Removing hard water stains by using baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, or some combination of all three will give you a nice, even surface to work with. Then, you can use olive oil to give your steel a nice shine, wiping away the remainder with a soft cloth.
Prepare a Vinegar or Lemon Juice Solution:
In a bowl or spray bottle, mix equal parts white vinegar or lemon juice and water. If you have a severe limescale problem, you can use the undiluted solution.
The most common pickling solution used to remove scale produced by annealing austenitic stainless steel in the air is 10 to 15 percent nitric acid plus 1 to 3 percent hydrofluoric acid. The solution is usually used at temperatures of 120 to 140°F (50 to 60°C).
Vinegar is highly acidic and should (almost) never be used on stainless steel because it can begin to eat through the protective coating over time. While it may not be evident at first, you will gradually start to dull the surface as the acid eats its way through the exterior coating and will make an uneven finish.
Combine one part vinegar with eight parts water. Spray the solution on the stainless surfaces and let it sit for five minutes. Afterwards, rinse with cool water or wipe with a damp cloth. After your stainless steel surfaces have dried, sprinkle them with olive oil and wipe them with a clean cloth.
Baking soda contains tiny particles abrasive enough to remove stains yet gentle enough to prevent scratching and restore shine to stainless steel.
Hydrochloric and sulphuric acids at some concentrations are particularly aggressive towards stainless steel. General corrosion can be quite destructive and happen to the entire surface at once.
Urika | Powerful Descaler & Cleaner | Stainless Steel Safe | 1 Litre. A highly effective, multi use cleaner and descaler formulated to remove sever water scale and body fats. Safe for use on stainless steel.
A mixture of salt, plain flour, and white vinegar. Apply it to the tarnished metal, leave for 1-2 hours, then remove.
CLR® Spot-Free Stainless Steel is specially formulated to be used safely on any stainless steel appliance and surface.
To make: Start with a clean spray bottle. Pour in white vinegar, Blue Dawn liquid dishwashing detergent and water. Apply the spray top and shake to mix. To use: Shake to mix then spray it liberally on the stainless steel surface you want to clean.
It polishes stainless steel beautifully
I've shined them all with Bar Keepers Friend. Just a sprinkle of powder and a brisk scrub with a sponge removes much of the dulling grime that accumulates on stainless steel in the kitchen and bathroom. Oxalic acid is Bar Keepers Friend's secret sauce.
The Best At-Home Methods for Cleaning Stainless Steel
Add white vinegar to a clean spray bottle. Spray down your stainless steel appliance. Wipe clean with a microfiber cloth. Once clean, dip your cloth into a small amount of olive oil.
As we mentioned earlier, vinegar is one of the best natural descalers in your kitchen. Vinegar is very acidic that combats the limescale of your coffee appliance after regular brewing. Mix vinegar with warm water in a 1:1 ratio and run the brew cycle several times for cleaning.
A quick wipe-down daily will keep surfaces at their best. Skip store-bought products and use distilled white vinegar as a homemade stainless steel cleaner.
DON'T use chlorine bleach, chloride, oven cleaner, or other abrasive cleaners. Many different cleaners contain chlorides or chlorine. These chemicals and other abrasive cleaners will cause surface pitting. They can also strip the protective chrome oxide barrier from stainless steel.
Stainless steel is highly resistant to rust and corrosion due to the presence of chromium, which forms a protective oxide layer on the surface.
If you have small scratches or marks on your stainless steel, a little bit of toothpaste can do the trick.
Bon Ami is eco friendly and made with entirely different ingredients as BKF. Bon Ami Powder received the highest grade from EWG which is an "A".
Bar Keepers Friend or baking soda: These powdered cleaners can scrub off stains without damaging pans. Bar Keepers Friend is more effective at scrubbing the toughest stains, but baking soda is more versatile.