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linda_ross8133

Are you sick of stainless steel??

Linda Ross
16 years ago

I posted this on the appliance forum but wanted to get your views also. Are you sick of cleaning stainless steel? I am, it is a mess most of the time. Has anyone out there had guts enough to buck the trend and give up on stainless? I am seriously thinking of putting my stainless refrigerator in the small guest house and getting a new one. Tell me there is at least another crazy person like me out there.

Comments (63)

  • zelmar
    16 years ago

    I'm not a great housecleaner and I have been happily surprised with how easy it has been to keep our s/s appliances looking great. Our Electolux fridge has a surface that is more forgiving than some surfaces for fingerprints. In the 2 1/2 years it's been installed I've only used a slightly damp microfiber cloth on it--no chemicals other than H2O. We are a family of 4 and I find I only need to swipe the fridge every few days to keep it looking great (and usually just around the handles and ice dispenser.) Our s/s dishdrawers have not been a problem either. I've only used water and microfiber on them, also. I probably do a quick wipe time on them about once a week (mostly around the handle and controls.) Our s/s backsplash behind our range has also been relatively maintenance free (we don't cook a lot of oily/fatty things on the burners.)

    The black door of our mw tends to show fingerprints more readily than anything else in our kitchen

    So maintenance-wise, I find our s/s as easy, if not easier, than anything else I've had in the last 25 years.

    Visually, I have the same outlook as caview. To me, the s/s is color-neutral--not too bright and not too dark. Because it is so versatile, I do believe it has surpassed the classification of "fad" and it will remain one of the standard choices, along with white and black. It has been a little "overdone" but I think that the selection of s/s will slow down in the near future. There will be new surfaces that come along but it will be hard to know if they are just a current fad/trend or not. I think that s/s has proved it's longevity as a newer classic and will not go the way of avocado green or harvest gold.

    No, I'm not sick of stainless steel and remain satisfied with our choices. However, I do love our black range : )

  • melle_sacto is hot and dry in CA Zone 9/
    16 years ago

    Although I like the looks of SS, we already had a white fridge and my experience w/SS (microwave and garbage/recycling cans in the kitchen) was it was too hard to keep clean. So for our remodel we chose a while range and white DW. I'm very happy with them, but my cabs are light birch and the kitchen has a light feel overall. I think SS looks better w/medium and dark cabs than white or black.

    I think charcoal grey would be a nice color choice. Kind of the same effect as SS, possibly w/o the maintenance issues. I think black is too dark.

  • iamnodiy
    16 years ago

    Add stainless steel bar pulls to the I am sick of list.

  • mandi_s1
    16 years ago

    We've got the SS, and kids.

    What I've found is that a lot of the cleaning issues come from having to use 2 different types of cleaner to get them clean. Something to break up the oils and dirt of the fingerprints, and kid gunk, and something oil based to put the polish on them.

    What I typically do, is use something not oil based to break up the gunk for 85% of the time, and then when we're having company or someone worth cleaning for over I hit them with an oil based stainless polish. (and yeah, until the other type of cleaner - usually ammonia based, has had time to take off the layer of oil I get streaks and the like, but then they are back to normal)

    There is no need to polish for everyday use. The oil takes fingerprints too easily.

    You think stainless is bad, black appliances are WORSE.

  • california_dreamer
    16 years ago

    I've only lived with ss for a month and I do wish I had chosen something else for my fridge.
    I have the Monogram CD fridge and it is impossible to keep clean. (I have 2 small kids and a huge dog). Even when I clean it there are a lot of streaks and such. It is a big pain!
    But my Viking range/wall oven & microwave have a different ss finish and they always look great. So does my ss Asko dw. If my fridge looked as good as the others and cleaned up as easily I would probably be happy with ss.
    Oh well, live and learn!

  • tonilynne
    16 years ago

    I have a stainless steel range oven, but my dishwasher and refrigerator are the "stainless look" color. I love it because I can use magnets on the refrigerator, and the finish is more matte, so my kids' fingerprints aren't as apparent.

