Who reads labels? I sprinkle it on the sink like my parents and grandparents did. Like i do with Comet or Ajax or any other cleaning powder. I doubt that 5% of the population reads the labels.

I fill the dishwasher cup with powder and close the lid. I squirt some dish soap in the sink and wash the plates. I pour laundry detergent in the washer and wash the clothes. I spray Windex on the windows and wipe them down. I never read the labels and I doubt anyone else does either. I shouldn't have to. The products should be safe enough for the average household consumer! What about those of us that can not read? Or those who can not read English?

So if you use bleach to clean your carpets, you'll sue Clorox when you end up with white blotches all over your carpet? Bleach is safe enough for the average household consumer. Do you think that people should just inherently know exactly how to use every product out there?

Should they remove labels that say not to mix bleach with ammonia because nobody reads labels anyway and they should automatically know that they'll be creating lethal chlorine gas?

The staining of your drains didn't "happen to you" - you caused it.

Did not witness my parents pouring bleach on the carpets to clean them. Have never read the bleach or ammonia bottles and bet very few people ever read them. Did witness parents and grandparents for years, liberally sprinkling powder cleansers all over the kitchen and bathrooms with no adverse effects.

But they weren't liberally sprinkling this product, I bet. I figured out the difference between my mother's cleanser and BKF without anyone holding my hand.

You are right about people not reading labels, or instructions, or signs, and so forth. That is why you will see people smoking next to a No Smoking sign at a hospital, or bringing their toddler into an ICU room despite the sign on the entrance that says NO CHILDREN or go into an isolation room without a mask or gown despite the sign that says STOP! MASK AND GOWN REQUIRED or people putting non-recyclables into their recycling bin despite words, pictures, and notices mailed to them twice a year or holding lit fireworks in their hand or using a grinder without safety glasses or running red lights or … or... or...

That doesn't excuse anyone from responsibility for their own mistakes. The information is on the container, you chose not to look at it, you suffer the consequences.

If you can't read, then what could the company do to stop you from misusing the product? Do you think they should stop making it?

I had this happen to me too last week, hence searching for a solution. I sprinkled BKF on my new SS sink and got part way through cleaning and got distracted with a phone call and remembered a few hours later. When I came back, I had dark stains where the BKF was still sitting. Sounds like the nickel in the 18/10 SS is the culprit as mentioned above, so i will follow the directions and rinse right after cleaning from now on! I scrubbed pretty vigorously with more BKF for several minutes and it lightened up by about half. I'm going to try the NeverDull wadding polish recommended by another person here and see if that gets it all the way out. Thanks for the suggestions!

So I’m embarrassed to say I did the same thing as I failed to read the instructions. But it’s nice to know I’m not alone. I tried the vinegar and baking soda with no luck. I called BKF and they advised reapplying the BKF, scrubbing and then rinsing totally and to repeat the process SEVERAL times with a few hours in between each application. I am pleased to say this worked to substantially reduce and/or eliminate the stains completely. I must say I questioned the wisdom of using the same product to remove the stain it caused but they assured me this was the way to do it. I am vastly relieved as my new sink looks almost new again. I may try the recommended polish from an earlier post for the remaining remnants to see if that does the trick completely.

I'm curious if anyone here has ever used the BKF spray and foam cleaner? I read the instructions, same thing. Rinse or dry it off in less than a minute. I've used BKF for years as I'm also self employed as a housekeeper. However this is the first time I've used the spray and foam cleaner. I sprayed it onto a stainless steel Samsung refrigerator. Used a microfiber clothe to gently rub it in

and then used my ready clean wet towel to rinse it off. And lastly used a dry microfiber clothe until it shined.
It looked amazing!
The next day? Little brown spots all over the fridge... I've tried using the BKF spray again and doing it over and it has lightened some. What I'm not understanding is that I did follow the instructions and still had this result. If this had been a clients refrigerator that this happened to I'd be out a couple thousands dollars or more to replace their fridge. Thank goodness I only use new to me products on my own things first. If anyone has had a similar problem and has found a solution please let me know. I will follow this post. Thank you!

