7 Interesting Facts About Stainless Steel That Will Shock You…Or Possibly Keep You From Being Shocked!

Here is a list of 7 interesting facts about stainless steel that will shock you…or possibly keep you from being shocked! (Pun Intended)

 

1.  Stainless steel can be used as soap!  –  Yes, you read that correctly!  Stainless steel is a great deterrent of odor and can be used to remove strong hard to remove smells.  It is commonly used by chefs to help rid their hands of the pungent smells created by foods like garlic and onions.  Stainless steel will not remove bacteria, so you should make sure to keep some anti-bacterial soap on hand!

   

2. Stainless steel can be used to weave clothing and carpets!  –  This amazing alloy is malleable enough to make small threads of stainless steel that can be used to be woven into a variety of textiles and products.  The clothing that uses stainless steel is typically used in the textile and electrical industry, but you can also find it in the pair of touchscreen gloves your kids gave you as a present for your last birthday!  The great feature of these gloves is that you can use your smartphone or any other touchscreen device without removing them!

   

   Another common place where you can find stainless steel is in carpeting. The reason that many carpets will have stainless steel woven into them is to help reduce to build-up of static electricity, allowing you to avoid shocking yourself or others.  Its great to have sparks fly when you meet the love of your life but its never fun to literally make sparks fly!
3. The next interesting fact will make environmentalist and anyone who concerned with the levels of waste on our planet very happy!  –  Stainless steel is recyclable!  In fact, 88% of the worlds steel is recycled and 2 out of every 3 tons of new steel that is produced is made from old steel!
4. Stainless steel can stain!  –  I know your probably wondering why they would name it stainless steel if is not truly stainless.  Unlike other metals and regular steel, it is very difficult to stain or rust.  When stainless steel comes into contact with water, an oxide film is created and if you do not wash away this film and the water rust will start to form. 
5. Stainless steel is not magnetic…. most of the time!  –  Most types of stainless steel are non-magnetic but there are a few types that can steal the heart of metal objects and attract them with its magnetism.  These 2 Casanovas of stainless steel are grouped into the martensitic (stronger magnetism) and the ferritic families (weaker magnetism).
6. Stainless steel can grow and shrink.  –  The temperature oxidation resistance levels for stainless steel are much higher than other metals so it does not expand and contract very much but its enough for construction companies to have to take this into account when they use stainless steel for building frames.  To help make this easier to understand, think about when George Kastanza, from the 90’s sitcom Seinfeld, was trying to explain his “shrinkage” —“I was in the pool, Jerry!…I was in the pool!). 

   

   This is the same issue that metals have when exposed to temperature change, but stainless steel has much less “shrinkage” and it takes more of a change to cause it.  Stainless steel Stainless steels ability to resist temperature oxidation is also very appealing to the nuclear power and aerospace industries.  
7. Stainless steel lives by the motto “Variety is the spice if life”  –  There are over 100 different grades of stainless steel and most of them are classified into 5 classifications:

• Austenitic (most resistant to corrosion)
• Ferritic (weak magnetism)
• Martensitic (strong magnetism)
• Duplex (combination of austenitic and ferritic and useful in storage tank construction)
• Precipitation-hardening (Alloy of stainless steel, aluminum, copper and niobium and used in the construction of long shafts…that’s what she said)