Cleaning Your Kitchen Sink The Natural Way

You’ve just installed your beautiful new kitchen and had your stunning new kitchen worktops fitted but how do you ensure that your new sink stays immaculate and spotless?

After all, a kitchen is a working area. It’s a space to prepare food, cook and entertain, often the heart of a busy home. Kitchen surfaces have to cope with a lot and it’s no different for your sink.

We all know we can give sink a quick wipe to rid it of any surface grime, but how on earth do you get the sink looking as spotless and shiny as the day you bought it?

Obviously, there are numerous cleaning products available at your local supermarket that promise to clean all sorts of things, but not all of us are happy using such harsh and abrasive chemicals and, no matter what you say, nobody likes the lingering smell of bleach.

So how do you go about cleaning your kitchen sink using only green, natural products – products that you probably already have in your kitchen cupboards?

Well, firstly every kitchen sink is different. They react to cleaning ingredients in different ways and, as a result, we have to look at each type of sink separately.

Let’s break it down and have a look at the best way to clean popular kitchen sinks.

How To Clean A Stainless Steel Sink

Probably the most popular type of sink and go particularly well with laminate kitchen worktops. Let’s have a look how to clean stainless steel sinks.

Before we get started, you’re going to need a few things –

1. A clean sponge
2. Some bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
3. A little drop of vinegar
4. Some lemon peel (or orange peel)
5. A little bit of olive oil
6. A couple of paper towels

OK, here we go.

Directions

1. Obviously, remove all dishes from the sink and give it a quick rinse.
2. Sprinkle the sink with the bicarbonate of soda.
3. With the sponge, scrub the basin using circular movements. The bicarbonate of soda gently cleans without scratching the stainless steel.
4. Rinse the sink with the vinegar. The vinegar, reacting with the bicarbonate of soda, will fizz and naturally disinfect the sink.
5. Rinse the sink with water.
6. Take some of the peel and rub the sink with it, making sure that you’re rubbing the stainless steel with the skin, not the pith. This helps get rid of any light vinegar smells and helps give the steel a shine.
7. Place a little olive oil on to a piece of kitchen towel and buff your sink.
8. Stand back and admire your shiny new sink! Your sink should retain its sheen for a few weeks before you need to repeat this process.

Take a look at this great video from the Home Staging Channel, demonstrating how to clean a kitchen sink with half a lime and some bicarbonate of soda.

How To Clean A Ceramic Sink

Ceramic sinks are popular in homes, used in both kitchens and bathrooms. They can sometimes stain and these stains can be difficult to shift, but there are easy ways to clean your ceramic sink.

What you’ll need –

1. Clean water.
2. White vinegar.
3. Soft cloth.
4. Toothbrush
5. Half a lemon.

Directions

1. Make up a 50% solution of water and the white vinegar.
2. Dip the soft cloth into the solution and gently rub the sink. This should help to remove any stains or limescale deposits. Make sure not to leave the vinegar in contact with the ceramic surface as the acidity can cause damage.
3. Use the toothbrush to clean any particularly difficult areas.
4. Rinse the sink with warm water.
5. Rub the flesh of half a lemon over the surface of the sink. You can leave this for up to half an hour before rinsing again with warm water. This will help to lift any smells and give a nice shine to the surface.
6. Make sure to rinse the sink with water after preparing any food and you’ll help keep your ceramic sink clean and stain free.

How To Clean An Enamel / Porcelain Sink

Similar to ceramic sinks, porcelain enamel sinks can easily be cleaned using a few simple ingredients.

What you’ll need –

1. Clean water.
2. Bicarbonate of soda.
3. White vinegar.
4. A soft cloth.
5. Toothbrush
6. Half a lemon.

Directions

1. Prepare a 50% solution with the water and vinegar. As with the ceramic sink, do not allow vinegar to remain in contact with your porcelain for too long as it can cause damage.
2. Dip your cloth into the mixture and give the sink a clean.
3. Rinse the sink with water.
4. If there are any tough stains, try mixing the bicarbonate of soda with a little water until it forms something that looks like toothpaste. Take your toothbrush and, with a little bit of the mixture, treat those stubborn stains directly.
5. Rinse the sink again.
6. Use the flesh of half a lemon to erase any smells and give your porcelain a beautiful shine.

