Material

Stainless steel

A non porous metal that shrugs off heat, water, solvents and alkalis, and is ruined by chlorides. Grease wipes off with warm soapy water and a dry cloth. Bleach, brine and wire wool are the things that do permanent damage.

SurfaceNon porous
WashingSpot only
Colour run riskLow
Reviewed1 September 2026

What stainless steel can and cannot take

Heat Tolerates it
Water and soaking Tolerates it
Acids, including vinegar Use with care
Strong alkalis Tolerates it
Solvents Tolerates it
Chlorine bleach Avoid
Abrasives Use with care

Always test on a hidden area first and let it dry before you treat the visible mark.

General rules for stainless steel

Warm water with a little washing up liquid on a soft cloth, then dried, handles almost everything on stainless steel, and greasy marks are what it is best at. Work along the grain on a brushed finish, because the polish lines run one way and a cross scratch shows for the life of the surface. Methylated spirit or isopropyl alcohol on a cloth is the correct next step for oil and grease rather than a stronger cleaner. Dry every time: most of what people take for staining on steel is dried on water rather than a mark in the metal. Never use bleach, a bleach based disinfectant or a chloride cleaner, and never a wire wool or carbon steel pad, which both scratches and leaves iron particles that rust and look like the steel itself has failed.

Check the label

Stainless steel resists corrosion because of a thin chromium oxide film that reforms in air. Anything that strips that film faster than it can rebuild is the problem, and in a kitchen that means chlorides. Bleach is the obvious one. Salt, brine, vinegar and citrus juice left sitting in a bowl do the same thing more slowly.

Stains on stainless steel

Cleaners on stainless steel

Methylated spirit Yes, safe
The stainless steel trade body names methylated spirit, isopropyl alcohol and acetone as the correct treatment for oil and grease on steel, and none of them attack the passive film the way a chloride cleaner does.

Stainless steel is not stain proof, it is corrosion resistant, and the difference matters. Chromium in the alloy reacts with air to form a thin oxide film that seals the surface and rebuilds itself when it is scratched. Almost every problem with a steel sink or splashback is something interfering with that film.

Chlorides interfere with it more than anything else. That is why trade guidance is unusually blunt about bleach: hypochlorite bleaches and hydrochloric acid cleaners cause pitting, and pitting does not polish out. It is also why a dishcloth left in the bowl overnight, or salt left on a wet surface, leaves marks that look like rust.

For an oily mark, none of this is a constraint. Grease sits on the surface rather than soaking in, so warm water and washing up liquid, or methylated spirit on a cloth, removes it completely, and the only real skill is drying properly afterwards and working along the grain so you do not leave a shine where the brushing runs the other way.

Similar materials

Sources

What we checked and when. Where a manufacturer instruction disagrees with anything here, follow the manufacturer.

Cleaning methods for stainless steel, British Stainless Steel Association trade body
Trade body guidance that soap, detergent or a dilute ammonia solution in warm water is the routine method, that hydrocarbon solvents such as methylated spirit, isopropyl alcohol and acetone are the correct treatment for oil and grease, that chloride containing solutions including hypochlorite bleaches and hydrochloric acid cleaners cause staining and pitting and must not be used, and that brushed and polished finishes are worked along the grain.

Checked 1 September 2026
Cleaning stainless steel in the home, worldstainless trade body
International trade body household guidance: soapy water on a soft cloth for fingerprints and greasy marks, a cream cleanser for more stubborn deposits, always wiping dry afterwards to avoid water marks, and an explicit instruction to avoid bleach and any disinfectant containing chlorides, ordinary carbon steel scouring pads and abrasive scouring powders.

Checked 1 September 2026
Your stainless steel sink, Franke home care pack manufacturer
Sink manufacturer care instructions: clean daily and always dry the sink thoroughly afterwards, a microfibre cloth lifts dirt and grease with water alone, never use bleach, scourers, wire wool pads or abrasive cleaners, and do not leave wet cloths, salt, vinegar, citrus juice or pickles sitting in the bowl because they corrode the steel.

Checked 1 September 2026