The Flour Hack That Will Make Your Kitchen Sink Shine Like New

We've all heard the saying, "A clean kitchen is a happy kitchen." However, seeing your stainless steel appliances stained and dirty after scrubbing them for a long time takes the" happy" out of that quote. You've seen all the TikTok cleaning videos where users manage to give their stainless steel sinks a stunning transformation. They use multiple cleaning products, letting them set before wiping them away and revealing a sparkly sink. However, if those hacks don't work for your sink, one baking ingredient will help restore its shine. Applying flour to the surface will buff out any grime, dirt, and stains in your sink.

Using flour outside of baking purposes sounds a little weird, but it's one of the most used ingredients to help make your stainless steel sinks look like you just took them out of their box. While you frequently use your sink to wash dishes, it's easily susceptible to leftover food getting stuck to the surface. All of your stainless steel appliances deserve a polish occasionally. Use this trick before guests arrive, and you'll be known as the person who always has the shiniest sink.

The flour hack is easy to follow, and you only need a few materials. Gather your flour, kitchen towel, kitchen cleaner, and a soft rag. Before you start applying any flour, make sure to wash all of your dishes and put them away. It's also important to thoroughly wash your sink beforehand to get rid of food and any residue that's stuck on the surface. You can clean the kitchen with simple soapy water or your go-to kitchen cleaner.

After you clean the sink as best you can, dry it with your kitchen towel. You don't want any leftover water droplets, or it'll mix with the flour and turn it into a gooey texture. Ensure you get every crevice in the sink and any surface surrounding the drain. Then, coat your sink with flour (use about ¼ cup of flour). Using your dry, soft rag, buff the flour over every surface by using circular motions. Get into every small corner where the food and dirt hide the most, especially around the drain. Finally, after you've been buffing away, start seeing food come out, and the sink starts shining, you can clean up the flour with the same rag you used or a new one. Wipe out the flour and throw it away in the trash can. Try to get as much of the flour out to prevent getting any of it wet, because it could clog your drain.

When you're cleaning any stainless steel appliance, it's essential to use mildly abrasive products to get rid of stains, dirt, and grime. However, you don't want anything too abrasive, since it can damage your appliance's surface. Flour is a mildly abrasive product that is strong enough to remove pesky dirt and grime, especially those micro-grooves on the surface. Using a regular sponge with soap won't get deep into the micro-grooves, so flour is an excellent alternative.

While there won't be any cleaning solutions to give you a permanent shiny sink, using flour can offer temporary shine. You can polish it once or twice a month, depending on how often you use your sink or notice it getting dirty. Moreover, you can use flour on multiple stainless steel appliances — as long as you measure out the right amount of flour to prevent making a powdery mess. It works wonders on pots, pans, stove tops, etc. With this hack, you won't have to purchase stainless steel cleaning products again. Always remember though to be careful of tiny crevices that can be clogged with flour. You'll have a hard time removing the clogs.