    I was in Home Depot and I saw the graphite colored appliances. I love the way they look!

    Here is a link that might be useful: graphite gray refrigerator

  • melle_sacto is hot and dry in CA Zone 9/
    16 years ago

    I didn't know graphite gray appliances existed! I would pick those for a SS alternative :-)

  • joann23456
    16 years ago

    I'm not sick of the look at all, but I've loved stainless steel appliances for 30 years. But yes, I *am* sick of the cleaning, especially on the Jenn-Air refrigerator. Plus, it's pitting and rusting, and I can't remove it.

    Now, if I could have the Fisher & Paykel SS dishdrawer finish on all my appliances, I'd be very happy.

  • msrose
    16 years ago

    So what different finishes are the for SS? Is it a matte finish vs. a shiny finish? What I'm hearing is that some are much easier to take care of than others.
    joann23456 - How is the finish on your dishwasher difference than the other appliances? I would like to have SS if I could get a more care free version. The graphite sounds interesting also.

    Laurie

  • 3katz4me
    16 years ago

    I was tired of it before I did my kitchen three years ago but neither black nor white seemed right in my situation - my taste is off-white/beige and my cabinets were very dark - so white didn't match and I didn't want all black appliances with dark brown cabinets in a small galley kitchen!! I ended up getting cabinet panels for fridge and dishwasher and the rest are stainless. The thing that is always a smeary mess is the microwave but I'm just used to it - it's easy enough to clean up if it bugs me. We're just two adults though - I can't imagine what it's like with a kitchen full of stainless appliances and kids.

    We got some new appliances for our lake place last year. DH wanted a stainless range which I conceded to and in turn microwave and fridge. We're still using our old black dishwasher. I got one of those "clean steel" type finishes on the fridge. I like it better though it doesn't precisely match the range. It's a little deeper color and not as shiny - it does seem to stay cleaner and it's easier to clean.

    I actually liked the old "coppertone" appliances - had them in the first two homes we purchased. I like colored appliances except the colors are discontinued and then when one of your appliances croaks you either have a mismatch or you have to buy all new appliances.

  • cburch
    16 years ago

    MY DH and I really wanted the graphite gray appliances from HD, but I was dead set against a side-by-side frig. But man, that is such a nice finish.

    We went with SS. I've discovered that really the sink is the only thing that I have a problem with. I do use Bar Keepers Friend on it at least once a week. We have re-trained ourselves not to touch anything on the frig except the handles, even DD is good about it. I do notice that using just water is the best thing to clean it though. I have SS cleaner wipes and I have to do the whole thing. With wather and a micro towel, I can spot clean. My stove is mixed black top/SS body and the body is pretty easy to keep clean. The top gives me fits, it's hard to get the black streak free, usually have to use 409 to cut the grease and then water to produce a streak free look. The DW is a piece of cake.

    There has to be difference in the SS finishes because you can get a magnet to stick to my DW and stove, but not to the frig at all.

  • amanda_t
    16 years ago

    I'm sick of mine. I have an older stainless Kitchenaid dishwasher and it shows smudges, drips and toddler hand and face prints constantly. I am not the type to keep four different cleaners on hand to clean four different appliances. I'd rather hit everything with a hot soapy sponge or papertowel or whatever and be done with it. I polish it with Barkeeper's Friend (the only thing in my arsenal that works) every now and then, but it's not long till we're back to smudgeytown. I don't think I would like having any more SS appliances, especially a fridge. My white Maytag Ice2O refrigerator, on the other hand, I love that thing. It's got a mirror-smooth bright white finish, not the older texturey surface. I wish my entire kitchen was covered in that clean shiny white finish!

    I don't know, something about the look just doesn't do it for me either. I'm not in love with my stainless steel sink by any stretch, but I find that very easy to clean.

