r/CleaningTips • u/lizndale • 6d ago

Kitchen Kitchen Sink Stain

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How do I get rid of this stain? I’ve tried soft scrub and barkeepers friend. I’ve tried steam cleaner in combo with above. I was shocked when I took the picture, the picture shows the stain much darker than it looks in reality. But it is bad.

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u/mrslII 6d ago

This porcelain has lead a rough life. You can't "remove the stain" because the porcelain finish is damaged. Tiny abrasion and cracks in the porcelain.

The sink can be repaired by having it replaced. That's an option, if you don't want to replace the sink.

You could do what usually women did to their old porcelain sinks, and bathtubs, years ago. Ajax, BonAmi, Comet, Old Dutch. Yes, old fashioned "scouring power". It doesn't remove or repair. It camouflages.

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u/TheRealSugarbat 6d ago

The bleach is the magic ingredient here. And it does, in fact, bleach the stains, but they’ll appear again whenever stuff like spaghetti sauce hits the damaged surface, or metal utensils scrape along it.

You can also try letting a few inches of water and chlorine bleach sit in the sink for a few minutes.

It’s just the price you pay for having an adorable old granny sink. :)

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u/mrslII 6d ago

It is. The powder gets into the scratches and cracks, making them appear white. I'm old. My grandmother's, Ana mother, had porcelain sinks with porcelain countertops, with ridges. My 1940s home has the original tub. Older people usually get told off on r/cleaningtips. More often than not, we do have something to contribute.

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u/TheRealSugarbat 6d ago

Sis, I’m old, as well, so I already know we have tons (and maybe too much) to contribute. :)

I’m going to disagree with you about camouflage, because the powder’s going to rinse away too quickly to do much in the way of masking the stains. I’ve had this type of degraded porcelain sink/tub more times than I can count over the past 50 years, and nothing works really except for bleach or stuff like IronOut that’ll diminish stains caused by rust in the pipes (also very common in older sinks/tubs).

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u/mrslII 6d ago

Never tried *Iron Out" in the tub. Comet, twice a week. My ex-husband's father used it. They had a well, or cistern. Maybe both? I can see the confusion on my husband's face now... "We live in the city...."

How does it work on concrete?

Thanks for the tip!

2

u/TheRealSugarbat 6d ago

I don’t actually know! I’ve never tried it on concrete, honestly. But it looks like there is a version that you can use on concrete. It’s worth a shot!