This is how my refrigerator looks right now.

Wow. You should post the manufacturer and model # of that fridge. Looks like extreme low grade stainless was used to keep profit margins up.

I reread everyone's comments here, I see where someone said to use the BKF more than once to try and get rid of the residue, here's a picture after applying 2 more times. It seems to be working. I will apply a few more times over the next couple of days

It's not letting me post a new picture? I closed Chrome emptied my cache and the site still won't let me post a new picture. I'll try again tomorrow. Maybe the problem is on their end.

Good luck with removing the stain. Read this thread with interest as I've just recently discovered BKF and bought a new bottle yesterday.

As an alternative to using BKF on SS appliances... we use Stainless Steel Magic spray on our appliances. Easily cleans off grease and other muck.

BKF is an acid. I would not use it on modern stainless appliances - the metals used to skin them are usually not very high quality alloys; certainly in a different league than heavy SS cooking pans.

Magic Stainless Steel Cleaner works fine, but it leaves too much of a protective residue for my taste. I much prefer Bayes Stainless Steel Cleaner. It also leaves some residue, but it is a lot more manageable. Another product that I have used in the passed is Sheila Shine; it's not bad, but it has a much stronger chemical smell. I use it for annual deep cleaning, but not for regular maintenance.

All of the above are great for polishing stainless steel that is essentially in good condition and that just needs some thorough cleaning. And all of these also leave some protective film that minimizes fingerprints and other dirt ... at least for a while. I would definitely recommend Bayes Stainless Steel Cleaner for everyday cleaning of stainless appliances.

But these products don't really help, if the stainless steel is tarnished/damaged. The most common cause for damage would be chlorides (e.g. from cooking salt) or some types of acid (e.g. lemon or tomato juice). Both chemicals can cause stainless steel to rust, if exposed for an extended amount of time. That's when you need chemicals that can remove the rust ... and that's exactly what Bar Keeper's Friend does. But as it is a more aggressive chemical, you have to make sure you follow instructions. And in general, I wouldn't recommend it for everyday cleaning tasks.

Really informative thread here. After using BKF for so many years and as a self employed housekeeper I certainly have gained knowledge on BKF and stainless steel. I have used the Magic SS and a couple other brands recommended over the years yet I always come back to BKF. Someone hit the nail on the head here when they mentioned damage to stainless steel caused by cooking salt. I live on an island and the salt water all around me does take it's toll on stainless steel. BKF has always kept my SS shining. The stains on my fridge are barely visible with the naked eye now as I've used the BKF about 8 times to rid the stains as suggested here by another post. There is hope that anyone else with a similar problem can easily fix it just as I have. Thanks to everyone here on their input!

I think I just ruined my very expensive Franke sink by leaving it in my sink too long before rinsing. I now have black marks all over the sink. HELP!

With stainless steel, I would expect that this is only superficial surface damage unless you let it sit for a really long time. Sufficient elbow grease should take care of it. Ironically, BKF is actually a pretty good abrasive. So, you could very well remove the spots with BKF. Just make sure you rinse thoroughly when done.

Alternatively, red 3M Scotchbrite pads are the standard recommendation for buffing out stainless steel. Expect to be scrubbing for a good while unless you use a power tool. But that has its own set of problems, as it'll be easier to accidentally gouge the sink.

With any sort of scrubbing, expect that you'll disturb the grain. Hopefully, in a sink, that's not going to be too noticeable, as sinks always have random dings and scratches. But if you need to "reset" the grain, the aforementioned red pad can do that when attached to a palm sander.

And whatever you do, don't use steel wool. The tiny bits of steel that break off during sanding will get the sink to rust, and then it's exceptionally difficult to fix things

Iljhome:

I doubt your sink is ruined. Put a 120 grit disk on a palm sized random orbital sander; that should remove it. If not, put on an 80 then go back to the 120. If it isn't chrome, sand right over your stainless steel disposal flange. Finish with a 220 and a red Scotchbrite if you really want it to scream.