  • Jodi_SoCal
    16 years ago

    All of our appliances and sink are SS the only cleaner we use is WD-40.

    See link below. We generally skip Step 1.

    Jodi-

    Here is a link that might be useful: WD-40 and SS

  • lynnette63
    16 years ago

    When we were shopping for appliances, it became obvious to us that some brands were automatically off the list, just because of the fingerprint factor. Go to one of the big boxes, look down the row of refrigerators, and you'll see that some definitely have an easier to maintain finish. I really liked the features on some brands, but just couldn't face the fingerprints that they were going to have. It's been almost two years since we were shopping, but it seems like, at the time, GE and LG were the worst offenders.

  • sundownr
    16 years ago

    I will be buying appliances for my kitchen soon and haven't decided what I want yet. It's such an investment! I think the kitchen will be painted white cabs and dark countertops. Not even sure about that yet.

    Jodi - WD-40 for stainless appliances - that's what my sister uses on hers (GE) and they always look beautiful. No fingerprints, smudges etc.

  • gizmonike
    16 years ago

    We love our SS! We have SS countertops on our perimeter cabinets, SS backsplash & hood at the cooking & cleanup areas, SS sinks & faucets, SS range & wall oven. We expect the SS to patina, and it's great to set hot dishes down without worry. Cleanup has been easy. However, we also have a great deal of wood in our kitchen, with the other appliances all panelled, and granite on our island.

  • divamum
    16 years ago

    I resisted SS appliances for many reasons, not least of which our limited budget. It was much easier to find affordable, quality white appliances, because they're not "fashionable" right now!

    That said, during the course of the project I've become accustomed to the "look" of it from photographs, magazines, showrooms etc, and while when we started out I didn't care a fig about it, now I feel like the finished product would have looked nicer - or at least more "current" - with ss appliances. HOWEVER... realistically I suspect that consumer-stainless (as opposed to pro appliances) will be a trend that fades into something else over the years while the white WILL remain timeless (if boring).

    What I have done is add some stainless accents through my small appliances, and I'm liking the way it looks: we needed a new toaster and coffeepot anyway and those are stainless and look rather nice, even with white for the "big" appliances. The sink is stainless, and the faucet brushed-nickel, so that all ties together quite well.

  • fandlil
    16 years ago

    The only stainless in our kitchen is the sink and the rangehood. Our appliances are white and our cabinets are oak, medium tone. Our countertops are beige Corian and our backsplashes are beige tile. Ours is an eat-in kitchen. The pantry door, baseboards and window frames match the cabinets.

    In my opinion, the SS look will eventually be dated as will the granite, maybe not as fast as the avocado appliances of the 70s, but it will go out. For me, white is classic and will never go out of style. Besides, I love it.

  • laurap_2007
    16 years ago

    No, I LOVE SS. Will be remodeling my kitchen shortly and am definitely going with SS appliances. White would be too stark, black too dark, and don't care for almond.

  • rucnmom
    16 years ago

    We added an in-law apt to our home last year. MIL (with guidance when she's take it) picked out everything. She totally blew it with the applicances. She chose a great creamy cabinet w/glaze but was adamant about no paneled appliances (my 1st choice), no SS (my 2nd choice), and went with bisque. They look so mediocre. Even she didn't like them when they first went in. Now we are used to the look but they definitely do nothing for the space.

  • sandsonik
    16 years ago

    I don't have true stainless steel. I've got a Kenmore stove (really made by Frigidaire)in a "silver mist" finish and the Frigidaire dishwasher calls it something else. A true ss snob would turn up their nose at it, I'm sure but I really like it. It's so much easier to maintain (the stove in particular looks great, better than the dishwasher for some reason)and it gives the same sort of look to the room as stainless would. There are lots of faux stainless finishes and one would have to be careful in coordinating appliances if they weren't all bought together, but for the fraction of the price, I'm quite happy with my fakes! At some point I'll have to replace my old bisque refrigerator and I'm not sure whether I'll try to find a stainless that coordinates well or go for another "silver mist" type of look. For some reason I think some of the faux finishes look better on the smaller appliances than the fridges.

