Stainless Steel!!

[whirlcool]

We have found that to get SS to look right, you need to clean it well then use a SS polish on it. The polish is kind of greasy/oily, but it keeps fingerprints off for a day or so. But dog nose prints on SS is far worse than human fingerprints any day.

Now for awhile, GE had appliances in that "touchless" SS finish. Actually is was not SS at all, but a gray paint the same exact grey tone of SS. From 4 or 5 ft away it still looked like SS, but without all the printing problems from touching it. This is what we wanted on our GE refrigerator originally but was told the touchless SS look was available "on selected models only" and ours was not one of them.

 

[askolover]

I still prefer black any day. When I bought this house, it had a 1956 plywood cabinet kitchen in it. I like retro, but this wasn't even retro, it was just hideous and had to go! I kept the newer stove for a while as it was a '90's Caloric in white with black door and it was gas with pilots. Then when I got the money I took out those hideous cabinets and replaced them with white-washed oak cabinets with formica countertops and a white fridge and microwave. The dishwasher was black, but it matched ok because it was placed beside the stove with the black oven door. Over the years the white plastic handles on the fridge and microwave door "yellowed". So I just went back to all black....same fridge just black and new microwave in black, then I got a new Frigidaire gas range without pilots in black with stainless knobs and door handle...made it match the stainless and black range hood and the stainless sink. I almost went with the stainless look all over but quickly came to my senses after keeping that range hood and backsplash clean. And I'm still using that same black Maytag dishwasher and now have a brand new unused Kitchenaid to go in its place when the time comes...also in black!

A few years later my mother got my same fridge also in white...and now is also yellowing...she wishes she had gone with black too.

Gusherb....I second that about the Samsungtag....had one in 2005, used it for 2 days and back to Lowes it went!!

 

[askolover]

I still prefer black any day. When I bought this house, it had a 1956 plywood cabinet kitchen in it. I like retro, but this wasn't even retro, it was just hideous and had to go! I kept the newer stove for a while as it was a '90's Caloric in white with black door and it was gas with pilots. Then when I got the money I took out those hideous cabinets and replaced them with white-washed oak cabinets with formica countertops and a white fridge and microwave. The dishwasher was black, but it matched ok because it was placed beside the stove with the black oven door. Over the years the white plastic handles on the fridge and microwave door "yellowed". So I just went back to all black....same fridge just black and new microwave in black, then I got a new Frigidaire gas range without pilots in black with stainless knobs and door handle...made it match the stainless and black range hood and the stainless sink. I almost went with the stainless look all over but quickly came to my senses after keeping that range hood and backsplash clean. And I'm still using that same black Maytag dishwasher and now have a brand new unused Kitchenaid to go in its place when the time comes...also in black!

A few years later my mother got my same fridge also in white...and now is also yellowing...she wishes she had gone with black too.

Gusherb....I second that about the Samsungtag....had one in 2005, used it for 2 days and back to Lowes it went!!

 

[toploader55]

I thought I was alone.

I never liked Stainless because I am a Chef and I'm around Stainless all day.

My little galley kitchen is Eclectic. Sometimes a Coppertone Dishwasher, Sometimes White, the KDS 20 I changed recently to Black. White Fridge, White Stove, Imitation Wood Grain Formica, and you know something ? I can produce, cook, bake all sorts of delicious products without the "Trendy" stuff. It's all about the ingredients and who's behind the range and oven. People complain about electric stoves. Well, I just adapt my menu and success of cooking around what I have to work with.

Stainless is a never ending battle to keep clean. I spent 6 weeks in Florida cooking at a friend's house with all the G,SS,and Wood. I could never get it the way I wanted it to look. One appliance would look great when the others just couldn't get out that last streak or hazy film.

Colors, wipe them clean and a touch up here and there. Look how much time you will save in your life to do other things without having to obsess over schmears and fingerprints.

 

[cranraspberry]

We have all stainless appliances, and I have never quite understood the complaint about fingerprints and keeping them clean. Maybe we got lucky with a quality finish, but we have zero issues with fingerprints/dog nose prints, and the fridge and dishwasher are virtually maintenance-free while the range requires a quick wipe with a damp microfiber cloth after cooking on it (no special products needed). So really not much different than any other color appliance. In fact I'm pretty sure I spent much more time cleaning the exterior of the white fridge at my parents' house growing up than I do now.

