Works for Me: Bar Keepers Friend

As I was busily scrubbing my sink one day this week, I thought, “I have to blog about this.” It was one of those moments that makes me feel a bit crazy — but I’d be willing to be most bloggers have had moments like that, realizing that something really mundane might actually make a somewhat interesting or helpful blog post.

Sooooo, once I was done scrubbing, I took pictures of my kitchen sink. And a cleaning product. Again, that’s a little kooky outside of blogland.

shiny sinkAdmit it: this is one delightfully shiny sink!

I think stainless-steel sinks get a bad rap because they can look so dull. Admittedly, if I was going to put money into a new sink, it would probably be a white farmhouse-style porcelain-coated cast-iron sink. That’s not in the budget, but that’s no excuse to have an ugly sink!

farmhouse style sinkMy attempt at faking a farmhouse-style sink with the cute little curtain.

Allow me to introduce one of the best cleaning products EVER: Bar Keepers Friend. I’m not a barkeep, but this product is my friend.

BarKeepers Friend

You don’t have a stainless steel sink? Never fear! You can also use this on porcelain, fiberglass, copper, brass, and more! Make sure to rinse thoroughly after using so it doesn’t have a chalky-looking residue. With a little elbow grease, it will even remove rust. One more little tip: after I scrub and rinse well, I dry my sink completely, and then use just a tiny bit of olive oil on a paper towel to polish the entire sink. Keeps it super-shiny longer, and things don’t stick to the sink as easily. I have actually had guests compliment me on my shiny sink, which is really weird, if you think about it: how often do you compliment someone’s sink? But I’m kooky enough to care about things like that, so I must attract friends who are kooky enough to notice things like that sometimes, too. 😉

One can lasts me a very long time, but you can usually find it at local stores or you can order at Amazon. Although it’s been around since 1882, it’s modern enough to have its own website, too: www.barkeepersfriend.com