  • janwad
    16 years ago

    Would it really be that hard for the industry to give us some interesting choices? I don't get it. Why aren't there 25 colors available, and different ones for each maker?

    A lot of people would run right out and replace appliances if they only had a choice. They'd be happy to wait for special order if necessary.

  • oruboris
    16 years ago

    Janwad, Bluestar offer 190+ colors. Since they are standardized accross the paint/pigment industry, it should be possible to have the doors of other appliances to match. Barring major societal collapse, I think it's the direction things are heading.

  • jobazza
    16 years ago

    Use this cleaner (see link)
    it's the best!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Hi Brite

  • glad
    16 years ago

    divamum- i did the same as you, using stainless for the small stuff. i have white cabinets and a small kitchen and i didn't ant the eye to lock in on the stove or dishwasher. :) i did get a stainless hood and all of the fingerprints that ended up on that just from holding it in place for the install made me happy i didn't get any large appliances in it!

  • jenellecal
    16 years ago

    So far I love my Stainless, they wipe right off. My fridge is still the old white one. It's only a few years old and I would rather save the money for now. I HATE cleaing the white fridge. I'm thinking of painting it with a chalkboard type of paint just for fun.

  • pharaoh
    16 years ago

    No, not sick. Love it. Cant even think of anything that can replace it. not black,not white, maybe wood panels but then i dont like an all wood kitchen.

    SS provides the best balance between form and function.

  • bungalowdawn
    16 years ago

    Nope, I'm loving my stainless steel. I've only been back in the kitchen for about 2 months but I was very hesitant about going from white appliances to SS for cleaning reasons. People who hate it really hate it and tell you all about how you will never get it clean. I haven't found it to be a problem at all...nothing more than my white appliances and at least the stainless cleans up. After several years, my white would be hard to get the grey finger worn marks off if I didn't keep up with them like crazy (which I don't).

    Admittedly, I am not so anal about cleaning but I am a little anal in what bugs me and this just doesn't. I use my good old vinegar in spray bottle to clean them and it works like a charm. Upon first spraying and wiping it looks a little worse and it might worry you, but keep wiping to dry (like when you wash windows with vinegar) and it's great. I've also used the stainless cleaner that came with the appliances from Sears one time and it did a nice job (and maybe provided some future resistance to new stains). But that stuff is way too much of a hassle for everyday. I need spray and wipe.

    Oh yeah, and we got cabinet paneling on our dishwasher so that isn't stainless. But our fridge, stove and microwave are.

    Oh and also, the worst part of my kitchen for cleaning now is the black glass on the stovetop and stove control panel! It never looks clean and spotless - shows every bit of dust and every spot of anything. I now know I would never choose black appliances.

  • bungalowdawn
    16 years ago

    And incidentally, my fridge and stove are Kenmore Elite and the micro hood is Kitchenaid.

  • polie
    16 years ago

    Although I do like stainless steel, I agree they've gotten overplayed and my eyes are getting tired of it. What I really like now are the photographs of kitchens I've seen where the appliances are hidden. You know, the dishwashers and built-in refrigerators that accept custom cabinetry panels. The newer built-in refrigerators don't even have that metal lip around the panels, so the panels really do look like cabinet doorfronts. Amazing what talented, artistically inclined people think of!

  • boxiebabe
    16 years ago

    I am in the minority here - maybe not "sick", but played out on it. Let me say that I have never owned SS appliances - but we've opted for all black (GE Profile)appliances in our remodel. Our reasoning was that we didn't want the appliances to be the "star of the show"; rather we wanted our granite and cabs to be. Hubby and I both agree that in the kitchens we have seen with SS appliances - they really do stand out. I guess difference of opinions is what keeps things interesting. :)

  • Nancy in Mich
    16 years ago

    You know how you feel about the white/almond laminate cabs with oak trim at the bottom? The medium oak cabs with all that woodgrain? Advocado green and harvest gold (if you are old enough to remember them)? Stainless will go that route, too. It is the way of fashion. Nothing can be fashionable forever, or it would not be fashion.