I refinish sinks stainless steel professionally. Just booked a job 5 minutes ago.

Is that "5 minutes ago", or "a 5 minute job"?

I am always amazed how the professionals crank out a perfect job in mere minutes, when it would take me hours and still have little cosmetic flaws.

I've been extolling the virtues of BKF for many, many years. I know what the stuff it, and what it can do. It was magic on the inside of my oven door! I'm a member of their Facebook group and have shared before and after pictures with them.

That said, I had some old stainless cutlery that wasn't as bright as they should have been. I took a zip bag put the pieces in, covered them with water and sprinkled in some BKF. I closed the bag a mushed it around so the powder dissolved and was fully dispersed. I propped up the bag in the sink so the cutlery remained submerged. A medical emergency happened and I didn't get back to the bag for like fourteen hours. All the pieces now have a matte finish, except for one knife that half came out of the liquid when the bag slumped at some point so the knife is only half matte. I've washed, I've scrubbed, I've reused BKF. Nothing changes the finish.

In the picture, you can see the delineation where the BKF took away the finish on the blade. The lower spoon had it's finish complete stripped, the upper spoon is there for reference.

Someone mentioned "no dull" which I'm guessing they meant Nevr-Dull. It never occurred to me to try it, even though I still use the can in I bought in 1985. I'll have to dig out my can and give it a go.

Regarding oxalic acid as a whole, I learned about the stuff in 1998, when I took a trip to Mt Ida, Arkansas and went digging for quartz. The soil there is very iron rich, so all the minerals have a reddish hue. The mine we were at sold powdered oxalic acid, in two pound bags, and taught us how to soak the quartz to clean them properly (we shipped home ninety two pounds of quartz).

A dull finish sounds different form what the other comments were talking about. So, your spoon's surface isn't corroded, it is etched. I can definitely see that BKF would do that given enough time. If your spoon is made from solid material as opposed to plated, this should be fixable. You'll need to work your way up with increasingly finer grit sand paper and buffing wheels. Look up DIY videos on how gold smiths do this. It's a lot of work, but you can bring your cutlery back to a perfect finish.

That's a whole *lotta* elbow grease! The functionality aren't affected, just the looks, I'll probably leave them the way they are. If I ever find someone who tumble polishes steel, I'll give'em my pieces to try and shine again.

My purpose of sharing is to help people new to BKF realize that the product is NOT like the typical scrubbing powder. It's serious stuff - and that's why it works so well.

Re: the spots on the stainless steel fridge, I had the same problem and was amazed at how well Weiman’s Stainless Steel Polish worked to seemingly “condition“ the metal and remove the splotches. There are probably many other products that would work just as well; that’s just the only one I’ve tried.

I believe I just ruined more than half of my set of Henckels knives

I did the same thing on my refrigerator. Thought I had ruined it, and as much as I did NOT want to try what another had posted on here I figured what did I have to lose. My fridge was already ruined. They said to keep applying it. Apply, rinse, dry just like the first time... So I did like 50 times over a week or 2 and my fridge looks almost brand new again. A couple spots I need to go over since I ran out of BKF but I know those will clear up as well. However I won't ever be using this product again. It was so much work fixing the damage caused by their product. I'm just happy that as a housekeeper it was my fridge I did this to and not one of my clients.

jathomas10, I wish I had tried Weinman's stainless steel polish to begin with to fix the damage BKF caused. I have purchased it since and use it at client's homes now

Really really great product!

sambah006, the fridge is a Samsung. I wouldn't think that it would be a low quality stainless steel but what do I know? This thread still won't let me post a current picture of the fridge or I could show you that's it's back to looking nice again. 😁

I have a stainless steel fridge that had what looked like drips running down the freezer door. I think it was from water or something and I didn’t get to in time. I normally use the Weiman stainless steel wipes to wipe it down and then polish with a microfiber cloth. For some reason it didn’t take care of the streaks. My SIL told me about Wright’s Silver Cream. I used that on the door (it took some elbow grease to remove and polish) but it took away the streaks! I used a very soft microfiber cloth to polish and it looks great! Like new! ***I would test a surface before using anything, especially on expensive SS appliances. And an alternative to BKF is Bon Ami Cleanser. I actually like it better, it seems to rinse away easier than BKF.

