How To Remove Hard Water Stains From Stainless Steel

Whether you've got a stainless-steel sink or bathtub surround, you are often left with scale deposits from your water supply. This leaves your attractive, flawless stainless-steel surface with unattractive hard water stains that look like small dirty drops of water. To remove the hard water stains, you must use a product that will dissolve the scale deposits, thereby removing the stain. A few commercial cleaning products are designed to handle this problem, but a simple household ingredient will work just as well, and will save you money on cleaning supplies.

Step 1

Saturate one side of a cleaning cloth with pure white vinegar. The vinegar has a slight acidic quality that is safe for stainless steel, yet highly effective in breaking up the scale deposits.

Step 2

Wipe the damp side of the cloth over the hard water stains, scrubbing in small, vigorous, circular motions. Re-saturate the cloth with vinegar as needed and continue wiping until all hard water stains are removed.

Step 3

Rinse the cloth with warm water, wring it out and wipe it over the stainless steel to remove the vinegar solution.

Step 4

Wipe the stainless steel with a dry cloth. This will prevent new hard water stains from developing.