How To Make Your Stainless Steel Sink Shine

 I'm writing this post and it feels like midnight, but it's really only 7. Curse daylight saving time! But, seriously. Where has this year gone? I can't believe we are this close to Winter already.

Since holiday parties are about to get into full swing, I figured this little tip would help make your kitchen sparkle for your guests! A year or so ago, I was talking with my sister-in-law, and somehow cleaning stainless steel sinks was brought up. I mentioned how I hate mine and I can't do anything to make it shine, especially without using chemicals. She mentioned that she remembered her dad buffing out their sinks to make it shine. It totally made sense! Well, I tried buffing it and my arms got too tired; plus, it's really hard to get into some of those angles with your elbows and what not. So, I have a time saving tip for that too :)

Here's the before of our sink. Even after scrubbing it with soap. Gross, huh? Yeah. Well, that's like 7 years of grime that just doesn't like to come off. I have never seen this sink shine since a week after we bought the house. I've used Comet and multiple other cleaners, and it does nothing for the shine. 

 So, this is how I now clean my sink and make it shine! First for the cleaning. I use vinegar and baking soda. I put the vinegar in a little dish with a scrubber.

 I first sort of pour the vinegar around the sink. I get into the tough spots with the scrubber; trying to coat the whole sink with a layer of vinegar. I then sprinkle baking soda all around the sink.

 I scrub the baking soda into the sink, up the sides, in the drain catch. Everywhere. Sometimes I need a little more 'wet', so I dip the scrubber back into the vinegar. Warning, this makes it bubble like crazy, it's just a simple reaction the vinegar has with the baking soda.

I'm not too sure behind the science of this, but the vinegar acts as the cleaner and de-sanitizer while the baking soda is the abrasive, helping cut through the grime.

Okay, so now that the sink is clean, it's time to make it shine even more. So, buffing worked, but I needed something a little more. So, I decided to buff the sink using canola oil. I'm sure you can use vegetable oil or olive oil too. I just did about the a tablespoon into each section of the sink, used a rag and buffed the sink. Wax on, wax off type of thing :)

 Here's the after!

 In case you needed the before again:

Yep. Crazy difference there! I wasn't so sure about the oil and how it would hold up to water. So, here's a picture what it looks like after I ran the water for a little bit and then wiped it down.

Still shiny :) This is super quick too. Maybe took me 5 minutes to do both sides of the sink. Even with dishes in it, it still shines :) Obviously, this isn't going to last forever. So, you'll want to clean and buff it as often as you feel like it needs it. Wax on, wax off :)