The Farmers Touch Stainless Steel Cleaner

Are you fed up with all the fingerprints and greasy smudges on your stainless steel appliances? Skip the store-bought products and use distilled white vinegar as a homemade stainless steel cleaner. It's all you need to keep your stainless steel appliances, countertops, and sink looking great.

How Often to Clean Stainless Steel

Since most stainless steel is used in the kitchen or outdoor food preparation areas, it should be cleaned after every use. Frequent cleaning will Sanitize the surfaces and prevent the build-up of grease or grime that can be more difficult to remove later. A quick wipe-down daily will keep stainless steel surfaces at their best.

Before You Begin

When cleaning stainless steel, do not use any product like oven cleaner, scouring powders, or chlorine-based cleaners. They are harsh, abrasive, and can permanently damage your stainless steel. Avoid abrasive sponges, scrubbing pads, or steel wool because they can permanently scratch the surface of stainless steel.

Distilled White Vinegar contains acetic acid that cuts through grease, grime, and oils rather than smearing them around like a lot of other cleaners. If you do not like the smell of vinegar, you can create your own Scented vinegar. However, the pungent smell dissipates in just a few minutes. If the scent lingers after cleaning, you can always use a fan to further dissipate the vinegar odor or open a window for extra airflow.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

• 2 Spray bottles

Materials

• 1 Distilled white vinegar

• 3 Microfiber cloths

• 1 Water

• 2 Labels

• 1 Baking soda

• 1 Vegetable oil

Instructions

Prepare the Spray Bottles Fill a new spray bottle with undiluted distilled white vinegar and label it clearly. Fill a second bottle with plain water and label it, as well.

Spray the Vinegar Starting at the top of the stainless steel appliance, spray the vinegar liberally on the surface. For countertops, start at one side and work across the counter.

Wipe the Surface

Starting at the top of the appliance and following the grain of the stainless steel, use a soft, microfiber cloth to wipe away fingerprints, smudges, and grime.

Tip If there are stuck-on food bits that simply won't budge, sprinkle some dry baking soda on the cloth to act as a gentle abrasive. To remove the food, rub the baking soda gently on the surface following the direction of the stainless steel grain (no circles!).

Rinse With Water

Once you're satisfied that all the fingerprints and grime have been removed, go over the surface again with a water-dampened cloth. Stainless steel is naturally resistant to corrosion, but this step is a precaution when using vinegar so that there's no chance of it interacting with the metal over time. You can either spray water from a bottle or dampen the cloth directly with water.

WARNING If you live in an area with hard water with a high concentration of minerals, tap water can leave spots or streaks on your stainless steel. Use distilled or bottled water for rinsing.

Dry Thoroughly

The final step is crucial for streak-free stainless steel. Dry the surface completely with a lint-free microfiber cloth. Again, follow the grain and buff gently.

Tip To restore the shine to freshly cleaned stainless steel, put a couple of drops of vegetable oil on a soft cloth. Wipe in the direction of the grain and allow the surface to air-dry

Tips for Using Vinegar as a Stainless Steel Cleaner

As effective and inexpensive as vinegar is to use as a stainless steel cleaner, you should still take a few precautions before putting it to use in your kitchen. For example, Never use vinegar on stone, grout or hard wood because its acidity can cause damage to those surfaces. Here are other important safety considerations when using vinegar:

• Don't reuse empty cleaner bottles. Buy a new bottle to use for your vinegar spray. Vinegar is an acid, and you do not want to mix it with unknown chemicals from other products.

• Label the spray bottle so everyone in your household knows what's inside.

• Avoid getting vinegar near or in your eyes.

• Keep the vinegar out of reach of children. It is acidic and can burn or irritate a child's digestive system or skin.1

• Test vinegar on a small, inconspicuous area of stainless steel before using it on the entire surface.

Don't forget to tag The Farmers Touch on Social Media when you create your own household products and cleaners.

BethAnn

DIY Disinfecting Spray Cleaner.

I have a new DIY DISINFECTING SPRAY recipe for you.

This is a stronger version of the one I sold years ago. It has germ removing capabilities but I thought with the state of everything and with the availability of certain ingredients, I wanted to share a stronger, but still safe and Natural Disinfecting Spray with you. Ready?

In order to disinfect with alcohol, you need a final mixture that is made up of at least 60% alcohol – that’s why I recommend using Everclear with 95% alcohol.

I don’t drink Everclear, I only use it for cleaning. It’s similar to vodka – it’s clear and is a grain alcohol so it’s ‘non-toxic’. For your reference, Vodka has a 40-60% alcohol content which is why I add vinegar and essential oil to it to up its germ-killing qualities for my original All-Purpose Disinfecting spray recipe.

