Baby Oil on Stainless Steel?

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Michelemarie

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We have been researching different appliances - mostly in the stainless steel family. I came across a "secret" as this person put it. He/She rubs baby oil on their stainless steel appliances about twice a month to keep finger prints down and he/she said it makes cleaning easier. Has anyone ever heard of this? I would hate to do this to a new appliance and ruin the finish - it is going to be a LONG time before I replace these.......
 
I have 2 comments -

First is just ewww! Don't want my food tasting like baby oil - yuck!

Secondly, could this person just be a little too OCD about their pots and pans?

MM, if you buy a good set of SS, and take 'common sense' care of it, it -will! - last you forever!:)
 
Rubbing the right thing on SS is a good idea.
Go to a large store- Home Depot? Kitchen store? Restaurant supply? etc... and buy a can of Sheila Shine... its made for appliances, water coolers, refrigerators etc... works great, inexpensive, and does not smell like your kids behind....
 
Oh Marmalady, let me clarify myself - I meant wiping down APPLIANCES with baby oil - like the fridge, dishwashwer, microwave, stove, etc. I agree with you on pots and pans - ewww! I am anal about those too, but barkeepers friend helps me out there! Have you heard of babyoil on appliances? My girlfriend said she heard of orange oil - I just don't want to ruin a finish.
 
marmalady said:
I have 2 comments -

First is just ewww! Don't want my food tasting like baby oil - yuck!

Secondly, could this person just be a little too OCD about their pots and pans?

MM, if you buy a good set of SS, and take 'common sense' care of it, it -will! - last you forever!:)

Baby oil is primarily mineral oil with a fragrance added. You may also find other ingredients such as aloe vera. Mineral oil is the same oil that you use to oil stone countertops or wooden cutting boards and butcher block surfaces. I doubt that it would harm the stainless steel, but it would not soak in and it would always remain wet to the touch.
 
The baby oil may give you both! WOW, a bonanza for all cleaning fans everywhere!

I have black applpiances. Another cleaning nightmare. However, I'm fortunate that my eyesight isn't as good as it was.
 
Hopz is right. There are numerous products available just for cleaning/preserving stainless steel appliances. And if THEY screw up your appliance, you can sue the company. I doubt very much if the courts would take a suit against Johnson & Johnson for ruining your refrigerator seriously.
 
Andy M. said:
It seems to me that it would be a dust magnet.



It IS a dust magnet!!

The best thing to do is to use a powerful cleaner such as Greased Lightening.

This stuff REALLY works and it cuts through old sticky gummy caked on built-up grease like nothing that I've ever tried before!!!

Then just go behind that with a freshly-rinsed cloth or rag. Your appliances will shine very brightly!!
 
I used a special stainless steel cleaner for the refrigerator, and also have a special cleaner for my black stovetop. They are pretty pricey, though, and I think plain white vinegar in a spray bottle would do just as good a job.
I sure wouldn't use baby oil...that would be a gooey mess.
 
We have stainless steel appliances, and yes, we use baby oil. Its like waxing you car, or polishing wood, it goes on and you buff it off.....just how your car is not left sticky neither are your appliances. For us it works better than the products specifically for cleaning SS appliences, and is very very quick to do. It certainly doesn't seem to be a dust magnet in our house. SSdoes show everythng up otherwise, worse than the white appliences we have in the other house and baby oil has been the easiest way to deal with it. I wipe down my kitchen daily, and do a more thourough job weekly, in which I do the ss fronts. The SS hob hood I do much less frequently, apart from the underside, the top sides I do I guess every couple of months throughly with oil and they sparkle on. It just takes a couple of minutes, its just the tiniest bit of oil you are using.

Hope this does not mean that I am OCD about the appliances!
 
Baking soda is a good cleaner/polish for SS. I wouldn't put baby oil for the reason others have said--dust--and general buildup.
 
Only one of my appliances are stainless steel - the 2 doors on the fridge, and for those, I just use some Windex and a paper towel, which takes away any smudges, dirt, fingerprints and grease.
 
Corey123 said:
Only one of my appliances are stainless steel - the 2 doors on the fridge, and for those, I just use some Windex and a paper towel, which takes away any smudges, dirt, fingerprints and grease.


This is how I clean my black appliances.
 
Well, lulu seems to be the only one here who has actually tried it. She likes it and her observations about NO sticky mess or dust magnet must be true. I'd take my clues from someone who has actually done it/is doing it. And that's not saying that I thought the exact same thing everyone else did either!!!!! But when I read lulu's - well, she is actually using this method.

It's not like you leave a film on - you wipe on and wipe off like she says. I'll go out and buy all new SS appliances and let everyone know (oh how I wish) lol It might be Monday before everything can be delivered though :LOL:
 
Yes, you rub it all off, using it like a cleaning agent. Just like I hope I manage to rinse my hair of shampoo and my windows of viengar and my dishes of washing up liquid. I think it is the standard way of cleaning SS in England, I mean, I know about it, so must be common here. And honestly, its not a dust magnate, in my experience. Right now we have he cats and the biggest dog on earth here, I just could not cope with any thing that create muck for memore much for me. All I can suggest is that people who have found it so could be using too much and not buffing it off enough. :)
 
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