    I predict only a couple of more years for the light maple (already out-going), black granite, SS appliance look. Give it ten years and you will want a change in your expensive kitchens. That is why some of us choose white appliances. They are never in, never out. Just blah. The "jewelry" of a kichen must be something fairly easy to replace, in my book. Countertops and backsplashes, I guess. I would never invest a fortune in solid granite because I know it will go out of style, and I will be sick of looking at it, and it will still have 2000 years of good use left in it and I will be STUCK. Laminate does not last for ever, so changing it out every 15 to 20 years is expected, planned for, and a good thing. That is just the way I think.

    I did a nice new kitchen in 2003 in a house I planned to live in for the rest of my life. Well, the lady who now has my kitchen in a rent-to-own situation because we needed more room when an elderly parent moved in, wants to change my kitchen. And in this economy, I did not get one cent back on the remodel.

    I am cruising Craigslist. I can't buy right now, but I look. One of these months I will end up buying a used kitchen, get new countertops, splurge on a moderately expensive backsplash (that I just may install onto boards screwed into the wall so it is easy to remove if I get tired of it.) I would keep these cabs, but their face-frame construction takes the concept of lost space to new heights if I want to add pull-outs.

    Last week I could have had enough cabs to redo every cab in this house for $3000. Their fault? They are 1990s pickled maple. Hey, I could do something to those babes to get them looking different, and be very happy with them! Too bad I did not have $3000. But someday I will, and WATCH OUT!

  • muscat
    16 years ago

    I like stainless, and I think it is more neutral than black or white, but I know that I'm in the minority, there. It just seems more professional, not necessarily as in "pro-looking appliances" but just clean and simple and functional. I dont think it will go the way of trendy-now colors, because professional kitchens will probably always have SS equipment, so that reference will remain.

  • igloochic
    16 years ago

    I had to go look at my stainless (KA and GE at this place) Sheesh it looks bad LOL I guess I haven't cleaned well enough...except for the KA fridge...not a fingerprint to be seen :)

    (Of course the plastic wrapping is still on the door...which might help some...)

  • debbie_2008
    16 years ago

    I can't imagine granite will ever go out. The patterns won't change because they are from the earth. As for appliance color, I think Black may go out, but I think stainless is here to stay for years and years. There is a new bronze color that is goregous, but IMO falls in the same family as stainless but requires painted cabinets, rather than wood tone (again IMO). If I was home shopping, and didn't have money for upgrades, I would walk away from a house with white appliances IF I had a choice between white or stainless (same price point of home) in another home. This of course being both kitchens have fairly new appliances.

    I suppose this is ALL my opinion, but opinions, likes, and dislikes, are all any of us have.

  • holligator
    16 years ago

    Stainless has already been around and popular longer than any of the "harvest golds" or "avocado greens" of the 70s or "almonds" of the 80s. Those were trends that lasted less than a decade, and I know people who have had stainless for nearly 20 years and it's more popular now than ever. I think muscat nailed it, though. Professional kitchens have had stainless forever and will continue to have stainless forever, so cooks who are serious or who want to look serious will continue to choose stainless for years to come. Other finishes may become just as popular or even moreso, but I am confident that the stainless trend will last as long as my current appliances do.

    As for cleaning, in the two months since my appliances went in, I have used only microfiber cloths--a wet one followed by a dry one--on my fridge and DW. Hardly a smudge or fingerprint in all that time. I have used regular lysol kitchen cleaner on the stove top with no problem either.

    I do think that some brands have stainless finishes that show a LOT more than others. This was one of the things I considered as I researched my appliance choices.

