Cutlery has water spots that doesn’t wash off. Any ideas?

amother

OP ↓

Sat, Dec 30 2023, 11:12 pm

I have stainless cutlery that’s glossy (not matte, I’m not sure glossy is used for cutlery). It has various stains that make it look dirty but washing it doesn’t seem to get it back to the original clear shine. Is there any way to get it to look new again? It’s embarrassing since it looks dirty. TIA

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Dec 31 2023, 1:09 am

ra_mom wrote:

When they are dry, use a dry steel wool to rub it right out.
Everything should be dry.

Steel wool for water spots? Won’t it scratch up the cutlery?

↑ ra_mom ↓

Sun, Dec 31 2023, 1:35 am

amother OP wrote:

Steel wool for water spots? Won’t it scratch up the cutlery?

If you're using brand name good quality steel wool, on stainless no coated cutlery, I do it all the time.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Dec 31 2023, 1:39 am

ra_mom wrote:

If you're using brand name good quality steel wool, on stainless no coated cutlery, I do it all the time.

Very interesting. I’ll try it. Thanx.

StylishTichel ↓

Sun, Dec 31 2023, 1:45 am

amother OP wrote:

Before you use steel wool maybe try soaking it in bar keeper's friend - (either the powder with water or the liquid). It's pretty cheap and it works great for rust or stains on stainless steel in my experience.

Last edited by StylishTichel on Sun, Dec 31 2023, 9:36 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Hyssop

Sun, Dec 31 2023, 1:48 am

Do you live in a place with hard water?
Try dipping them in vinegar and then wiping clean. You can rinse off afterwards.
When washing them regularly, use very hot water and dry immediately. Don't leave to drip dry.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Dec 31 2023, 2:48 am

StylishTichel wrote:

Before you use steel wool maybe try soaking it on bar keeper's friend - (either the powder with water or the liquid). It's pretty cheap and it works great for rust or stains on stainless steel in my experience.

I never heard of this. Thank you for this and PP for your suggestions!

↑ ra_mom

Sun, Dec 31 2023, 7:11 am

StylishTichel wrote:

Read the bottle and follow instructions. Bar Keepers Friend it great but needs to be used/rubbed off quickly. Don't soak in this product or you can damage the finish fully.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Fri, Jan 05 2024, 11:23 am

StylishTichel wrote:

Update:
I bought this and soaked the cutlery in a bowl of water plus this powder for about 10 minutes! Then rinsed off! Literally worked like magic. Looks like new! Horrible rust and hard water stains came right off. I was about to discard the set already because it was too embarrassing to serve with it and no matter how much I soaped it it didn’t help. So thanks for this. Haven’t heard of it before.
Thanks everyone else for your suggestions too.

↑ StylishTichel

Fri, Jan 05 2024, 11:50 am

amother OP wrote:

Yay! Thanks for sharing. So happy it helped.
I use it on my sink when it gets rust stains. I never tried for cutlery but I figured it would work ☺️

lucky14

Fri, Jan 05 2024, 11:52 am

amother OP wrote:

I’m a huge fan of bar keepers friend. It’s magical.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Fri, Jan 05 2024, 11:53 am

ra_mom wrote:

Read the bottle and follow instructions. Bar Keepers Friend it great but needs to be used/rubbed off quickly. Don't soak in this product or you can damage the finish fully.

I’m happy you posted this because I was going to soak it for hours. I felt it really needed a long soak. But I see it worked in minutes so it’s possible that hours would damage it.

amother

↑ OP

Fri, Jan 05 2024, 11:53 am

lucky14 wrote:

I’m a huge fan of bar keepers friend. It’s magical.

Definitely a keeper and my new friend!