Cleaning A Solid Surface / Composite (Corian, Granite, Quartz) Sink

More and more popular these days, solid surface composite sinks come in all shapes and sizes. Each has slightly different properties and reacts in slightly different ways to cleaning products so you need to be careful what you are using.

Try to use simple products and you won’t go far wrong.

What you’ll need –

1. Clean water.
2. Bicarbonate of soda.
3. White vinegar.
4. Olive oil (or cooking oil)
5. A soft cloth.

Directions for Granite or Quartz Sinks

1. To get rid of white hazing or staining on granite or quartz, especially dark surfaces, make a paste with the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar and rub the sink using the soft cloth.
2. Rinse the sink with water.
3. Dry the sink well.
4. Gently rub some olive oil into the sink and leave for a while.
5. Wipe the excess oil off with a paper towel.
6. Admire your clean and mark-free granite sink!
7. Always try to rinse your sink after use and dry it before leaving.

A big problem with granite sinks is that they are quite prone to hazing, where your sink is left covered with marks left by water deposits.

Here’s a quick video showing how you can use simple cooking oil to clean your granite sink of these marks and help prevent them in future.

Directions for Corian Sinks

1. Sprinkle some bicarbonate of soda into the sink and work it into any stains using the cloth, or a toothbrush for more stubborn marks.
2. Pour some vinegar into the sink and allow to fizz as it reacts with the bicarbonate of soda. This should help lift the stains out of the surface.
3. Rinse with clean water.
4. If there are still stains remaining, try treating them by rubbing them with the flesh of the lemon. Let the lemon juice sit on the stains until you can see them going.
5. Rinse again with clean water.
6. Again, try and rinse your sink after use.

The same process can be used to keep your Corian worktops clean, helping you to remove stains and return them to their original state.

How To Clean A Fireclay Sink

Fireclay Sinks are on the higher end in terms of pricing and, as such, you want to make sure that it looks as good in 5 years time as it did the day you purchased it!

What you’ll need –

1. Bicarbonate of soda.
2. White vinegar.
3. Cloth or sponge.
4. Natural liquid wax (if available).

Directions

1. Rinse the sink and dry.
2. Apply some bicarbonate of soda to the cloth or sponge and scrub the sink to remove any lingering stains.
3. Pour some of the white vinegar into the sink and allow to react with the bicarbonate of soda.
4. Rinse with clean water.
5. Wipe dry with a clean cloth or kitchen towel.
6. Apply some liquid wax to the sink’s basin on a monthly basis, if you can. Using a soft cloth, you can work the wax into the surface of the sink, which will help seal the sink and make the flow of liquid down the drain much easier. Allow the wax to dry before using the sink.

How To Clean A Copper Sink

Copper sinks are things of beauty but the patina or finish can become damaged if you use the wrong things to clean it.

Avoid using harsh cleaners, anything too abrasive and make sure to allow water to run continuously if you are using acidic foodstuffs in your sink.

What you’ll need –

1. Mild soap.
2. Clean water.
3. A soft cloth.

Directions

1. Simply mix the soap and water and gently clean your sink with a soft cloth.

You should use nothing other than this, as you risk ruining your copper sink.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it, how to clean a kitchen sink with products that you probably already have in your kitchen cupboards.

As you’ll see, you can do a lot with some white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda! There’s no need to spend lots of money on expensive cleaning products when the answer is already in your kitchen.

I hope we’ve covered most of the ways to clean sinks, but if you know of any other ways, or your grandma swears by an ancient method passed down through your family, we’d love to hear it!

We’d also love to see some results you’ve had using these methods, so send us a photo and share your stories.