How Come My Brand New Stainless Steel Sink Stains?

[Tegger]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Considering that corrosion itself is caused by oxygen, how does removing the oxygen cause corrosion? Many anti-corrosion strategies involve excluding oxygen from a corrodable metal surface.

Semi-stainless automobile exhausts, suffering (at least in the North American north-east) probably the worst possible environment for corrosion, remain remarkably corrosion-free for decades.

The OP is probably seeing deposits in the surface texture of the steel, not corrosion. Since the deposits would be in the texture, surface abrasion does not remove them; some sort of solvent is needed. I suggest acetone, liberally-applied, and a terry-cloth towel and an old toothbrush.

[salty]

Stainless loses it's anti-corrosion properties in absense of oxygen. I didn't make the rules! To fight corrosion, the stainless must create and maintain a layer of oxide on it's surface. It needs oxygen to do that.

See also: crevice corrosion

[salty]

Sink.http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?prod_num=3145-4>>

Suddenly you don't seem quite so credible. Sorry.

[Sqwertz]

Cheap stainless steel made in India. I have had all sorts of problem with Indian stainless steel.

-sw

[Chemo the Clown]

Actually I don't know hardly anything about sailboats...just yanking your chain...or you anchor. hahahahaha!!!

[Chemo the Clown]

I'm pretty sure cowboy stainless is a good choice. Giddyup!!

[Nancy2]

There could be some ingredient in the soap that is making the stain - switch to something else, compare labels, and see what happens.

I never ever wanted a stainless sink - no matter how spotless and sterile they are, to me they always look dirty .... I love me my porcelain. ;-)

N.

[salty]

Sink.http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?prod_num=3145-4>>

It was pretty obvious.

[George Shirley]

I would agree with that assessment. I have a several year old stainless sink in the kitchen and we have tap water with a high calcium content. Lots of calcium overlaying every water exposed surface in the kitchen and baths. I use LemiShine, a citric acid formula to cut the stuff. Fill sink with water with about a half cup of the LemiShine in it and let it sit for awhile. Also use that solution in the coffee maker and in the dishwasher, about 1/4 cup in there. Cuts all the calcium deposits with regular use. I just ordered a five-gallon bucket of the stuff online. I don't own stock in the company but wish I did.

[norminn]

I have read...somewhere...that you shouldn't leave the deterg. bottle on a stainless sink. Owner's manual? Can't recall. As for rust, stainless will rust, especially in salt air. It will also get rust stains from bits of steel wool left on the rim.

[Chemo the Clown]

Hell...life is just too damn short to be serious about anything.

[mike]

I never wanted a porcelain sink. They always show dirt, filth, and look scuzzy after a short period. And they chip so easily. Once chipped, they really look like pure crap.

But to each his or her own.

[Jon Danniken]

You sure do pay a lot for the name brand:

Jon

[ljlameres]

How come my made in china stainless steel saucepans are rusting? Was it made in china?

[mg]

I'm actually not that crazy about them either, but my stove turned out to be a GE that is black with stainless steel. So, then I got a GE over the stove microwave to match and a refrigerator to that's also stainless with a black water dispenser. After that a stainless steel sink seemed like the only alternative.

Life can be tough for a bachelor who is trying to redecorate and doesn't know what in the hell he's doing. That sounds funny, but it's true. And that's not the worst of it, by the way, there's also the countertop and back splash and flooring to decide on. I was going to go with travertine for the floors, but then I found out what a nightmare that was to keep clean and prevent staining. So, now I dunno . . . probably some kind of ceramic tile that sort of looks like rock, I guess.

[mg]

Geeze! I'm sure you're right. Normally, I do a lot of price comparison shopping on the internet and I buy a lot of stuff on eBay. I just happened to be in a hurry at the time.

[Chemo the Clown]

I buy local. Period. If not in my town then at least in my state.

[Zootal]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Because cheap "stainless steel" can rust. More specifically, it's probably not stainless, or they didn't put enough chromium in the steel to stop it from rusting. Guess what kind of quality steel you got from your made in china saucepans? And is it "stainless" or "stainless steel"? I have a nice aluminum spatula that was marked as stainless steel on the label, but on the spatula itself it simply says "stainless". Surprise surprise, it's not steel at all, but an aluminum alloy.

[Tegger]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

You seem to be alluding to something called "anaerobic corrosion", which appears to primarily be caused by certain species of bacteria.

Considering that the OP's sink spent considerable time building its corrosion layer before the OP installed it, and since the OP's liquid soap contains oxygen in the form of water, and since the soap bottle is located next to a water faucet, I find it kind of hard to imagine how oxygen would /not/ be permanently present. It's not like the soap bottle was hermetically sealed to the surface of the sink.

[Oren]

When I was buying a "stainless steel" outdoor gas grill, a tip was to take a magnet with you to the store and test the material. IIRC, a magnet would not stick to the better quality stainless steel?