What to know how to clean a porcelain sink? Especially with a product that is septic safe? Then read on! Getting rid of the soap scum and stubborn stains on your sink without the use of harsh chemicals is important. This will work on white porcelain sinks and other porcelain surface options as well.
Cleaning the stained area with a little elbow grease is possible with a mild abrasive and soft scrub. You can easily make that old sink shine once you get rid of those hard water stains!
This post was sponsored by Bar Keepers Friend but all opinions and love of it are my own.
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In November last year, my husband and I completed construction on our house in the country. We only have 1.5 acres so it’s not really much. But it’s more than we had in the city (about 8,000 sqft) and way more land than we had in our condo in California (is negative land space possible?).
As part of our move to the country, we have had to make some changes to our home maintenance. Specifically, we are on a septic system now instead of city sewer. We had to find all new septic safe cleaners for our home. Seriously, the only thing we used before that turned out to be septic safe was our dishwasher soap (for which I am forever grateful because the stuff we use is AWEsome). We had to find a new dish soap, hand soap, laundry detergent, bathroom cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, and on and on and on . . .
I was doing fine with my all new, “green” cleaners. And then I got pregnant and just barely survived my first trimester. Now that I am in my second trimester (feeling fine), rescuing my house is the top priority. I’m weeks behind on laundry. I’m decades behind on scrubbing my house. And all of a sudden, my “green” cleaners kind of aren’t cutting it.
By “cutting it” I mean cutting through the gross soap scummy build-up in our sinks.
How do sinks where we wash stuff with soap all the time get so crazy, icky dirty?!
Then one night while I was up with my 18-month-old, who still doesn’t sleep through the night, it hit me. When I was younger, my mom would hand us a sponge and a can of white powder stuff (hardly ever the name brand) and set us to work cleaning the bathrooms. We used that stuff on everything – sinks, showers, tubs, toilets . . . My teenage memory tells me that the experience was horrible. But in looking back I don’t think it was really all that hard or gross or time-consuming.
Well, I didn’t have whatever she used. But I did have Bar Keeper’s Friend in my arsenal of cleaning supplies! I did a serious happy dance when I read it was septic safe! My kids may or may not have looked at their mom like she was crazy (which I may or may not be).
How to Clean a Porcelain Sink
First, the before pictures of my dirty porcelain sink in need of cleaning. Please excuse me while I die of embarrassment.
Materials Needed to Clean Porcelain Sink
- Bar Keepers Friend
- Water
- 2 Bartender’s Rag (or other cleaning cloth)
Instruction on Cleaning Porcelain Sink
I’ll be honest here, I didn’t read the directions on the bottle. I literally did what my mom taught me when I was younger (aren’t you proud mom?!).
1. First I ran some water in the sink and splashed it around to ensure everything was damp.
2. Then I sprinkled a pretty light dusting of Bar Keepers Friend over everything.
3. Then I waited a few minutes. The time here doesn’t really matter. You want to give the Bar Keeper’s Friend time to work but you don’t really want everything to dry out. So, somewhere between 5 minutes and 30 minutes would probably do.
4. Next, I took a wet rag (I prefer my bartender’s rag because they are super soft but perfectly scrubby at the same time) and started scrubbing. About thirty seconds later my sink was super clean.
5. I rinsed everything by either splashing water around or using a clean bartender rag to wipe down those parts of the sink where splashing water doesn’t work. The idea here is just to wash away all of the Bar Keepers Friend.
6. I dried the sink and Ta-da! Here is my sparkly clean sink!
Thanks, Mom, for the lessons you taught me when I was young even if I moaned and complained through the entire thing.
And thank you Bar Keepers Friend for making an awesome product that is septic safe and perfect for cleaning porcelain sinks! You made my heart sing and my house recover from my first-trimester of neglect.
Tips for Making A White Porcelain Kitchen Sink Shine
Don’t forget that porcelain is a durable surface! A little time spent cleaning it will go a long ways! A quick wipe is sometimes all that you need to do but sometimes you need to do more to get rid of the remaining stains.
If you want to try different products, try them! For the best results you may want to try other cleaning options.
Remember that a gentle abrasive and a soft cloth is great for cleaning the side of the sink. If you have vintage porcelain that is often found in older homes, use a microfiber cloth to clean and wipe the entire sink.
Use different methods if you want to get your white sink back!
Check out the various places where to buy Bar Keepers Friend and be sure to pick up a bottle the next time you’re at the store!
If you are a visual person, here is a handy video showing you exactly how to do it. I promise it’s quick!
What cleaning tips has your mom passed along to you that you use today? How do you clean a porcelain sink in your house?
Linda Gentry says
Thank You Crystal 🙂 I too use Bar Keepers Friend to clean my tub. Good Stuff!!! I too am a daughter of the living God and Jesus is my Savior and best friend. I am a Senior age 69 and accepted Jesus age 9. It has been a wonderful long walk and I continue to thirst for Him daily!
II Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph (as trophies of Christ’s victory)
and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.
Enjoyed your post!
Melissa says
I have loved Bartender’s Friend for eons – always good to see a favorite company name get passed around.
In your blog, you mentioned you found a favorite dishwasher cleaner. I need to make a change for the better – would you share your find?
Thanks
Melissa
Crystal B says
I use Cascade Complete. It’s rated as one of the best green dishwasher detergents. And because it is low in surfactants it is septic safe. Here is a great article about detergents: https://inspectapedia.com/septic/Dishwasher_Impact_on_Septic_System.php#Detergents