Shiny, Shiny Stainless

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I love the look of stainless steel. Except when it's not stainless. With two tiny men three feet tall and under running around, you can imagine the amount of smudges, goop, and other unidentifiable marks that end up on all of my kitchen surfaces. I have to confess that I really don't wipe it down very often. It makes me tired to clean it and then find two hand prints and a foot print on it two and a half minutes later. When I do clean it, I don't use the fancy cleaners that are meant to clean without streaks; mostly because I don't feel like they do a very good job, and they end up feeling kind of greasy and I don't like that. Usually I will use a spray cleaner and a rag or *gasp* just a soapy dish rag. This means that while the germs and goop may be removed, the evidence remains in the form of those dang smudges.

So you can imagine my skepticism and cautious optimism when I stumbled across a different cleaning solution at One Good Thing by Jillee. I had the post bookmarked for a while because...well I don't know why. I guess just because I am a champion level procrastinator. But I had all the supplies needed, and I had disgusting appliances just crying out for help.

So here is what I did - I assembled:

• 1 Cup baking soda
• 3 T Borax
• 1/4 Cup lemon juice
• Club soda

Mix the first three ingredients together and add enough club soda to make a pasty mush. I found that it went on a spread more easily if it was more on the wet side. Be prepared - you WILL have clumps of this plop down on the floor as you are applying it!! The time this project takes is extended by the clean-up. Once it has dried, it is pretty easy to sweep up. Still, it is best to do it before you clean your floor.

Once it is dried, use a damp rag to wipe off the mixture. I was careful to wipe in the same direction of the grain, and I am happy I did. They came out beautifully! Not a smudge or streak in sight! My kitchen simply glowed with the beauty of my gleaming appliances! I cleaned my oven, dishwasher, and trash can in addition to my refrigerator, and of course the trash can and dishwasher had marks within about an hour, but they are still cleaner than they were before. I can guarantee that I will be doing this again...and again!