But maintenance does not have to mean hours of scrubbing and polishing. Find a stainless steel cleaner that works well and enjoy your shiny stainless appliances. Where many stainless cleaners require more effort to get a streak-free shine, my favorite brands do not. They work better and faster so you can move on to doing more enjoyable things with your time.
You can generally clean stainless kitchen appliances such as ranges, refrigerators, dishwashers, vent hoods, sinks or small counter appliances that have a stainless construction, with a stainless steel cleaner. But keep in mind that appliances should be cool to touch, before you clean them and use only as recommended by the manufacturer.
Keep in mind that when you change to another brand of stainless steel cleaner, it often takes more than one cleaning session to remove the other type of polish left behind from the previous brand of cleaner. So expect the task to lighten once you've removed all the previous cleaner's build-up of formula or protective finish.
Also expect to clean your kitchen appliances at least weekly and more often if you have a busy household; less often for one or two persons. If you have a busy home that includes a few under ten years of age, you can expect to clean stainless steel appliances much more often. Most stainless steel cleaners will leave a polish with the shine to help it stay clean longer, but don't expect too much - they do help some, but grime and fingerprints have a tendency to break through this protective shield. And how long it maintains that polish will vary with different households.
I find these stainless steel cleaners work well for cleaning stainless kitchen appliances and they are in order of my best preferences. I know many consumers hesitate buying stainless appliances simply because of the care required, but with a good cleaner, it doesn't take too long to restore the shine. Once you've bought a stainless cleaner for kitchen appliances, you'll quickly find other stainless steel items around the home, that you can clean with it.
Do you have a great brand that I should consider? Fill in my Recommend a Stainless Steel Appliance Cleaner form.
1. Sprayway 841 Stainless Steel Polish & Cleaner
Sprayway is my favorite stainless appliance cleaner. One of the best stainless steel cleaners for cleaning stainless kitchen appliances. It takes very little effort, time and wiping to get a streak-free shine. Resists fingerprints extremely well and protects for a few days. Compare to other great stainless cleaners, it takes less effort and time.More »
2. CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner
An outstanding cleaner for stainless steel appliances, the CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner dries quickly and takes very little pressure to get a shiny, streak-free shine. It's best feature is that it dries quickly to a nice sheen, so you're not working hard at wiping it dry. In fact, it needs very little effort even if the appliance has lots of water marks and smudges. I consider it one of the best stainless steel cleaners I've used. It's the best choice if you don't mind an aerosol spray and you want to get the job done quickly.More »
3. Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner
The Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner is a liquid spray and does a very good cleaning of stainless kitchen appliances. It's one of the best I've tried, requiring less scrubbing effort than most to get a streak-free clean shine. I recommend it for performance and price. Both the Weiman and 3M cleaners are both tops; but price value of the Weiman brought it up on the list along with the fact that it cleans water drips faster than the 3M brand.More »
4. 3M Stainless Steel Cleaner
The 3M Stainless Steel Cleaner is one of the best I've used to clean my stainless range front and control panel, microwave and refrigerator. It has lots of power to remove grime, fingerprints and grease. This aerosol cleaner is easy to use and requires a reasonable amount of effort and scrubbing, less than some other brands.More »
5. Weiman Stainless Steel Wipes
These stainless wipes are handy for small touch-ups and the formula dries extremely fast. The wipe format is nice to clean around the small areas such as the refrigerator handle, or range control knobs. I do however, prefer Weiman's stainless steel cleaner in trigger bottle format for a more thorough cleaning and best value. There are only 30-count wipes in the container.More »
6. Scotch-Brite Stainless Steel Cleaners
The Scotch-Brite™ Stainless Steel Cleaner Kit is a good alternative to spray or liquid cleansers for stainless steel appliances. Though it requires more effort to get a streak-free shine, it leaves a nice polished gleam that helps to resist fingerprints. Although I did occasionally have to wipe a little, the handle and pre-moistened cleaning pads are easy to use and reasonably priced.More »