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How to Clean a Black Porcelain Sink: 4 Options for You

Your once elegant blank porcelain sink is showing signs of aging. Soap scum, grease stains, etc. are very clearly visible on it. And you’re not sure if scrubbing it clean will strip the sink’s color or not. 

How to clean a black porcelain sink?

It’s easy. And you can actually clean it with common household materials. Dishwashing soap and warm water will get rid of soap scum. For grease, ammonia will do a marvelous job. Hard water and rust stains will require specialized products. But they can be removed with ease too. 

In short, that covers the answer. But I suggest you keep reading as I will go into more details!

Cleaning Black Porcelain in 4 Ways

Cleaning a regular porcelain sink isn’t difficult. You can use a plethora of household and novelty cleaners for this purpose. But with black porcelain sinks you need to be careful. Using strong abrasive cleaners might strip the elegant color. 

How you clean the sink will depend on what you need to clean up. Lucky for you, we’ll be going over all of it so you can follow along easily.

Soap Scum Clearing

The most common kind of dirt accumulated on a sink is soap scum. Regular use causes a thin film to develop on the sink. Getting rid of this isn’t difficult.

Just mix some dishwashing detergent and hot water. Then wet a sponge in the mixture and scrub the sink. Alternatively, you can put the mixture in a spray bottle.

Spray directly on the surface of the sink. Then wait a while and wipe down with a microfiber cloth. 

This will clear out the soap scum. If there’s a large build-up anywhere, pour boiling water and soap mix directly on it. That will melt the build-up and you can then wipe the surface clean.

After you’re done cleaning, rinse with cold water to remove the mixture. 

Grease Cleaning

Grease is the next most common thing in a kitchen sink. If you’re cleaning plates and dishes in the sink you will get grease in your sink. 

You can rid the sink of the grease pretty easily. Dissolve a tablespoon of ammonia in a gallon of hot water. And wash the sink with the mixture. Use a sponge to scrub while doing it. Once it’s clean, rinse thoroughly. 

Be sure to wear gloves when using ammonia. Ammonia can irritate the skin.  

Hard Water Stain Removal

You’ll only run into this issue if your water is high in minerals. The minerals in the water leave an unsightly stain on the surfaces they touch. These stains are usually very stubborn. 

To remove these stains from your black sink you can use hydrogen peroxide. First, cover the entire sink with paper towels. Then wet the towels with Hydrogen Peroxide by spraying it on them. 

Leave the sink like this for an hour. After that, remove the towels and rinse with cold water. Repeat the process till the stains are gone. 

If you have stainless steel surfaces with hard water stains, the solution will be somewhat different. But, we’ve got you covered for stainless steel cleaning as well. 

Rust Stain Removal

The answer to this one is the most straightforward. Use naval jelly. It’ll dissolve the rust and get rid of the stain. If you’ve never used one, get one of these:

Product 1
Product 2

These are excellent products that I stand by and would recommend. 

Be a bit cautious while using naval jelly. Make sure to wear gloves while using it. Skin contact can be dangerous. Once you’ve taken the precaution, take the jelly and apply a thin layer over the stain.

You’ll need to keep a vigilant eye on the stain. As soon as you notice a change in the stain’s color, remove the jelly. Leaving it on for any longer than needed will definitely damage your sink. 

Additionally, you should use a porcelain sink sealer. The sealer will keep the stains from setting in too deep. This will make cleaning future stains much easier. 

That pretty much covers cleaning your black sink. But what about maintaining it?

Maintaining Black Porcelain Sink

Keeping your black porcelain sink looking topnotch will require some effort. But we’re here to guide you through the process. 

Regular Cleaning

It’s the same as making your tidying up granite countertops. If you’re waiting to see buildup before getting ready to clean, your sink’s gonna suffer. Instead, clean it once a week to prevent any build-up.

But don’t use any rough cleaners. Here are two methods you can try. 

Method 1: Lemon Slices and Baking Soda

Start by wetting the sink and sprinkling baking soda all over the surface. Make sure to coat the entire sink. Then use a piece of soft cloth, preferably microfiber, to scrub. 

Once you’re done scrubbing, get out the lemon slices and rub the sink with those. And finally, rinse the sink. This will remove any stains and remove the grease too. 

Method 2: Hot Water Dishwashing Solution 

This one’s easier to do. Mix 2 tablespoons of liquid dishwashing soap in a gallon of hot water. Then use the solution to wash the entire sink. Also lightly scrub the sink as well. And voila! Your sink is squeaky clean. 

Softening Hard Water

If there’s hard water in your home, you’ll get a lot of stains. While I have provided ways to clean stains, I suggest trying ways to prevent them. 

Hard water and rust stains require extra scrubbing. And this can damage your porcelain sink. So it’s better to prevent stains. 

You can prevent the stains by filtering your water. It’s best to install a hard water filter to your main water line. This will take out the extra minerals in the water before it gets to your kitchen. Thus, preventing any staining.

And that concludes my take on cleaning black porcelain. 

FAQs

Question: Can WD-40 be used for hard water stain cleaning?

Answer: Yes. Despite being a lubricant, it’s good for cleaning hard water stains. In addition, the mild nature of the chemical keeps it from damaging the surface being cleaned.

Question: What to do if ammonia gets on the skin? 

Answer: Brush or bloat ammonia on the skin. Once you’ve removed the excess chemical, thoroughly wash the place with water.

Question: Can Hydrogen Peroxide damage skin?

Answer: No. But you should refrain from using it on cuts or bruises. The chemical damages exposed tissue. That slows down healing.

Conclusion 

Wanted to know how to clean a black porcelain sink? I have covered every nook and cranny of that answer. 

Whatever you do, don’t use bleach on the porcelain. It’s bad on white porcelain, but it’s absolutely terrible on black porcelain. 

Aside from that, just follow my tips for a flawless sink. I hope the shine on the sink will make you happy. 

Goodbye!