... I learned from my mother-in-law.
My mother-in-law has been a professional housecleaner for over 20 years. It was a little intimidating as a new bride, having her over. I thought she'd be looking for the spot of dust that I missed or the crumb that escaped the vacuum cleaner. But you know what? I never once saw her look out of the corner of her eye to see if I had dusted the ceiling fan (which I only do about one a year) or run her finger over the mantle (I DO dust that weekly). She's the kind of mother-in-law that let's you be who you are without trying to improve you.
I asked her one time how she kept her stainless steel sink looking so shiny. If you have a stainless sink, you know how dull they can get after a while. She gave me her trade secret, and you know what? It works like a charm. Yes! I'll share!
First of all, scrub your sink with the cleaner of your choice. I like to use Soft Scrub with Bleach. The combination of grittiness and bleach removes bacteria and any stains.
This is what my sink looks like after it's been scrubbed. Clean, but dull. Now for the trade secret...
lemon oil
Give one swirl of lemon oil around the sink and wipe the entire surface with it with a paper towel.
Now look how shiny! You can even see my son's head reflected as he peered over the counter.
Landon: Um... mom, what are you taking a picture of?
Me: The sink.
Him: Why? (This must be read with the right inflection of voice - one that conveys the thought that that is the weirdest thing to take a picture of.)
Me: For my blog.
Him: No comment, just a quick raise of the eyebrows. Turns and walks away...
Anyway, the oil not only makes the sink shiny, but also gives it a protective barrier from liquids and other things it comes in contact with. Just look at that water all beaded up!
It doesn't last forever, so you'll need to do this a couple times a month. But really it is an effortless fix. And it smells good too! One bottle of lemon oil will last you a year or more.
Enjoy your shiny sink!
