Different Ways To Clean Stainless Steel Parts

Stainless steel is renowned for its incredible resistance to corrosion, durability, lighter weight, and how easy it is to clean. Because of these factors, maintenance of sanitary stainless steel components are a fairly simple matter so long as you have a grasp on the best ways to do so. To help you better understand what we mean, allow us to share some of the different ways to clean stainless steel parts that will keep them healthy and even longer lasting than they already are.

Oil and Grease

For a lot of industries, oil and grease is a common plague on their tools and equipment that can be difficult to remove due to their slick and viscous nature. The best way to solve this issue is by using a solvent instead of water with a non-abrasive cloth to avoid scratches. Some of the solvents you should use include isopropyl alcohol, acetone, or methylated spirits. Use the non-abrasive cloth to apply the solvent several times until your tools and parts are clear of oil and grease.

Localized Rust

Rust will forever be the greatest enemy of metals everywhere. While stainless steel is much more resistant than other metal materials, it’s not impervious. If you notice some small spots of rust on your stainless-steel parts, you can use an oxalic acid solution to dissolve the contaminating particles.

First, apply the oxalic acid solution with a cloth and then allow the solution to rest on the surface so it has time to dissolve the contamination. Then, rinse the solution away with clean water.

Corrosion Symptoms

Again, while highly resistant to corrosion, it’s not impervious. However, it does allow for a greater window to catch corrosion before it becomes a larger problem. Minor and moderate corrosion can be treated using an all-purpose lubricant or phosphoric acid-base stainless-steel cleaner.

Of the different ways to clean stainless steel parts, this is by far the simplest. You simply need to wipe the affected area with WD-40 and then rinsed with clean water.

Substances To Avoid

There are a few substances you should avoid using so that you don’t accidentally damage your parts more. These substances include:

• Abrasive cleaners
• Chloride cleaners
• Chloride bleach
• All-purpose cleaners

Apr 21st 2021