Please note: If Everclear isn’t available in your state, look for vodka that is at least 60% alcohol and don’t dilute it with water.

I have 2 versions for you – if you don’t mind the smell of vinegar or are cleaning most surfaces, you might prefer this version.

If you are disinfecting stone surfaces – marble, granite, quartz – you don’t want to use any vinegar on those surfaces because vinegar can etch away at the surface of your stone.

The Natural Disinfecting Spray without vinegar is my favorite – I like the little bit of soap in the solution. The soap adds a surfactant to break up dirt and grease, similarly to what vinegar does but without the smell.

As always, spot check your surface in an inconspicuous spot – alcohol works best on hard surfaces like bathrooms and kitchens, not unsealed or porous wood.

NATURAL DISINFECTING SPRAY (WITHOUT VINEGAR)

1 cup Everclear (look for one with 95% alcohol)

2/3 cup water

1 -2 drops Dish Soap

15 drops essential oil – I use lemon (optional)

Mix ingredients in a spray bottle, shake and spray on surfaces you wish to disinfect. Spray thoroughly to saturate surface and allow to sit for 10 minutes to disinfect surfaces.

NATURAL DISINFECTING SPRAY (WITH WHITE VINEGAR)

1 cup Everclear (look for one with 95% alcohol)

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup white vinegar

15 drops essential oil – I use lemon (optional)

Mix ingredients in a spray bottle, shake and spray on surfaces you wish to disinfect. Spray thoroughly to saturate surface and allow to sit for 10 minutes to disinfect surfaces.

Where can you use this DIY Natural Disinfecting Spray? Any hard surface that needs disinfection! You can try both or whichever now you prefer or have the ingredients for. If you use the vinegar-based recipe, just don’t use it on stone surfaces.

This coming week I will be sharing how to make your own stainless steal cleaner and disinfectant wipes.

Natural Glass Cleaner (With Surprise Ingredient for the Cleanest Windows Ever)

Using a natural cleaner is important to me, as we’ve switched out all the nasty chemical cleaners for gentler, safer ones. This natural glass cleaner is made from four basic ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

White distilled vinegar is a great all-purpose cleaner around that home that is not only effective, but very safe. It’s been used for a long time to clean glass. Adding alcohol gives it an extra boost.

I have also been making my own lens cleaner for my eyeglasses for several years now, and rubbing alcohol is the main component. Using a combination of the vinegar and rubbing alcohol is pretty great alone, but sometimes there can be stubborn streaks left behind, particularly on mirrors. That’s where the cornstarch comes in.

I was searching online for a better option that would eliminate the streaks and came upon several recipes that used cornstarch. I had to delve a little deeper. On numerous websites and forums, everyone raved about this miracle window and glass cleaner.

But in all my searching I couldn’t find the reason why adding cornstarch makes such a fantastic window and glass cleaner. All I could find was that this kind of solution in one form or another has been used by professional window cleaners for years. Good enough for me!

And you know what? My windows and mirror have never been clearer or cleaner.

It does take a little more elbow grease, but the results are amazing. I’m guessing it’s something to do with the cornstarch particles acting as a mild, gentle abrasive that helps in shining up the glass.

From what I found, you can make this one of two ways: just cornstarch and water mixed together in a bucket, which is nice if you’re washing a lot of windows; or a solution of rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, cornstarch and warm water.

The solution does not last forever, so make it in small enough batches that you’ll be able to use it before it goes “off.” I haven’t done the bucket method because it’s more convenient for me to keep the solution in a spray bottle and mix up smaller batches as needed.

The cornstarch will settle at the bottom, so be sure to really shake things up before spraying. If the nozzle gets clogged, just run some warm water through it to clear it out.

Equipment

• 16 ounce spray bottle

Materials

• 2 Tablespoons rubbing alcohol

• 2 Tablespoons white vinegar

• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

• 1 1/2 cups water

Instructions

• Place everything into a spray bottle and shake well. Shake well before each application.

• Spray onto glass and use newspaper or a terry cloth to wipe clean. Continue wiping until any white residue is gone and glass is sparkling clean.

Notes

The solution does not last forever, so make it in small enough batches that you'll be able to use it before it goes "off." I haven't done the bucket method because it's more convenient for me to keep the solution in a spray bottle and mix up smaller batches as needed. The cornstarch will settle at the bottom, so be sure to really shake things up before spraying. If the nozzle gets clogged, just run some warm water through it to clear it out.

Have you ever tried this cornstarch concoction? I don’t think I’ll ever go back!

Please be sure to share when you create these products at home and tag The Farmers Touch.

Next Weekend I will be posting how to make your own disinfectant spray at home.