How To Remove Water Stains From Stainless Steel

Keep your stainless steel appliances looking like new! Check out the easy way to remove water stains from stainless steel. This simple tip easily removes hard water stains. If you have been struggling check out how to remove water stains on a stainless steel fridge and more!

A few months ago I bought a new dishwasher and fridge. After years of having black appliances, I finally decided to go with stainless steel.

I am amazed at how much lighter my kitchen looks just switching a few appliances to stainless steel. It makes me so happy to have my kitchen lighter and brighter.

I wasn't too concerned with having fingerprints on the appliances. It's just me, my husband, and our teenage son. So no toddlers running around leaving fingerprints.

What I wasn't expecting is to have more watermarks on the appliances than our old black ones.

Our new dishwasher is really bad at getting water stains on it. I think when we are doing the dishes or shutting the door to the dishwasher I drip a little water on it.

Over the course of the week, the dishwasher can get some gross-looking water stains covering it.

I found that the usual stainless steel cleaner doesn't seem to do great on water stains. I kind of played around with a couple of different methods and finally found a great way to remove the water stains.

If you are dealing with water stains on appliances check out this easy tip on how to remove water stains from stainless steel. It works great to remove water stains on stainless steel fridges, dishwashers, and more!

Remove Water Stains From Stainless Steel

One of my favorite ways to remove hard water stains from just about anything is to use vinegar.

Hard water is usually a mix of limescale and calcium that is in the water. When the water dries it leaves behind the deposits. You can see below the stains it left on my dishwasher.

Vinegar does a great job of removing the deposits from your hard water stains.

Usually, I like to let the vinegar sit on the hard water stain for about 5-10 minutes depending on how big the stain is.

Since vinegar doesn't cling well to vertical surfaces like appliances I highly recommend you use a vinegar gel to help clean off the stains.

You can buy a vinegar gel for a few dollars on Amazon, or you can easily make it yourself. This is my favorite recipe for a homemade lemon vinegar gel. It only takes a few minutes to make.

Once you have the vinegar gel then take a microfiber cloth and apply the vinegar to the water stain.

Make sure that you are applying it going with the grain so you don't leave scratches in the stainless steel.

After you have applied a thick coat of the vinegar gel to the water stain then set a timer for about 5-10 minutes.

After the time is up then use a clean microfiber cloth to remove the lemon vinegar gel. Buff the stainless steel, again, going with the grain of the appliance.

If you have removed all of the vinegar gel and there are still watermarks then go back and repeat the process again.

Let the vinegar sit on the appliances for a little bit longer this time. About halfway through the time, you may want to gently rub at the stain to make sure all the water stains are getting some of the vinegar on them.

Once it has set for about 15 minutes then you can use a clean microfiber cloth and remove the vinegar gel.

If you are trying to remove water stains around the fridge water dispenser you can see how to clean a refrigerator water dispenser.

Cleaning the Stainless Steel Appliances

Then, you can go ahead and clean the appliances as you normally would.

Sometimes I clean my appliances with these wipes. They are great if you are in a hurry.

I also sometimes just clean them myself. I like to spray them down first with a little bit of vinegar spray to remove any germs or stuck-on food.

Then, I add a little olive oil to a microfiber cloth and gently wipe down the appliances with the oil. Use a clean microfiber cloth and wipe it with the grain to remove any excess oil.

It gets rid of any fingerprints and leaves the appliances looking shiny and new. The added oil from the olive oil will keep the fingerprints from showing on your appliances.

With these simple tips, you can keep the hard water stains from building up on your dishwasher and other appliances. You can see below how the hard water stains are gone and the dishwasher looks great again.

It's so easy to remove water stains from stainless steel with these simple tips. From now on you can keep your appliances looking great!

Want some other easy cleaning tips? Check out these easy tips on how to deep clean a kitchen. Keep your kitchen looking clean without spending a bunch of time!