes addicting. By the time I stopped cleaning, I had appliances that looked practically new and I could see myself in the reflection without a single scratch or toxic chemical. I shared this new discovery with my husband who was not as excited as I was. He did, however, began to understand my enthusiasm when he saw our microwave that looked like it just came out of the box (and we’ve been living here for 3 years!).
Cleaning Stainless Steel
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- Baking Soda
- Inexpensive Cooking Oil (I use Vegetable Oil)
1. Pour some baking soda into a plastic or glass container. Add the oil and mix together until completely combined. TIP: Error on the side of too oily because the oil helps break down the grime so the baking soda can work better.
2. Using your fingers, rub the paste all over the surface. For the tight spaces, use a toothbrush. If there are any areas with tough to get off grime, add a generous amount of the paste and wait a minute before rubbing around.
3. Once the paste has unstuck the grime from the stainless steel, wipe the appliance clean with a rag or paper towel. Use a multi purpose cleaner to get the rest of the paste and grime off.
Here are a few examples from my kitchen. It’s slightly embarrassing that they got this dirty, but there are only so many hours in a day to juggle everything. At least when there’s finally a moment to tackle this, here’s an easy and pretty quick way to do so!
I hope this trick helps you save some time and energy cleaning those appliances and leaves a few more dollars in your wallet! What tips do you use to clean your kitchen? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
