Care & Cleaning

Stainless steel is an alloy of iron which contains more than 15% chromium. It resists stains, but occasionally dulls or will show oil fingerprints. This steel is noted for its hardness and is used for utensils, tableware, sinks, counter tops and small appliances. In the process of manufacturing it, a little of the chromium in the alloy is used to form the hard oxide coating on the surface. If this is taken off through corrosion or wear, it will rust like regular steel.

• To remove streaks, rub stainless steel with olive oil.

• To clean and polish, simply moisten a cloth with undiluted white or cider vinegar and wipe clean. Vinegar can also be used to remove heat stains on stainless steel cutlery.

• Remove heat stains or streaking by rubbing with club soda.

Care for Stainless Steel Sinks:

1. Perforated rubber or plastic mats in the sink will cut down on scratching and marking by pans and tableware.

2. Wash with a solution of hand dishwashing liquid detergent and water or, a solution of baking soda and water.

3. Rinse and polish dry with paper towel or soft cloth.

4. Never use scouring powders, pads or steel wool as they will scratch stainless steel.

5. You can brighten the sink by polishing with a cloth dipped in vinegar, or in ammonia; sprinkle a little baking soda on sponge, rub sink gently, rinse, then polish dry with paper towel.

Care for Stainless Steel Utensils:

1. Do not let pans boil dry or overheat on burner as this causes discolouration.

2. Stainless steel pans on burners do not distribute heat evenly and foods tend to stick in “hot spots”, so careful stirring is important (pans with a copper bottom, or “sandwich” layer of aluminum or copper hidden in the bottom overcome this problem).

3. Wash by hand or in dishwasher.

4. If washed by hand, rinse well and polish dry at once with soft dish towel to avoid spots and streaks.

5. Occasionally a bluish cast develops, which can be removed with silver polish.

6. Some foods (acidic, salt, milk and milk products) should be washed or rinsed thoroughly off the surface of stainless steel promptly or else they tend to corrode it.

7. Do not used harsh abrasives or steel wool on stainless steel.

8. Cooked-on food or grease can be removed from stainless steel utensils by using a fine abrasive cleaning powder or a paste of baking soda and water, or, a paste of ammonia and rotten stone.

Care for Stainless Steel Flatware:

1. Wash by hand or in the dishwasher.

2. Rinse off acid or salty foods if not to be washed soon.

3. Do not spill dry dishwasher detergent on flatware that is wet, as dark spots may result.

4. Do not load stainless steel flatware in the same dishwasher basket section as silverware because this may damage the silver.

Commercial stainless steel cleaner is available through Quest or Russell Food Equipment.