I Just Discovered a Grandma-Approved Trick for Cleaning Stainless Steel (It’s So Effective!)

Stainless steel is aptly named because it stands up well to stains and rust. But that doesn’t mean it’s maintenance-free. I’ve resigned myself to a never-ending battle of keeping streaks and fingerprints off our refrigerator door. I’ll even admit that once when I was too lazy to polish them off with a microfiber cloth, I moved around some magnets to hide the offending spot.

But my sneaky, magnet-moving days are over now that I discovered this grandma-approved trick on Apartment Therapy for keeping stainless steel free of stains and marks using something I always have on hand: olive oil.

I scoffed at first, thinking that olive oil would only add a greasy sheen to the refrigerator and would require more scrubbing. But I’ve often found the weirdest household hacks are the most effective ones, so I grabbed my trusty microfiber cloth and a bottle of EVOO, and gave it a try.

Olive oil isn’t exactly cheap, but I didn’t mind sparing the tiny bit needed for this task. Here’s how to do it.

1. Dab a little olive oil onto a microfiber cloth.
2. Wipe down the stainless steel, moving in small circles over fingerprints and smudges to buff them out.

I was expecting to have to wipe down the surface again to remove excess, but using so very little oil adds a protective coating rather than an oily layer. The olive oil does the job quickly, too, so I didn’t feel like I was continually wiping down the surface with an oily cloth. After I was done, I detected a light scent of olive oil, but we’re in the kitchen, so there’s no big surprise there.  

It’s a few days later, and I’ve yet to see any fingerprints or streaks on my fridge door. While I doubt this olive oil hack is a one-and-done task, I’m glad that I no longer have to resort to pricey stainless steel wipes to keep my appliances looking new.