How to Remove Hard Water Stains from Stainless Steel Dishwashers
Someone asked me how to remove hard water stains from a stainless steel dishwasher the other day and I wasn’t sure if I could figure out how to resolve that problem. Then it dawned on me…why not use our DIY Kitchen Sink Cleaner recipe?! It worked perfectly for the sink, so it should work perfectly for the dishwasher!
Now, I did modify the recipe a bit because I wanted to make a cleaning concoction thick enough to sit vertically on the dishwasher without slipping off. Even with a few tweaks, this cleaner worked perfectly!
And of course, test this out on a small corner before doing your entire dishwasher… some finishes don’t work as well as others!
How to Remove Water Stains from Your Stainless Steel Dishwasher
It’s pretty difficult to see what I’m fighting but if you look at the image above, you can see the spots and hard water stains. It looks even worse when you’re standing right in front of it.
Now that you have an idea as to what I’m trying to get rid of, we can move on.
How to Make Your Stainless Steel Cleaner
Here are the supplies you’ll need:
Once you’ve got those ready, mix 1/4 cup vinegar to 1/2 cup baking soda. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice and a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir all of your ingredients so they form a paste.
How to Clean Your Dishwasher
Once your paste is made, take a soft cloth and dip it into your mixture and rub it in small circles over your dishwasher rub with the grain of the stainless steel.
Cover the Entire Surface!
Notice how we accidentally rubbed the stainless steel cleaner in circles instead of with the grain. This could cause small scratches (thanks Sara for letting us know). Make sure to rub with the grain!
Wipe it Off
Once the mixture has been sitting on your dishwasher for about 5 to 10 minutes, it’s ready to wipe off. Simply dampen your towel and start wiping!
Once the dishwasher has been wiped off, you can add a few drops of olive oil to a soft cloth and buff it right into the dishwasher surface to give it an even better shine!
The End Result
As you can see from the finished result above, it might not be perfect but it certainly looks 99% better! I’m happy!!! I hope this post helps to make your cleaning journey a little easier!
More DIY Cleaning Supplies:
- DIY Glass Stove Top Cleaner (3 Ingredients)
- DIY Carpet Stain Remover (That Really Works)
- Simple DIY Cleaning Wipes That Are Cheap to Make
- How to Clean a Dirty Oven With Ammonia
- How to Clean Your Front Load Washer
Find all our DIY cleaning tutorials here!
How to Remove Hard Water Stains from Stainless Steel Dishwashers
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Instructions
- Mix vinegar and baking soda.
- Add lemon juice and olive oil.
- Stir all of your ingredients so they form a paste.
- Take a soft cloth and dip it into your mixture and rub it in small circles over your dishwasher.
- Cover the entire surface.
- Let the mixture sit for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Wipe off with a damp cloth.
- Once the dishwasher has been wiped off, you can add a few drops of olive oil to a soft cloth and buff it right into the dishwasher surface to give it an even better shine!
Notes
**Always test on a small area first to make sure this will work on your stainless steel dishwasher finish.
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It was me me me,but it was my refridgerator,I also have a stainless steel Trash can,so I’m gonna try this trick,ty so much for the tip ! It grosses me out to see the constant spots cross your fingers and say a prayer for me.
Hey, Darbi!!! I hope it works for you! I forgot it was the fridge you asked about! I tried last week’s cleaner on it so I couldn’t give an honest answer if I worked on that again. I knew I didn’t use the fridge for a reason! LOL, I just forgot what it was! I needed something that hadn’t been cleaned so I used the dishwasher instead. 🙂 I hope this works for you! Keeping my fingers crossed!
This made a mess & a 1/2 on my stainless
I couldn’t get the paste to clean off
Left a ton of residue 😢
I thought my refrigerator was ruined by nasty sweaty hand print stains from contractors working in my house when they had to move my fridge. NOTHING was getting those nasty stains out. I’m so grateful for this post and wonderful concoction. My fridge looks like new, thank you!
Yay Tara!! I’m so glad!!
Didn’t work at all. My fridge looks worse than when I started.
Bummer, sorry to hear that, Valerie!
can you use another oil besides olive oil?
I’ve never tried it with a different oil, but it couldn’t hurt to try… Be sure to try it on a spot that’s not easily visible, just in case it does something weird!
I use mineral oil o right baby’s oil. WOrks wonders
Thanks for sharing Suzi!
I used baby oil
As a chef, the stainless steel prep tables in my restaurant not only have to be sanitary, but also look nice (after what they cost me). I’ve been using a product called “Sheila Shine” in the restaurant & the stainless appliances in my home as well. Well worth it. I wish my lipgloss was as shiny as my stainless!
You should try this recipe. It’s great, and so much healthier! 🙂
I used it today on my dishwasher. We bought a home and it was nasty, but looks great now. ThNks for sharing.
Yay!! I’m so glad it worked for you!!
