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jterrilynn

Whats up with cleaning stainless on KitchenAid Frig?

jterrilynn
13 years ago

Ok, I just got my new kitchenAid French door CD frig today and up to now I could never figure out what all the belly aching was about with cleaning stainless. My old frig was a Frigidarie and trouble from day one but all I had to do is spray it with Favor High Shine furniture polish & wipe with paper towel and it was all shiny and pretty. It looked good but ran bad. I have tried real stainless cleaner and Favor polish but the new Kitchenaid Frig looks like crappola. How do I get it to look pretty?

Comments (18)

  • rookie_2010
    13 years ago

    Hi,
    I tried everything on my stainless and found that Stainless Steel Magic Wipes (from my supermarket cleaning supply isle) make cleaning it a breeze and it stays looking pretty good for a while after I use them. i assumed they were gimmicky and then my husband bought them because he's a sucker for a gimmick. Now I love them.

  • rhome410
    13 years ago

    I haven't tried the wipes, but avoid the use of stainless steel cleaners...They just seem to leave everything smeary. Water (or slightly soapy water when necessary for cutting grease, etc) followed by a thorough wipe with microfiber or other absorbent towel is my preference.

  • gam51
    13 years ago

    On my KA frig I didn't like the cleaners and wipes I used. Just seemed to make the stainless look dark and not pretty and shiny like I think SS should be. I switched to a recommendation on here for a very hot microfiber cloth wipedown and a dry one to dry if off. I think it works much better. Now if someone could tell me how to get the water runs off my Bosch SS dishwasher!!

  • dawnbc
    13 years ago

    I've discovered that I need to treat all my stainless steel appliances individually. I can use soap and water followed by drying with a microfiber cloth on my fridge. The dishwasher & stove fronts like Mr. Clean erasers .... rubbed very lightly. I have a ss tray that looks beautiful after a mineral oil treatment but mineral oil makes my appliances look awful. Try different things and see what works for you.

  • cat_mom
    13 years ago

    rococogurl recommended 3M SS Cleaner and Polish aerosol spray when we first got our KA fridge and were complaining about the same thing. Spray it on a clean cloth (one of the few things an old T-shirt trumps a microfiber cloth), and wipe it on. I think it gets buffed off with a dry cloth, but not sure. We still have a cleaning lady and she does a better job on the fridge than I do. I do a great job on the Wolf range though (that, only I clean!).

  • repaintingagain
    13 years ago

    Ok, that all sounds WAY too complicated to me. I also have a KA refrig - so probably the same finish. My sister taught me THE BEST trick and it is super easy. I have a toddler so I really don't have time to be using special cloths, multiple sprays, etc.

    Use the Pledge Furniture polish wipes. Simply amazing. It actually will make your refrig repel some of the fingerprints. I almost started a thread about this the other day bc my refrig was looking bad for several months and my sister just gave me a pack and it is like I have an entirely new refrig with min. maintenance.

    Here is a link to what is looks like.

    You'll love it and no fussing with microfiber, sprays, etc. I think I sound like a commercial, but seriously I really do suggest this! (I tried the Method SS spray, etc. and it didn't work on the Kitchenaid finish for whatever reason.)

    Good luck and I can't wait to see your response when you try it. :-)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Use these wipes

  • lascatx
    13 years ago

    My personal conclusion is that it is not the stainless so much as what has been put on it. I think it is about having a good method and stick with it. When you switch, it starts taking off or reacting with the last cleaner or polish and it may streak and yuk and take a number of tries before it improves.

    My installers wiped down the front with a polish and left -- it looked great. First time I tried to clean it, not so great. The more I tried different things, the worse it got. By accident, I wound up using the cleaner Wolf sent for my cooktop (Signature) when I spilled it out onto the cloth and had too much. My fridge was the only thing large enough to use it up on. It worked great -- and turns out it is the same stuff my installers used. I had to order the stuff in quantity and figured I'd use it. Now I'm not so sure I will use it all up.

    A friend gave me a streak-free cloth to try -- her daughters sports team had sold them for a fundraiser. It is a micro-filament -- more like a cross between a handi-wipe and a synthetic chamois. I have used it on my my appliances, cabinets, windows, mirrors -- went all over the house trying it on things. It is the only way I have been able to clean a spot on my stainless fridge without having to do the whole thing top to bottom and it looks at least as good as if I had used the polish but it uses only water.

    Either way -- pick one, try it a number of times when switching and then stick with one that works for you.

  • doraville
    13 years ago

    Here's another vote for the microfiber cloth approach - one to wash and the other to wipe and polish. Sometimes it requires a little elbow grease, but there's no build of polish.

  • Buehl
    13 years ago

    Anyone else getting this thread (cleaning SS fridge) when you click on the "crown molding transition" thread???

  • jsweenc
    13 years ago

    Hmm, yes, I am. I started reading without looking at the title and was confused, expecting to read about crown molding but figured I just clicked elsewhere. (Needed this info anyway, but that's very odd.)

  • gwtamara
    13 years ago

    testing

  • julie94062
    13 years ago

    I've also found that using SS cleaners leaves some kind of residue that streaks the next time you try to clean.

    By accident, I found that Lysol wipes followed by a dry microfiber cloth works WONDERS. I now use it on all my SS, including my gas cooktop. Seriously, it's a miracle (and hey, kills germs...which is why I used it in the first place after someone visited with a cold). You don't even really have to worry about the "grain" of the SS. Just buff lightly with the dry microfiber after the Lysol wipes.

    {{!gwi}}

    BTW, I have the KA French Door CD fridge. Works great on the handles, too.

  • dee__dee
    13 years ago

    FWIW...the appliance repair guy recommended Dep Stainless Steel cleaner. I think that's the name?? Home Depot had it. It's a tall spray can, and is oil based which protects the metal( so he said) and prevents finger prints. I use it maybe once a month on everything stainless. I like it. He said not to use anything like Windex.

  • dee__dee
    13 years ago

    Dee again.. sorry that was Zep Stainless Steel cleaner. Not Dep.

  • needsometips08
    13 years ago

    I acutally have less issues with my KA stainless fridge than my other stainless items.

    I use the Pledge in the brown can and it stays pretty clean. I wipe it down every week or 2.

    Now my DW, that's a whole nother story in regards to staying clean...

  • BriosaFarm
    13 years ago

    There's a huge long thread on the cleaning forum about S/S appliances. I have KA, finally after trying all the polishes and etc. (and thinking some were good cause they looked good when first done) I tried the Dirtex. Once I used it about three times and changed clean cloths (IOW, got all the old polish and oily stuff completely off) all the applicances are staying much cleaner looking and are easy to "spot wipe" without redoing the whole front. I love s/s appliances but that huge front of the fridge with fingerprints and pet nose smudges was annoying...for me the key was getting all the old polishes and oily coatings OFF. They look so clean now and are so much easier to, as I said, "spot wipe."

  • reneecd
    13 years ago

    I sympathize, gam51. The water runs on our Bosch dishwasher were such a pain. I tried the microfiber cloths, the mineral oil, some other things. One day, I tried the Stainless Steel Magic I had bought for my Jenn Air fridge, which it had just made a mess of. Worked perfectly on the dishwasher. The surfaces are so different on the two appliances. I think that's why everyone's experiences vary so much.

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