The Pit Match of Porcelain Cleaners...

Naptime Gnome Idea #5

Which Common Household Cleaner Cleans Porcelain Coated Sinks Best? 

I once spilled some Kirkland Brand dishwasher detergent, in doing, I somehow managed to ruin a pair of shoes, the kitchen rug and a rather cute shirt in moments, but in the time it took me to wipe up the mess, the dollop that assaulted the kitchen sink left a sparkling white signature! What magic is this? I could hardly be flustered by my ruined attire when faced with irrefutable evidence of its raw stain fighting potential! While I became much more careful in its handling, the dish washing detergent quickly became the favored stain treatment on hard-scape around the gnome kingdom! Even a rust stained sink, after weeks of apple processing was no match for The Naptime Gnome and her trusty sidekick Kirkland!

But when Costco changed their formula to the "new, improved... leaves all plastic, including children's sippy cups, impregnated with artificial floral chemical stench" variety, the partnership had to come to an end. Though more expensive, Cascade was welcomed into the kitchen, and while my water cups exhibit the sweet sweet smell of NOTHING once more, not a darn thing the stuff touches is "clean." Including my sink. <:-P

So in a quest to find the next great sink warrior, I put together the following pit match. Who will triumph? READ ON FAIR CITIZEN!

The Contenders: 
(It's a bit of a wild hand, but it's really what I had on hand when the idea struck)

• Cascade Advanced Power
• Soft Scrub with Bleach
• Lysol Toilet Cleaner with Bleach (I know, but the dishwasher detergent worked, why not!?) 
• Hydrogen Peroxide (3%)/Baking Soda Paste (I love this one, great toothpaste in a jam and works wonders on carpet stains... SPOT TEST FIRST)

The Method:
The sink was first mucked up with oodles and oodles of fruit processing rubbish, mostly apple bits, coring leftovers and skins. 

1. Then scrubbed clean (to the best of my greasy elbows' abilities) with dish soap and a Scotch pad (we use Kirkland's Eco-Friendly Liquid Dish Soap). The sink was dried and masked with painters tape to yield 4 sections, each to receive one cleaner, the taped off portions to act as controls.
1. A thick paste was made using baking soda and household/pharmacy grade (3%) Hydrogen Peroxide (I used this same type of paste to whiten our bathroom counters, wanna see?).
2. Then each of the four cleaners was smeared upon its own section of sink and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. With tape still in place, the sections were individually wiped clean with a paper towel...
4. ...then rinsed. The tape was removed and the surfaces compared. 

Cascade and Lysol where fairly ineffectual, while the Soft Scrub and Peroxide/Soda paste worked about the same - Soft Scrub leading by a narrow margin. I ended up cleaning the entire sink with the paste as I was about out of Soft Scrub.

This image was compiled with strips from 4 successive photos.

RESULTS

I would say over all, Soft Scrub worked marginally better than the Hydrogen Peroxide/baking soda (H2O2 + NaHCO3 in the pic), but if you are like me, and would prefer to have fewer harsh chemicals around, I'm a fan of the mixing of a weakly concentrated boo-boo treatment and a powder readily used in cookies and children's science experiments!  The best part is neither required ANY scrubbing!  I used the paste on the white stove top next... with fantastic results! Next stop, tile grout - I'll let you know!

ENJOY!

The Naptime Gnome <;-)