How To Clean A Stainless Steel Sink With A Lemon

I love using natural ingredients to clean things, especially if there is a lemon involved because I just love the smell!

I’ve found that lemons are brilliant for cleaning the inside of kettles. While I’m cleaning my kettle, it’s a perfect time for giving my stainless-steel sink a good shine up with the other half of the lemon.

Why is lemon so great for cleaning stainless sinks?

I love my sink. I got it second-hand on eBay very cheaply along with the tap. It saved us so much money. When we got our new kitchen, that was the only item that stayed because I was so pleased with my bargain!

The thing about stainless-steel sinks is that they look fantastic when they’re clean and shiny, but not so good when they are covered in watermarks and tea stains. We are big tea drinkers, and so I always find brown stains develop inside the sink very quickly, unless I keep on top of the cleaning.

Lemons are perfect for cleaning hard water stains because they are acidic, which means they can dissolve watermarks. Along with some baking soda, they also remove brown stains very effectively.

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How to clean a stainless-steel sink with a lemon

This hack for cleaning stainless-steel sinks is so so simple! All you need is a couple of items that you very probably have available. Baking soda is a mild abrasive, so it can remove marks like tea stains very easily without scratching your precious sink. The acidity of the lemon juice dissolves the limescale, plus it leaves your kitchen smelling gorgeous.

If you don’t have baking soda or bicarbonate of soda to hand, you can equally use fine table salt instead. You will get a similar scrubbing action. If you don’t have fresh lemons, you can also use bottled lemon juice for cleaning your sink along with a microfiber cloth.

Things you’ll need to clean your stainless-steel sink

Packet of baking soda lemon and olive oil

Half a lemon (or bottled lemon juice)
Baking soda (or bicarbonate of soda)
Olive oil (optional)

Wondering what to do with the other half of the lemon? Why not chop it up and use it to clean your kettle?

Step 1 – Sprinkle on baking soda or salt

stainless-steel sink covered in baking soda

The first step is to liberally sprinkle your baking soda all over the sink area and drainer. It should cover the whole area.

Step 2 – Cut your lemon in half

Take your whole lemon and cut it in half width-ways.

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Step 3 – Use the lemon to scrub the sink

scrubbing a stainless-steel sink with lemon

Now use the fleshy part of the lemon to scrub the whole sink. The baking soda is slightly abrasive and should remove marks like tea stains very easily. But, it’s not abrasive enough to scratch the surface, so don’t worry about that.

You should find that watermarks come off due to the acidity of the lemon juice reacting with the limescale and causing it to dissolve.

Step 4 – Rinse and dry

Rinse the sink with cold water and then wipe over with a dry microfiber cloth.

Step 5 – Wipe with olive oil (optional)

To make your sink really shine, put a couple of drops of olive oil onto a dry microfiber cloth and wipe around the whole sink.

Related reading:

Frequently asked questions

Can you use Windex on a stainless-steel sink?

I have never used Windex or any other type of window cleaner to clean a stainless-steel sink. Windex is designed for glass surfaces and contains ingredients that could damage the steel, so it isn’t safe to use.

If you are looking for a preparatory sink cleaner, this one from Shiny Sinks works brilliantly. It dissolves watermarks, brings up the shine and leaves a sheen that repels water.

Homecare Shiny Sinks 290ml- 116000 by Home Care

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Can you clean stainless steel with lemon juice?

If you are wondering, will lemon juice actually clean stainless steel, yes it does! Sprinkle with baking soda and then use half the lemon as a scrubber, or pour on some lemon juice and scrub with a cloth. The baking soda will act as a mild abrasive, and the lemon juice will dissolve the watermarks.