Keep Your Stainless Steel Kitchen Appliances Clean With 2 Salad Staples

Durable and long-lasting, stainless steel kitchen appliances go well with almost any decor. However, sometimes they're difficult to keep clean, especially when every little touch seems to add a new smudge to the surface. Fortunately, you can easily clean your kitchen with some simple pantry staples, and for stainless steel, all you need are ingredients you might associate with salad.

Olive oil and vinegar combined make an excellent cleaner for stainless steel. Olive oil is a great cleaner for stainless steel on its own, but when you add vinegar, the combo can't be beat. Simply mix olive oil and white vinegar at a 1:1 ratio in a clean container and spray it onto your stainless steel. Then, wipe it off using a microfiber cloth, going with the grain. You should see results immediately. The mixture will clean your appliances and remove all smudges and dirt, leaving them looking brand new. For best results, repeat the process twice.

This mixture will work on Ree Drummond's favorite, a stainless steel kitchen island, to refrigerators and even stovetops (though naturally never while it's on, and give it some time before you use the stove again to let the cleaner evaporate). Individual results may vary, but it's still an excellent cleaning hack that might save you money.

While you're cleaning your stainless steel surfaces with olive oil and vinegar, there's a few things you should keep in mind. While the mixture will work great together, you can also use vinegar and olive oil separately if you wish. Spray the vinegar as you would the mixture, wipe with a cloth, and then apply a drop or two of olive oil to a different cloth and use it to polish the stainless steel.

Olive oil and vinegar may make an excellent cleaning combo, however, it's very important to never mix household cleaning chemicals. The consequences can be disastrous. Never mix vinegar with bleach or hydrogen peroxide. The former creates chlorine gas, and the latter forms a strong acid. This goes for your olive oil mixture as well.

One thing that you can mix in if you don't love the vinegar smell is essential oils. Add in a drop or two of lemon, mint, lavender, or any of your other favorite scented oils. Always look up the oil in question to ensure it won't have a negative reaction.