Help Please, I have used BKF on my stainless steel kitchen knives many times with amazing results. However, I mistakenly sprinkled BKF on them and then had a couple urgent things come up. After several hours I found them very badly tarnished and splotchy.

Has anyone had this issue with kitchen knives and is there a way to clean them? Also, are they still okay to use like this or is there cause for concern? Appreciate any help, but please no scolding. I know it’s my fault for leaving them too long 😳

I don't see any reason why they would not be okay to use. Look farther upthread, I think that someone had a similar problem and solved it by re-applying the BKF, scrubbing and rinsing right away (but don't take my word for it, look ^upthread for it.) However, it could be that the stainless is permanently discolored from the chemical reaction.

I tried to remove rust from sink stopper. Scrubbed it with BKF and wasn't satisfied with remaining rust spots. Made a paste and let it sit, making it worse than I started with dark spots. Used 0000 steel wool and to my surprise, removed the rust and the dark spots! Be VERY careful when using steel wool and most important, use a very fine grit or you may end up with more scratches. Test in small area before attempting.

@Honey Sheff thank you for the suggestion, I was panicking bc my sink looked dull and etched after not properly washing off all of BKF and leaving it for days, i reused it properly this time and it looks back to normal, my stove however is much harder to remove the BFK residue from and my toaster oven sadly is ruined and has crusted rust all over. You live and you learn I guess, at least this is a solution for some of the sink, there's still etchings on the less stainless parts of it tho.

I missed seeing the solution to the Bar Keepr's Friend cleanser leaving dark blotches in the stainless steel sink. Could you repeat your idea and info??

Janet, just go back and read all the posts.

Read the directions?

The 1 minute time limit can easily be missed on this label. The eye sees rinse thoroughly with clean water then wipe dry. You have to rotate the can slightly to catch the time limit. Frankly a Warning ⚠️ label with the time limit should be much more boldly displayed. I read the Warning, the special Note, and glanced at the instructions. But still missed this vital piece of instruction. Plenty of things may seem obvious but companies ARE LIABLE for not stating "obvious" warnings, in an obvious way. Like the CAUTION! HOT BEVERAGE! Warning. Or the CAUTION! WET FLOOR! with an image of someone slipping for the reading impaired. High Damage Risk should come with Strong clear ⚠️ warning labels.

“glanced at the instructions. But still missed this vital piece of instruction. Plenty of things may seem obvious but companies ARE LIABLE for not stating "obvious" warnings, in an obvious way.”

@ruth naomi - do you really need that much hand holding to clean your sink? Bar Keepers Friend has been around since the late 1800s, but only in this current society are people whining that the direct and specific instructions on the can aren’t sufficient for their brains to grasp, or are asking that the user give more than a 2-second glance.

@ruth naomi are you seriously complaining that the BKF instructions in boldface type are too hard for you? That they might require you to actually read them? That you need blaring capital letters before you are able to comprehend the words? That the instructions on the can in bolded letters that say ”rinse thoroughly within a minute of application” still need to be accompanied by a pat on the head and a ”let me spell that out for you”? SMH

High Damage Risk should come with Strong clear ⚠️ warning labels.

@ruth naomi, the examples you gave for these high damage risk warnings are personal injury ones. Would damage to a material's surface warrant the same kind of warning? I don't know.

