Technical Article: The Care and Cleaning of Stainless Steel

Cleanliness and stainless steel are closely related and, in many applications, each is dependent upon the other.  In the handling of food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and in the use of stainless steel as a construction material (roofs, wall panels, entry ways, signs, etc.), stainless steel provides the degree of corrosion resistance that is necessary to prevent product contamination or surface rusting.  However, stainless steel performs best when clean -- cleanliness is essentially for maximum resistance to corrosion.

This handbook describes various practices for cleaning stainless steel during manufacture and in use.  This includes methods for removing free-iron contamination on stainless steel surfaces that may have been picked up from metalworking tools; and for removing general accumulation of dirt, grime and surface stains that occur during normal handling and exposure to the elements.

This is a 7-page PDF document that is linked below.