  • fern76
    16 years ago

    bump

  • sail_away
    16 years ago

    Holligator, I'd be interested in knowing which appliances you have in your kitchen---especially since you said that the finishes don't show as much as others and that you have done a lot of research. Would you mind sharing?

  • holligator
    16 years ago

    Ha! Well, my "research" in this particular category consisted of smearing my hand across the door of every fridge I passed in every appliance store. :)

    But, it is something I noted and I did end up with appliances that show little in the way of smudges and fingerprints (even with a 17 year old boy in the house). The worst for fingerprints seemed to be the LG and GE fridges.

    My fridge is a Kitchen Aid counter-depth side-by-side (KSCS25FTSS).

    My Dishwasher is a Fisher & Paykel dishdrawers (DD605HSS).

    My range is an Aga Legacy 36" stainless dual fuel.

    I have found all of these to be super easy to keep clean with wet and dry microfiber cloths (the top of the range does get other cleaners when I have splattered while cooking).

  • twoyur
    16 years ago

    We have used only one thing to clean all the stainless in our kitchen

    fridge range the exhaust hood and the DW are all cleaned using the lemon pledge

    Seems like eons ago i read about it here

    pledge and paper towels

    easist and cheapest thing i found and not a week goes by with out someone commenting on it

    Usually starts with you have to be kidding and then they try it themselves
    WOrks well and no likely to stop using it

  • ckag
    16 years ago

    To me,a little stainless in the kitchen is nice, like wearing one piece of jewelry - understated and classy.
    Stainless everywhere all over the place can either look sleek, very modern/contemporary and sophisticated depending on the rest of the design or just plain over-done like someone wearing too much jewelry.

    Cleaning it - ummmm, yeah, a bit tired of that part. (Apparently I need to lurk here more often - I could have been using Pledge!)

  • twoyur
    16 years ago

    faeriedust

    when i told my wife i had seen a thing that said lemon pledge worked for cleaning and keeping clean SS she told me I was crazy

    well she and about 20 other people we know are now converts
    and i laugh every time I here one of them say

    Lemon Pledge works wonders

  • zenr
    15 years ago

    Came across this site when looking for a Graphite gray refrigerator. I have the DW from Adora and love the color and it shows no prints/drips. Unfortunately I am finding that GE Adora is the only manufacturer who makes appliances in this color, AND they only make two S by S fridges, one DW, and one stove choice available in graphite gray.

    I am hoping I didn't make a mistake buying the DW in a color that may not take off and will leave me little or no choice in design if I wish to match DW. I would love a bottom mount frige rather than S by S, and have no interest in French doors.

    Any suggestions? Or am I stuck with SS or black?

  • Selenaserval
    11 years ago

    One nice thing is that now you can get "clean steel" appliances, and you won't have a problem with fingerprints.

  • suel41452
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    YESSSSS!!!!! Unless you employ a live-in maid, life is too short to spend cleaning a huge stainless fridge 24/7, not to mention all those unsightly scratches and dents. My tight-wad husband agreed to get a new fridge because of this very issue. Got the smooth black LG 28.8 cu. ft. fridge and life is now bliss - nary a scratch or ding to be seen!!!!

  • blubird
    5 years ago

    Even though this is an old revived thread, I wanted to say I use lemon pledge spray to keep my stainless steel fingerprint free. I clean the appliances maybe once a month and I have grandkids after school every day who are constantly in the fridge.

  • K R
    5 years ago
    Thanks for the advice on lemon pledge! >>>Runs off to try it
  • Lila S
    2 years ago

    I also hate stainless steel in everything, appliances, faucet, chandelier …… colorful appliances are trendy nowadays. I’m planning to order one of those refrigerator for my laundry room, and move my LG stainless steel to the garage. All my kitchen appliances will be ether panels ready or white or black. All faucets will be black, gold, or cooper, same all chandeliers.

  • Anne Duke
    2 years ago

    I’m very happy with my SS appliances. I manage to keep it clean quite easily. To each their own. I accent with orange, which I have loved for a number of years.