Bar Keepers Friend is a mixture of oxalic acid ( low percentage) Feldspar ( a mineral usually found in granite and other places ) and another chemical . it is an ACIDIC abrasive cleanser. Being that it contains acid , The BKF WILL etch into metals and other surfaces. Just like if you have ever heard of etched glass. It is etched with acids . Being that there is an acid in the powder , is also why you should wear some form of protective gloves ( kitchen gloves are fine). My problem arose from forgetting to put a pair of gloves on myself for just scrubbing a small area. I developed a burning sensation on the meaty part of my palms . Their instructions say to wash the area with soap and water, which i did, but I still felt a burning sensation so I then applied baking soda in paste form to the affected skin and that took away the burning sensation. So , besides reading the instructions on the can ( which I did do ) about 1 minute on a surface. The more important instruction is to WEAR GLOVES when using the product. BKF IS NOT YOUR EVERYDAY CLEANSER SUCH AS AJAX OR COMET. I agree with people that say the warnings should be in larger print with how to apply BKF and the ingredient and other information could be put on the label on smaller print. I know my skin will survive. Just remember when the word ACID is found on the label DO NOT COMBINE IT WITH VINEGAR as Vinegar is ALSO AN ACID. Home Chemistry 101. Here is a link to the product safety sheet. PSS are available for most products. https://www.barkeepersfriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/SDS_BKF_Cleanser_Polish_6-12-15.pdf

Yes, BKF is not the same as hand soap. That is quite accurate. Don't inhale it, don't leave it on your skin for extended amounts of time. In fact, if possible, don't get it on your skin in the first place. All the usual precautions for dealing with harsher cleaning supplies apply here. People use crazy household chemicals all the time, and BKF is just one of many of these.

But the rest of what you said is at the very least misleading. In general, the human body isn't harmed by most weak to moderate acids. It can handle acids much better than alkali. Human skin is naturally acidic and that protection layer is damaged by alkalis. So, to stick with your warning, you should be just as afraid of baking soda as of Barkeeper's Friend. Of course, everybody knows how to deal with baking soda and household accidents would be rare, because people in general tend to be careful. It frequently is used diluted and washed off after a while.

The pH of the oxalic acid in BKF depends on concentration in aquaous solution and things get a little complicated because it has two hydrogen atoms. Overall, in common concentrations it would be more similar to vitamin C or citric acid than to things like battery acid which you seem to be thinking of. It can be more acidic when highly concentrated though. So, letting it dry into your skin is probably not a good idea. Wearing personal protection equipment such as gloves is highly advised. And yes, neutralizing with baking soda would probably work, although I don't really like titrating my hands. You are exchanging one hazard for another one. Better not get to this point in the first place.

Oxalic acid is a little unusual though. The fact that it is an acid is only part of what makes up its chemical properties. It also is a reducing agent (the opposite of an oxidizer). That's why it makes a great rust remover. It literally can turn rust back into iron. This makes it an anti-oxidant just like vitamin C, which you might be more familiar with.

You seem somewhat hung up on acids damaging metal and glass. That's confusing. In fact, glass generally is completely safe from acids and will only be damaged by alkalis. Metals can be damaged by strong acids and strong alkali, but the details are often complicated. The thing to note is that chemicals have additional properties besides being an acid or alkali. For instance, glass is most commonly etched with hydrofluoric acid, an exceptionally weak acid; but a substance that happens to react extremely well with glass and actually turns it into a gas (SiF4). This has nothing to do with it being an acid, though.

Similarly, oxalic acid also has more properties than just being an acid.

It also is a chelating agent. It likes to form chemical "complexes" with metals. That's a technical term for the ability to move metal ions inside of a molecular arrangement of other chemicals. It's not as tight as a molecular bond, but it's a good way to remove a particular set of ions. This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on what you want to do and what the chelating agent "specializes" on. In particular, oxalic acid will remove chromium ions, and those are needed as a passivation layer that prevents stainless steel from rusting. So, while the reducing properties remove the rust, the chelating properties eventually enable more rust. That's why you need to wash BKF off after use.

Also, oxalic acid loves reacting with calcium. This is an important mineral in your body. So, ingesting larger quantities of oxalic acid can be quite harmful. But the quantities required to cause harm are significant. You wouldn't do this accidentally. But if you do, organ damage is possible. Realistically, you are more likely to cause damage to mucous membranes if you accidentally inhale oxalic acid or get it into your eyes. So again, please wear PPE as appropriate.

