Get your appliances shiny and looking like new
Stainless steel appliances are durable and corrosion-resistant.
But this material can often lose its shine and is prone to water spots and smudgy fingerprints.
A cleaner designed specifically for tackling stainless steel helps you in getting your sinks, fixtures, cookware and faucets clean again.
Here, you’ll find our list of the best stainless steel cleaners.
Our Top Picks
The HouseWire earns a commission through the following independently chosen links at no additional cost to you.| Best Stainless Steel Cleaners of 2023 | ||||
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 | Best Overall Weiman Stainless Kit |
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 | Best Budget Affresh W11042467 |
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 | Best Eco-friendly Therapy Cleaner Kit |
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 | Best for Cooktop Weiman Cooktop Cleaner |
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 | Best for Cookware Bar Keepers Friend |
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 | Best for Appliances method Stainless Steel Cleaner |
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 | Best for Sinks Hope's Perfect Sink Cleaner |
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 | Best Polish Cerama Bryte Polish |
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Reviews
- Customers said it was good at removing water spots from their stainless steel sinks
- A pleasant floral-type scent is left behind
- Kept appliances shiny and fingerprint-free for several days after use
- Leaves a filmy residue on refrigerators or cooktops
Invest in this Weiman stainless steel cleaner and you’ll be picking a trusted number 1 brand.
Your appliances and sinks will be left clean and shiny, with no streaks. And they’ll be left with a protective barrier that resists fingerprints, dust, and smudges.
Plus, you’ll get a pack of 8 wipes for when you’ve not got much time to clean. And there’s a microfiber cloth included too in this handy kit.
Technical Specs
| Scent | N/A |
| Form | Spray & wipes |
| Volume | 12 fluid ounces & 8 wipes |
| Surface | Floor, sink, cooktop, stone |
- Effective job for the low price
- Users said it really did leave their appliances streak free
- You only needed to use a little of the solution at once
- Some said that they wouldn’t recommend it for big jobs, such as a large shower, as it would take too much time and be very laborious
- The scent left behind is a bit overpowering
You only need to spend a few dollars and you’ll have a top-quality stainless steel cleaner from Affresh.
You can spray Affresh’s solution straight onto your surfaces and it’ll come out in a fine mist for good coverage.
It’s suitable to use on all your stainless steel appliances and you’ll have a streak free shine after use.
And the formula is designed to stay where it’s sprayed. So no need to worry about it running off and leaving a residue on your floors!
Technical Specs
| Scent | N/A |
| Form | Spray |
| Volume | 12 fluid ounces |
| Surface | Oven, dishwasher, refrigerator, range hood |
- Good value for money (with a microfiber soft cloth included)
- Doesn’t leave a residue behind thanks to the coconut oil
- Consumers liked the delicate lavender scent that wasn’t at all chemical-y
- Needs elbow grease to get rid of smudges
This Therapy Stainless Steel Cleaner cleans streaks, grease, and smudges from your stainless steel surfaces. And leaves them looking clean and polished.
Therapy is a family-owned company and its products are made in the USA. Plus, the USDA has certified that their product is 100% biobased and they list all of the plant based ingredients.
Technical Specs
| Scent | Lavender |
| Form | Spray |
| Volume | 16 fluid ounces |
| Surface | 16 fluid ounces |
- Gets rid of even old and scorched marks from cooktop
- Customers loved this 3-in-1 kit – they didn’t have to pay separately for any additional tools
- Available to buy in a larger bottle for not much more
- The scraping tool can scratch your cooking surface
Get your cooktop looking like new again! This cream cleaner and polish tackles burnt-on food, dirt, grease, and water spots, and it’ll prevent streaks.
And, this kit contains a non-abrasive scrubbing tool and pad to help you get rid of any marks on your cooktop.
Plus, there’s a scraper for when you’ve got really stubborn food stains – so you’ve got all the tools you need in one to go to get a really clean stovetop.
READ NEXT: The Best All-Purpose Cleaners of 2023
Technical Specs
| Scent | N/A |
| Form | N/A |
| Volume | 10 fluid ounces |
| Surface | All major glass or ceramic cooktops |
5. Best for Cookware : Bar Keepers Friend Cookware Cleanser and Polish
- Versatile product: can be used for oven doors, cooking surfaces, and the bathroom
- Makes pots, pans, and baking sheets look like new again
- Feedback suggests that it also works really well on copper cookware and sinks
- Leaves a strong, unpleasant smell
Restore the shine to your pots and pans with this powder cleaner from Bar Keepers Friend. It’ll work hard to get rid of grease, lime buildups, water stains, and food residue.
Plus, once you’ve finished cleaning stainless steel cookware, you can also use this cleaner in your bathtub and shower.
And it’s ideal for cleaning rust and dirt from your camping cookware or outdoor grill – so it really is a product for everything.
Technical Specs
| Scent | N/A |
| Form | Powder |
| Volume | 12 ounces |
| Surface | Cookware, porcelain, ceramic, copper, brass, chrome, aluminum |
- Fresh, fruity smell left behind after cleaning
- Worked as effectively as other similar cleaners,
- Good at getting rid of grease around cookers according to reviewer feedback
- More expensive than similar products on the market
- A few customers said that it didn’t remove all watermarks from their stainless steel sinks
Your stainless steel appliances will look brand new after they’ve been cleaned with Method’s cleaner.
