Ditch the harsh stuff. Bar keepers is all you need and no scratching, yay. If you still need more, alcohol mixed with water and or some windex in a spray bottle does a nice job for general cleaning and wiping. There is a recipe somewhere on this site.

I use baking soda and dish soap when something more than just plain soap and water is needed.

I wipe my Silgranit sink with a hot soapy sponge every night after dinner clean-up and spray it with water/alcohol/lavender oil mixture to disinfect. Once a week or so I scrub the sink with Barkeepers Friend, scrub the grate and clean the disposal stopper. I have a Cafe Brown Super Single and it looks as good as the day it was installed!

can anyone share the "recipe"/ratios for the water/alcohol/oil mixture? thanks so much!

Comet, baby!

Okay, not every day. Dish soap is usually adequate. When it isn't, the Comet comes out. BKF makes my fingers smell bad.

lmgch - I believe we have cat_mom to thank for her concoction, and it's ~ 50/50 isopropyl alcohol (70%, not 91%...though if you use the latter, use a bit more water) and water...a few drops lavender oil "to make it smell nice."

For in depth reading: cat_mom

I usually use dish soap and occasionally Soft Scrub gel on my Silgranit II. Keeps it looking like new!

People scrub their sinks nightly? *embarrassed ducking of the head over here*

I rinse to make sure there is no gunk on the sink. When it starts to look less lustrous, I use bar keepers friend.

Fun fact, my previous house had laminate counters and sharpie marker "somehow" (eh hem kids) ended up on the counter. I tried several things to remove it and nothing worked. As a last ditch effort, I put some bar keepers friend on it and scrubbed and it came right off! Yet another good use for the stuff.

I use Dow bathroom spray cleaner.

I can't say I scrub my stainless sink every night...maybe 3 or 4 times a week. Usually just a little Dish soap on my dish rag and then once a week a good scrubbing with Bar Keeper's Friend and a non-scratch Scotch Brite scrubbie.

Abrasive scrubs like Comet, Ajax, Scrubbing Bubbles, and the inaccurately-named Soft Scrub are too harsh. These scrubs will take the shine out of a sink over time. For all the people complaining how their sink looked so shiny when new, and now is dull, look at your cleansers.

If you go to the sink manufacturers' websites, they will usually have a page for "care" which will tell you what they recommend (often their own brand cleanser that they sell on their website, imagine that). You will find Bar Keepers Friend recommended. If my sink is not too greasy, I'll just take a Dobie pad and a pump of dish soap from my soap dispenser, and wash the sink that way. When the sink is more greasy, I use Bar Keepers Friend.

...and all of the mentioned popular cleansers contain bleach, which SS sink manufacturers say to avoid using as bleach damages SS.

I'm like Texas_Gem. Mostly just rinse it. Some days I use a wet microfiber cloth. Usually just water is enough to clean it. Sometimes add a little soap. Only when it gets a stained do I get out bar keepers friend (which I hate the smell of).

This thread is making me feel like I live in a pig sty. I scrub my sink maybe 1nce a week and sometimes there's "gasp" dishes left soaking in it overnight. Don't tell my mom

I have stainless. I use the wet and soapy dish sponge to wipe it down. Then spray it off with the sprayer. Then dry it with a microfiber cloth. It looks shiny enough.

Not nightly lol...but I sprinkle some baking soda, and then a few dashes of essential oil. scrub and rinse with my kitchen sponge or cloth, smells like heaven and good for the environment. When the drains seem like they need it I rinse with vinegar to clear them out a bit. #raginghippy

What is "essential oil"?

I don't clean - that's DH's job, and frankly, I have no idea what he does to the sink nightly after dinner. Sometimes on the weekend, I'll actually take out the grid, and clean the sink with BKF.

i have SS and use BKF, when dirty.. when not so bad, i just use my sponge with dishsoap, swish-swish, rinse and i'm done. most times do not do nightly, ~sigh~......
although i will say, i was raised that way....we (mom & sisters) always cleaned the sink EVERY night, sadly, i didn't carry on that tradition, shame on me :(

essential oil = aromatherapy oils, or oils with deodorant/antiseptic properties like lavender, rosemary, tea tree, mint.....

What stephanj said. :)

Definitions:

a natural oil typically obtained by distillation and having the characteristic fragrance of the plant or other source from which it is extracted.

An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such asoil of clove.

ESSENTIAL OIL. any of a class of volatile oils that give plants their characteristic odors and are used especially in perfumes and flavorings, and for aromatherapy — compare fixed oil.

cat-mom - sorry to get in the middle of this thread, but I saw a very old thread about your narrow island with seats at the end. It says I can see your photos at FKB? What is that and is there still access to your photos? Thanks so much. I also didn't know how to message you directly. :)

I use baking soda... Almost every night. I have a Kohler cast iron.

We must be pigs - the sink is rinsed with hot soapy water nightly, but only scrub with BKF once a week! (More often if company is coming.)

Lexipward, FKB stands for Finished Kitchens Blog, which starpooh created for the GW Kitchens crowd years back. You can still find it here http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com

Thank you Steph2000 for the link. That was very helpful!

I called Blanco before I took delivery of my white silgranite sink. They told me to use Soft Scrub with bleach and a green (Scotchbrite) scrubby pad. It works perfectly.

Debbi Branka - I am surprised at what Blanco customer service told you. Soft Scrub is very abrasive, and I would not use it. I would be concerned with the effect over time. Especially since Bar Keepers Friend works just as well, and is super cheap.

I have stainless. If it's gunky or greasy, I use dish soap and a dish cloth, rinse with hot water. Otherwise, I spritz with white vinegar and dry with microfiber.

lexipward--hope you were able to find the pics on the link supplied by steph2000 (thanks for posting the link steph2000!).

I forgot about the CatMom version - I have been meaning to give it a try.