Do you know how to get dings out of SS
Nope, I think that’s one we just can’t fix. 🙂
if you can get dings out of cars with the little kits maybe same can be done
for the dishwashers just gentle pulls.
My parents had an airstream trailer nice stainless steel majestic thing and it got a few dings my uncle took a plunger and pulled out the dings . If they’re not terrible deep dings, it may work .
Thanks for the idea Brit!
Use dry ice to get dings out. USE GLOVES when handling dry ice. Hold dry ice on the ding for about 5 minutes. Shallow dings will take less…Deeper dings longer.
Great tip, thank you!
This doesn’t scratch at all? Thought baking soda would…
Nope! It sure doesn’t!
Best thing to use on Stainless Steel is Orange pledge, spray it on and wipe off either with a paper towel or soft cloth!!!! It has to be the ORANGE kind!!!
I think the point is not to use commercial product as there are chemicals in those cleaners.
OMG just used Orange Pledge on my dishwasher looks better than brand new.
I use a Pledge-like furniture polish & it works wonderfully…..no need to use “Orange Pledge”!!! Bet the smell is delish, however!!
Thanks for the tip Monique!
what is that the colour of the pledge can or is that the scent of orange
The orange pledge worked way better than the vinegar and baking soda. I’ll have to see how it looking in the morning light once the sun shines on the stainless steel this was done a night.
This is amazing. It looks like even the commercial stainless cleaner leaves residue. This solution even removed that build up. I have a picture if you will like to see the difference. Thanks for the tip.
Yes! We would love to see the pictures! This works so well!! You can send the picture to sheyanne {at} fabulesslyfrugal {dot} com! We can’t wait to see!
OMG this paste is a life saver or SS appliances saver should I say! Thanks so much for sharing! Much love!
So glad you love it!!
I use lemon oil – so maybe any oil will work?
And does it work well? What a great discovery!
Do you think this would work for a teal kettle?
Is the kettle painted? or is it stainless steel?
Sorry – I see my spelling error – it’s a stainless steel tea kettle 🙂
Then it should work Gina!
WD 40 is all it takes to clean stainless steel..
Yes, WD40 really works. I learned that years ago from a lady who cleaned my house for years.
On my SS sink I guess use baking soda with a quick we off oil and buff. I always but with a microfiber cloth.
Has anyone tried this concoction on faux stainless?
I’d test it out on the bottom corner or an inconspicuous spot and see how it goes. I can’t imaging that it’d hurt faux stainless steel. Let us know if you try!
Thank you so much Becky! I also used it as a last ditch effort on my stained porcelain sink and it looks beautiful again!!!
So glad it worked for you Kelley!
I’ve been all over Pinterest looking for something to work on my stainless appliances today.. I’ve tried several that did not work so I wanted to give out a KUDOS on this one! It worked perfectly! Thank you!
So glad to hear it Bonnie! Thanks for the report!
I just use WD 40 on a paper towel, works great!
Thank You!!! Works great on all stainless steel appliances in my kitchen, thanks for sharing.
Tried it on fridge, dishwasher and oven door. It was messy and thouch I wiped it off with damp cloth as directed . . . had to wipe and refresh the cloth many times . . . still left a film.
Pledge or store brand furniture cleaner works great and is fast.
I use Soft Scrub annd it works beautifully. The real challenge is what could be used to stop this sort of thing from marking them up in the fìrst place?
RainX works great!! I use it on SS & outdoor windows! We have very hard water & after the windows are demineralized I put on RainX & they don’t get near as many water spots & are so much easier to clean the next time!
This worked beautifully,! Thank you so much.
Will this paste actually “remove” hard water stains or just temporarily mask it ? It appears anything oil-based will coat the surface to make it look clean. No matter how often I clean the outside of my dishwasher, the hardwater re-appears 🙁 Any idea on how to make stainless steel “hard water proof”?
Thank you so much for the “water stain” recipe. I was about to spend $800 on a new dishwasher because I am remodeling the kitchen and the one I have is not that old. I can’t believe it…the water stains are gone!!!! Also buffed with olive oil.
Woot! SOOO glad Bobbi!!
I have three types of stainless appliance cleaners in my closet. I am not happy with any of them. So, I looked up on Pinterest for a new way to shine up my appliances. I had streaks, fingerprints and other marks (that I could not remove with the purchased products). I found your cleaning recipe for my appliances and made it. Oh my gosh! I’m so happy with the outcome. It’s messy, but oooooh sooooo worth it. Thank you
Awesome Rocky!! So glad you found this recipe!! Thanks for sharing your results!
I learned from my cleaning lady years ago: WD40 works wonders. Always buff with a micro fiber cloth.
But doesn’t the WD40 make your kitchen stink?
What kind of vinegar?
Hi Linda! Just regular white vinegar!
Got the dishwasher door clean but still have two long vertical “water stains”? down the front. No idea
how they got there.
