I really, really love the idea of a white kitchen sink. A white apron sink is on my wish list for when we finally get around to updating our kitchen.
But let me tell you, those things are crazy hard to keep bright white and sparkly clean when you use them for, you know, cooking and feeding your family three meals a day. Unless you never, ever eat at home, your white kitchen sink is likely to look dingy, dirty, and just plain gross without a little intentional cleaning on your part. We’ve found this method to be the best way to clean a white kitchen sink without harsh chemicals or lots of hard work!
Or maybe it’s just our white kitchen sink? It’s pretty old, so I think whatever protective coating it may have had back in it’s prime is now long gone. And we do not currently have a garbage disposal, so that adds to the issue of food waste sitting in the sink, especially when it’s piled up high with dirty dishes. Which happens more often than I’d like to admit.
We also mainly use one side of the sink, so it bears the brunt of the mess and stains. And we’ve learned that just regular scrubbing of the sink with dish soap or multipurpose cleaner after doing dishes doesn’t cut it. It may kill off the germs and make it technically “clean”, but after a week or two (or more) it looks like this:
That’s when I know it’s time to take more serious action to get that baby bright white and sparkly clean again.
And while you might be tempted to reach for the soft scrub with bleach cleaner, stop yourself! You don’t have to use harsh chemical cleaners to get your sink bright white again!
Get it Clean!
I usually start by thoroughly cleaning the sink with homemade soft scrub. And that does an okay job of getting it clean, but you can tell it’s still not as white as it could be compared to the other side which doesn’t get as much use.
Get it Bright White and Sparkly, Naturally!
Then I make a paste with 2 parts cream of tartar and 1 part hydrogen peroxide. How much you make will depend on the size of your sink. I use 1/4 cup cream of tartar and 2 Tbsp hydrogen peroxide.
Mix together and spread the paste out over the sink with a rag, or just your hand.
Let sit for 10 minutes, or longer, depending on how stained the sink is.
Then use a scouring pad or scrub brush to scrub away the stains.
Rinse thoroughly and admire your bright white and sparkly clean sink!
Both cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide have natural bleaching properties, so that’s why this method works so well without a lot of hard work and scrubbing involved.
Also, I do realize that the drain is still stained and doesn’t look that great. It is usually covered up by a mesh drain cover, so you can’t really see it. It’s hard to scrub down in that tight space, believe me, I’ve tried!
I buy cream of tartar in bulk from a semi-local Amish bulk food store or online. It’s a little pricier than baking soda, so I don’t usually use it for general cleaning, but you really can’t beat it for specific cleaning like this. It also works great for getting bathrooms sinks and tubs bright white and sparkly clean. You can use this same method in the bathroom.
To help to keep my white kitchen sink looking bright and clean I recently got a shaker from the dollar store and filled it with cream of tartar (you could also use an old Parmesan cheese container). I will sprinkle some of that around the sink every couple of days and then scrub the sink down.
It doesn’t work quite as well as the whitening paste, but it does help the sink to not look as dirty and gross so quickly.
Alternatively, if you don’t have or don’t want to get, cream of tartar you could try a more eco-friendly scouring cleanser such as Bon-Ami or Bar Keeper’s Friend.
More Green-Cleaning Kitchen Ideas:
10 Green Cleaners for the Kitchen
Using Cloth Napkins and Towels
Green Spring Cleaning in the Kitchen
5 Simple Castile Soap Cleaning Recipes
*Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post, if you make a purchase through one of these links I will receive a small commission. Thanks for supporting Live Renewed!
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