It has a gentle but effective formula that gets rid of smears and fingerprints on any of your stainless steel appliance.
Method proudly states that their products are never tested on animals. And their plant based ingredients are listed in full for you, so you know exactly what’s in this stainless steel cleaning solution.
Technical Specs
| Scent | Apple Orchard |
| Form | Spray |
| Volume | 12 fluid ounces |
| Surface | Cooktop, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, stone |
- Many users were pleased with how clean and shiny their sinks looked
- You can save money by buying in bulk
- Customers said that it also worked really well on porcelain sinks in removing scuffs
- Some users said it didn’t get black sinks clean properly
Cleaning stainless steel sinks has never been so easy with this Hope cleaner and polish.
Crucially, this liquid solution contains an invisible water repellent barrier which is why we recommend it for your stainless steel links.
After use, water just beads away and you won’t be stuck with any more watermarks.
Technical Specs
| Scent | Lemon |
| Form | Liquid |
| Volume | 8.5 fluid ounces |
| Surface | Sink, cast iron, granite, composite, acrylic, vitreous china |
- Perfect for households with kids, as it really reduces the chance of dirty fingerprint smudges
- You don’t need to rinse anything off afterward
- For an even quicker and easier application, Cerama Bryte offer a wipe version
- A few users said that the solution was too watery and runny
Give your appliances and surfaces a good polish with this Cerama Bryte cleaner. It has a high-strength formula that leaves your kitchen with a luxurious, glossy look after use.
This liquid solution cleans and removes stains. But it’s a fab polish because it contains a protective coating. The mineral oil protects the surfaces of your stainless steel appliances and hides any smudges.
Wipe the polish in the direction of the metal’s grain and you’ll be left with a glossy look and no streaks.
Technical Specs
| Scent | N/A |
| Form | Liquid |
| Volume | 16 fluid ounces |
| Surface | Sink, refrigerator, dishwasher, cooker |
What To Look For In A Stainless Steel Cleaner
Types
- Aerosol or spray cleaners dispense a fine mist of solution straight onto your surfaces via a built-in nozzle. Ideal for cleaning small areas, they’re also good for refrigerators and dishwashers because they’re gentler and easy to spray.
- Powder cleaners are more abrasive. So more suited for cleaning stubborn grease, food residue or soap scum stains from your kitchen sink or stainless steel cookware. But they aren’t suitable for bigger surfaces as the paste can be difficult to wipe off.
- Cream cleaners are best if you want your stainless steel surface to get a streak free shine. You just need to buff your affected areas with a small amount of the cream before wiping it off a few minutes later.
- Wipes are handy if you want to give your stainless steel a quick and easy clean. But, because they’re so convenient, they’re usually more expensive – and of course not as eco-friendly.
Usage and Surfaces
Check that whatever product you buy is designed especially for use on your stainless steel appliances and surfaces.
The wrong product could leave water spots or cause damage if it’s too abrasive.
But a good stainless steel cleaner should be suitable for cleaning aluminum, chrome, plastic, porcelain, fiberglass, and formica – as well.
If you have stains, you’ll need a product that has gentle abrasive properties to get rid of marks and brighten.
But if polishing is your main aim, then look for cleaning products with polishing properties.
These help you to restore the shine to your appliances and get rid of any tiny scratches. They’ll also leave a protective finish that helps keep the areas fingerprint-free.
Ingredients
Consider whether you’d prefer a chemical or natural stainless steel cleaner.
Chemicals
Chemical stainless steel cleaners contain strong ingredients. And the manufacturers aren’t obliged to list exactly what the ingredients are on the packaging (1).
But, chemical cleaning solutions are normally more efficient. So, if you do opt for this type of cleaner, look for those that have a “Safer Choice” label.
Natural
Natural stainless steel cleaners contain corn or other biologically-sourced ingredients.
But, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re a safer alternative (2).
And again, as we don’t always get a full list of ingredients, it’s hard to say exactly how safe these products are.
If you do want to buy a “natural” cleaner, check the label to see if it says what it’s made of. And, see whether the origin of these ingredients is clear too.
Stainless Steel Cleaners in Comparison Chart
| Product | Scent | Form | Volume | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weiman Stainless Kit | N/A | Spray & wipes | 12 fluid ounces & 8 wipes | Floor, sink, cooktop, stone |
| Affresh W11042467 | N/A | Spray | 12 fluid ounces | Oven, dishwasher, refrigerator, range hood |
| Therapy Cleaner Kit | Lavender | Spray | 16 fluid ounces | Countertops, sink, stove, refrigerator, range hood, grill |
| Weiman Cooktop Cleaner | N/A | Cream | 10 fluid ounces | All major glass or ceramic cooktops |
| Bar Keepers Friend | N/A | Powder | 12 ounces | Cookware, porcelain, ceramic, copper, brass, chrome, aluminum |
| method Stainless Steel Cleaner | Apple Orchard | Spray | 12 fluid ounces | Cooktop, refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, stone |
| Hope's Perfect Sink Cleaner | Lemon | Liquid | 8.5 fluid ounces | Sink, cast iron, granite, composite, acrylic, vitreous china |
| Cerama Bryte Polish | N/A | Liquid | 16 fluid ounces | Sink, refrigerator, dishwasher, cooker |