A norwex envirobac towel and window cloth will make the stainless spotless too. Although, I’m having a lot of trouble trying to get water stains off a stainless steel stove, so I will try this method next.
It works, Thanx
FYI….WD40 works like a charm to clean and shine!
Thanks for the tip Ren!
Okay, I HAD to find this site again to post…this is nothing short of AMAZING! I believe we have an extremely similar dishwasher, yet is less than three years old. Regardless of cleaners, other DIY’s, Cleaning vinegar (which is stronger than your cooking vinegar) my dishwasher front was embarassing. I cannot believe how it turned out. I can’t wait to see what my family says when they see it. I’m pretty sure I won’t have to even ask!
Because there are different grades of stainless, I put the paste on for 3 min. then wiped off to check results. Another 3 min. did the job for mine. I did wash it all down in the end with a bit of water and dishsoap, then dried and buffed. WOW!
Awesome Kay!!! So glad to hear that! I appreciate you taking the time to come back and share your results too! 🙂
I have also used olive oil to shine my dishwasher. However, you are not supposed to rub stainless steel in circles. You are supposed to rub with the grain. Rubbing in circles does cause tiny scratches that over time will be noticeable. Just a thought.
Thanks for the tip Sara… that is a good point!
I’d suggest trying a test spot on any appliance prior to applying it everywhere. This didn’t work so well for me . I applied it to both my refrigerator and my speed oven. It did a good job at removing grime, but had no effect on water marks on my refrigerator nor finger prints on the oven. I was panicked as I was rinsing it off as it would look beautiful, but when I went on to the next area a film would show up in the previous area. I rinsed everything down about 3 times and tried buffing it off and still the film. I rinsed it all down again and buffed it again. That time I thought it was looking better so I wiped it down with a small amount of olive oil and it looked better, but only for about 5 minutes, then the film again. I’m going to try washing it with soapy water and hope for the best. My appliances happen to be true stainless steel.
Old English with a microfiber cloth works wonders. Looks like new!
This did not work for me!!! It left my dishwasher & fridge shiny but when the sun shines on it you can see every swirl mark. VERY DISAPPOINTED!Now I will have to try pledge again,even my norwex cloth doesn’t help,which usually it does.
This worked great on my 3 year old Bosch dishwasher. I had tried to keep it really clean and was careful with it but still had big water marks down the center. Had to rub the mixture in really good but now my dishwasher looks brand new. So happy! No chemicals and I had all the ingredients. Regarding polishing it with olive oil, if you have pets I don’t recommend it. They lick it and you have a mess again.
Can the paste be used on the inside of my dishwasher for the mineral stains the water leaves?
That sounds like a great idea to me, Pat!
How can I get scratch mark out of stainless steel
Wow this really worked! First I tried the orange pledge like another person suggested but that did not work. It did clean and shine well but it did nothing for the water satins. Next I tried the mixture,, I used my hands to really work it in, mind you the mixture falls all over the floor,, but after a few minutes I wiped and buffed and my fridge looks Brand New!!
I have tried everything to get the hard water stains from my fridge, including expensive stainless steel cleaner! This is the only thing that has worked! The only thing I’m unhappy about is that i didn’t take a before picture!
Yay! So happy it worked well for you!
OMG this really works! I was skeptical…my dishwasher was so badly stained I was pricing a new door! Nothing worked including WD40. I applied the paste twice. That did the trick! Door looks brand new! Thank you!
I had some nasty hard water stains on the lower freezer door of my refrigerator. We tried stainless steel polish without results. This mixture did the trick! Followed up the cleanup with stainless steel polish and it is fantastic.
Thank you for the tip.
Glad it worked out for you!!
I AM BLOWN AWAY! I had to post a comment on this “cure” and I NEVER do that! I have had terrible looking SS appliances for the last 4 years that showed all kinds of streaks, drips and who knows what else. (My fault as I’ve been too lazy keeping those appliances polished). Tried at least 6 different products, none of which worked. But THIS! I can’t believe that it not only got rid of all my spots, smudges, etc, but I can’t believe how the color of the stainless has also brightened. Like new again. I did have to do it twice and let it sit for 10 min each. Also, a good tip is never use cloths that have been dried with dryer sheets— they leave streaks on ss. Only use microfiber cloths to rinse and dry the surface. THANK YOU!!
The information here helps a lot and I think this system can work the same way with glass. Any one suggest me?
Hi!
Would this work on the inside of a dishwasher too?
Thank you!
I haven’t tried it, but I imagine it would help somewhat!
🙂 Thank you!
It worked! I tried magic eraser, baking soda n etc on spots on the side of my refrigerator which is beside my dishwasher. I thought it wont work but what will it hurt lol. Thanks so much for sharing, it really does work!
Actually there are cleaners and sealers on the market that are called Stainless cleaner spray. I used it for the first time and worked well and provides a slight oil that does the same thing. If this doesn’t help try the spray.