Oxalic acid naturally occurs in all sorts of healthy green vegetables. Beets, spinach, and parsley are only some examples. It's good for you, if ingested in appropriately small quantities.

I don't doubt that your skin was irritated after using BKF. That's actually somewhat expected. It might not be the strongest acid, and acids might not be as harmful as you seem to think, but concentrated oxalic acid is still a harsh chemical for other reasons. The highly abrasive nature of feldspar probably made things worse too. Acidity might have played a partial role, depending on how sensitive your skin is and whether you left oxalic acid to dry onto your skin. But all of the other chemical properties contributed. As I said, oxalic acid isn't dangerous in concentrations that you normally encounter in food, but as with many chemicals, if you concentrate it sufficiently, things change.

So, your warning about acids as such was a little ridiculous. And telling people to avoid products that contain acids is very bad advice. It is both alarmist and gives a false sense of safety. Acids are common place, and oxalic acid isn't even particularly strong. This is completely the wrong thing to watch out for when scanning the list of ingredients. The Venn diagram of acids and harmful chemicals only has partial overlap. High concentration of many chemicals, and in particular the risk of getting them into the "wrong" part of your body is a very important factor though. And that's something you should watch out for. Oxalic acid can do quite a bit of damage to mucous membranes. Don't get it into eyes or airways. Feldspar wouldn't be good in either of those, as well.

In summary, be careful with common household cleaning supplies. They all are dangerous if misused. And yes, that even includes baking soda. I am always surprised how cavalier people are with it.

If in doubt, read the safety information for all chemicals that you work with. That was indeed excellent advice. Here are the ones for baking soda, oxalic acid, and feldspar.

Chemistry 101 makes you scared of acids, chemistry 201 teaches you that you were woefully misled. Acids aren't scary, and they are all around us. But there are all sorts of other things that do pose threats and require careful handling. Assume that this is true for all cleaning supplies.

M, Thank you for your elaboration on BKF and Oxalic Acid. I got exposed to enough of it on my hands to cause irritation. Burning sensation. But washing it and applying the baking soda worked. I didn't pour a whole box of baking soda on my hands , just enough to cover the burning areas. I admit to some half truths in my comment . I just wanted people to be aware of what it could do to you if you do not read the label ( magnifying glass helps). Thank you again .

@Richard Seyfried - I agree with you that people should read the label. It‘s important. But magnifying glass? Doesn't seem like you’d need one.

When you are 74 and are very nearsighted , You need a magnifying glass . Trust me.

The warning label is actually pretty good. It nicely summarizes exactly what you need to know. The SDS is more detailed and fun to read, if you are into that kind of thing. But most consumers don't need that.

I agree that the letters are small, and that can be problem. But there simply is so much information that they want to give and only relatively little space. If in doubt, you should assume that any cleaning supplies are potentially harmful. More often than not, that's probably true.

If that isn't good enough and you really need to read everything, I have found my cell phone to be much more useful than a magnifying glass. Take a picture and then zoom in. Or even better, look at the picture on your computer screen. Then you can make all the letter really big.

I am gonna do that from now on . I got a pretty good desk video camera attached to my desktop computer. I don't have a new fangled cell phone / mini computer . I still use a flip phone. Thanks again M.

Amazingly, chemical reactions occur whether you cook your food in stainless steel, carbon steel, cast iron, pottery or over an open fire.  Do you ever  understand what a chemical reaction is?

I would not call tomatos ”precious sustenance”. They are full of toxic plant chemicals.

No, we didn't.  Junk science doesn't have any point other than to scare people with non-existent threats.

This thread is extremely helpful to me, a newcomer in the house cleaning business, who has just discovered BKF and was considering using it on her stainless appliances because someone said it was a good idea.. thank goodness for threads like this one! I am left with two questions.

#1: what is an apropriate area to use BKF? porcelain toilet bowls? acrylic tubs? tile?

#2: If this product does this much damage to things when left for long periods of time, should we be flushing it into our waterways and septic systems?

The same happened to me, I did not use FB , I was cleaning something else and it was dripping. Those drops damaged my sink! Is there a way to repair?