How to Remove Rust from Stainless Steel [Tips & Tricks]

A kitchen with furnished shiny stainless steel and surfaces is practically an image of pristine and professional. But when the thick, seemingly impassable metal making your kitchen sink, counters and pans start to rust. It can decay the visual look of the metal, and if we are not checked timely it can also destroy the strength and performance of stainless steel.

Use of White Vinegar for Effective Rust Removal 

It is the most effective method to clean the rust. The rust reacts with the vinegar and later it dissolves. 

1. Fill a large container with a gallon of white vinegar and add 1 cup of table salt and stir the mixture to dissolve.
2. Just dip the steel in white vinegar with white vinegar for a couple of hours and then just wipe to remove the rust. 
3. Now rub the rust slowly from the steel.
4. Take another container of water and 1 cup of baking soda and dip the object into it for 10 minutes to neutralize the acid in the vinegar.

Methods of Cleaning Oxidation off from Stainless Steel

1. Cream of Tartar method

Add a few drops of lemon juice with a tablespoon of cream of tartar. These will form a thick paste which you can use to apply on any rusty spots. Then take a soft sponge, which you can use to rub the paste all over the visible spots. After that all oxidant spots have been treated, you can just simply clean it wipe it with another sponge, and then let it dry off. 

2. Lemon juice

This tried and true method for cleaning oxidation from stainless steel is useful. Take a mixing amount of baking soda with lemon juice to create a paste. Apply it all over all the rust and cover all the spots and leave for 30 minutes before removing. Now rub it with a damp sponge and clean it. 

How to Clean and Eliminate Rust in Stainless Metal

Rust may seem like the end of the road but is possible to save the metal from being oxidized. If your metal objects have become so much rusty, you always don’t need to throw them away. There are various homemade cleaning solutions to clean the rust and many of them use items you already have in the kitchen.  

1. Remove rust with baking soda

It is the simplest and easiest method to clean the rust from the metal. Take a baking soda and mix it with water and form a thick paste. Now apply it all over the metal, make sure it covered all the rusty spots. Let the paste sit on the object for an hour, now use the steel wire brush to scour and remove the rust. Rinse the paste off with water completely.  

2. Remove rust with vinegar

The vinegar is the best method to clean off the rust from the metal. Vinegar cleans everything. To tackle items of significant rust, dip your rusty metal items or tools completely in a bowl of distilled white vinegar and let them soak overnight. Once they are completely soaked overnight, take them out from vinegar solution and rub the scrub with steel wool or a wire brush. If the spot is remaining, repeat the process and dip the object for a little longer. Once all the rust has been removed, clean it with dish soap water and dry it completely. 

3. Remove rust with lemon and salt

This method combines the properties of lemon with salt to handle small rust spots. Take a lemon and squeeze lemon juice over the layer of salt. Let the salt spray exposure testing sit for two hours. Scrub the object with lemon rind, and rinse the paste with water thoroughly. 

4. Remove rust with coca-cola

Take a plastic container to submerge completely with coca-cola and soak it completely for 24 hours. Now after24 hours scrub it completely to remove the rust off with a normal scrubbing pad. Rinse items completely to remove any rust particles and residue.