Stainless Steel appliance pro's 7 con's, Would you purchase again?

[vineyard]

Hello,
We're in the midst of buying & selling and the chaos that entails. We will have to purchase all new kitchen appliances at the end of next month and am trying to make an informed choice.

I LOVEEEE the look of black & stainless, but I keep hearing from high end buyers that they are a pain to maintain & upkeep. The people that gave input probably bought models that are out of our $ range we're more in the middle to low end $ range. So is it true they blacken/discolor easily, show every finger print, & scratch easily? Also is it a matter of you get what you pay for as far grade of stainless quality in the different $ ranges?

I always thought restaurant kitchens were in stainless, so were durable, is it a matter of gauge?

Thanks for any and all input and will modify kitchen re-do according to general "real life" children friendly usage, as the other input was from single couple homes.

[In The Great White North]

I have stainless and children. They do get dirty but then so did the white fridge we had before. I wash tehm with a sponge and dishliquid. They do sell special stuff, which I use occasionally but it doesn't work better.

[chai]

The home we just bought has stainless. I was very excited because I thought that it would be so much better. BUT they show fingerprints, smears, and scratches much more than my old applicances did. I'm still trying to figure out how to make them look nice. I have seen some advertisements for a new, smear-proof, stainless. I would check that out if I was buying today.

[Karenciavo]

I like my stainless. Actually my stove is stainless and black and it's the black part that is harder to clean.

[Sharon in SC]

Hello,
We're in the midst of buying & selling and the chaos that entails.

First, let me just say that I. feel. your. pain. :willy_nilly:

Past that, I can share this - while I cannot compare, from experience, the differences between low end versus high end stainless appliances, I can tell you that we purchased high end for the new to us house and basic grade Kenmore stainless with black trim for the old (currently being prepped for the market). Both *look* great.

Would I buy stainless again? You betcha! And, the reason is because it smudges and shows fingerprints easily! :ohmy: I had almond appliances in my old home which did not do this, obviously. Consequently, those (particularly the frig) were hideously grimy but I. didn't. know. it. The collective dirt was hidden so very well, I never realized how cruddy they had become until we prepared to move. :tongue_smilie: Now, in the new house and with my stainless appliances, I know when they're dirty and I clean them. I keep clean appliances because of this and I love that! :D Yep, I'd buy 'em again in a heartbeat.

Have fun with the journey!
Sharon

[Karenciavo]

I have seen some advertisements for a new, smear-proof, stainless. I would check that out if I was buying today.

That's what I have. Finger prints don't show, but spills of course do. It's not hard to clean though.

[percytruffle]

Well, when we bought our house three years ago the owners had just redone the kitchen and baths. They put in high-end stainless appliances. We have a Dacor six burner gas range and hood that cost about 5-6K, a sub zero frig (cabinet facing but with stainless accents), a nice stainless Sharp microwave/comvection oven, and an Asko dishwasher that is stainless on the inside.

None of them are cheap appliances. The stainless is a very good guage, nice and thick and has a satin finish. Everything is durable, but the stainless is a pain to keep clean. There are always fingerprints and smudges, even though it isn't a highly polished surface, but the worst part of all is the amount of dust and cat hair the stainless attracts. Our Dacor stove is like a giant link brush! Scratches are a rare problem, but they do happen. Since they are satin finished we can usually buff them out with steel wool.

We love the way the appliances function, but I do often wish they weren't stainless. That said, I have had white that discolored to yellow and black that showed fingerprints and scratches. There is no perfect solution and stainless is so "in" right now that I think I would choose stainless again if we had to replace, but they are not simple to keep looking nice!

[Claire]

We have stainless. I would not buy it again *unless* it was all the fingerprint-proof stainless. They have some new finishes that are much eaiser to clean.

SS does scratch more easily.

I can get ours looking like new by using baby oil (very refined mineral oil) on it. This is the *only* way I can clean it without streaks. A dry cloth can quickly buff out any fingerprints in-between baby oil treatments. Before someone here posted about mineral oil, I think I had tried every specialty SS cleaner on the market. Baby oil works the best. (Note: thick mineral oil purchased from Fleet Farm did not work at all! It has to be very refined, thin mineral oil. Baby oil has the right consistency.)

[Sharon in SC]

I'm still trying to figure out how to make them look nice.

What is working well for me is this - first clean any obvious food spills, sticky fingerprints, etc with Fantastik spray cleaner (or the like). Then, every couple to three days or so, I use a stainless cleaner/polisher (by Sprayway) that I purchased from Sam's (came two to a pack). What I find is that the cleaner/polisher is not the best at getting obvious grime off but works wonders to spruce the overall appearance of the stainless. The spray cleaner that works great on getting grime off leaves smears where I've spot cleaned. So, the combo approach is the ticket for me.

HTH,
sharon

[Sharon in SC]

There is no perfect solution and stainless is so "in" right now that I think I would choose stainless again if we had to replace, but they are not simple to keep looking nice!

You've touched on another fact I've used to reconcile myself to the imperfections of stainless. They do scratch. (I've noticed this most with my cooktop). However, despite the scratches, I love the look of stainless because not only is it "in" but, imho, it's timeless. I believe white, black, and almond "come and go" but stainless is the one finish that, to me, is most likely to not look dated in time. Because of this belief, I view my scratched stainless cooktop as preferable to another finish that is less prone to scratching. :001_smile:

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

We have a small dent in our range, so I don't know how it would hold up to littles slamming their cups into it....but, it looks nice and I always get compliments on them.

http://www.geappliances.com/products/cleansteel.htm

[kpupg]

Hello,
So is it true they blacken/discolor easily, show every finger print, & scratch easily?

I recently bought a stainless DW and stainless/black stove -- both with a brushed stainless finish. Yes, they show all that, especially the black enamel stove top, but I find it helpful in keeping things clean. I'd rather see it and be motivated to clean it than to let it build up unnoticed, bleck. It only takes a moment to wipe down the stainless portions -- be sure to wipe with the grain of the finish. The stove top might take more effort if I've been doing a lot of cooking that day, but that would be true no matter the color. I love the way they look.
Karen

[Mad Charity]

I have all stainless appliances and I like them. I have a polished sort of stainless and it really doesn't show fingerprints and smudges all that much. The really shiny kind does, though. I have a bottle of Simple Green Stainless Cleaner that does wonders but so does vinegar and dishwashing liquid. I like my stainless cookware because it is so easy to clean and doesn't have that scary tephlon coating, you don't want that. I got the cookware with glass lids so I can see what's going on in there! My stove is gas and is the hardest to keep clean but it is because the cooktop is that black something or other that makes my life difficult. I would do it again but then I also really liked it when I had white appliances. I really don't see a big difference other than the white ones would have looked terrible in this house.