We are also now starting to think about moving, and when browsing Zillow white appliances are definitely a turn off since we will have to deal with the hassle of getting rid of them and getting new ones brought in and installed. I could possibly live with black, but white is absolutely not to my taste. So for us it's a matter of convenience, and having the house as move in ready as possible at the time of purchase.

Just thought I'd share the voice of the young homebuyer who wants only stainless.

 

[xraytech]

I personally have white appliances throughout, but when I go from a portable dw to a buit in it will be black.
If I were to go for colored appliances it would be Coppertone.

as for cleaning stainless steel, a friends in-laws had a stainless 1958 Frigidaire wall oven and cooktop, and a thermador built in fridge. They kept a bottle of mineral oil in the fridge and used a bit of the oil with a soft cloth to polish their stainless and it worked beautifully.
I'd assume it would work on modern appliances.

 

[lordkenmore]

>We are also now starting to think about moving, and when browsing Zillow white appliances are definitely a turn off since we will have to deal with the hassle of getting rid of them and getting new ones brought in and installed.

This goes without saying...but that hassle may have to happen regardless of appliance color. There are a lot of not-very-good appliances out there, and that "it looks OK" black dishwasher may be a bad design that has aged so poorly that it can't clean even a lightly soiled load of dishes. Or the dishwasher might work OK, but be a builder's grade that is so noisy that the people 3 streets over call the police to complain about the noise when you run it after 11 PM.

I have never bought a house, but if I were in that position, I don't think I'd even worry about the appliances included. It can be factor worth considering, but the chances are that one will live with the house itself a lot longer than any appliance that is included. Unless, of course, one lucks out--say, a nice 1960s kitchen, in good repair, with original appliances that are in good running order, and repairable if/when needed.

 

[lordkenmore]

I have been thinking of this thread a lot. Above, I made the case for "creativity" and "make do". But...what color would Lord Kenmore select if he could select any color he chose? He is not sure...

Indeed, this is a question I've pondered regularly over the years. As much as I hate to say it, I think "white" would probably be a top choice. I don't particularly like white. But I like some common alternatives even less. White shows dirt to allow cleaning, but isn't as obnoxious as black. Plus white goes with everything, unlike, say, Avocado.

And...white may be in some cases either the only, or the only viable choice with some old appliances. I am not sure that I would want a GE Monitor Top as my main refrigerator, but I am not ruling the possibility out.

The color that interests me, though, is turquoise. I think I've seen it once in real life (a broken refrigerator in my grandparent's basement), but have liked the color from what I've seen here. Problem is...finding it. The other color that interests me is Harvest Gold. I am not sure how much I like it. But...it's "different" than white, and not as...ah...strong to my eyes as Avocado.

 

[countryguy]

I dislike stainless steel appliances also. My washer, dryer, freezer are white but all the appliances in my kitchen are black. I find them very easy to keep clean.

Gary

 

[askolover]

Oh I'd love turquoise and have hinted about it to hubby many times...but he hates it so we both agree on black. But that thread about the turquoise Maytags and the other kitchen appliances a while back looks awesome!

found the thread..I love that look!

Update on my Turquoise Maytags

I finally got the twins into the laundry room at my ranch - they're not up and running yet - but one step closer - wanted to share how my vintage turquoise kitchen is coming together

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[sudsmaster]

Most restaurant and commercial kitchens use stainless for practical reasons: it can be cleaned up better than just about anything else without destroying it. Now, they don't use it for looks, mind you. Because serious scrubbing will leave marks and such. But in a commercial kitchen looks don't matter as much as cleanliness. I would guess that porcelain (baked, not powder coated) finishes come in second to stainless, but they can be destroyed with harsh cleansers, which can quickly eat through the glass surface and expose the softer material underneath.

 

It's a bit unfortunate that people have confused stainless with professional/quality. There's some real crap out there with stainless surfaces - although mostly it's in the low end small appliances such as you might find at Walmart.

 

Also, there are different types of stainless. The best for general non-corrosive surfaces is 304, or 18-8. That's 18% chromium and 8% nickel. Better yet is 316, but due to the higher nickel content, it's also more expensive. It's usually marked "18-10". Lower quality might be of the 200 series, which has lower chromium than the 300 series and very low nickel content, as in "16-5". I've seen some cheap flatware marked "18-0", presumably with no nickel, and probably not very corrosion resistant. I remember buying a cheap set of flatware back in the '70's. It was probably 18-0. In any case, I remember dropping an 18-0 spoon in the back yard, and within a year it had significant corrosion/rust.

 

The less corrosion resistant stainless alloys tend to be magnetic, and the more corrosion resistant non-magnetic or slightly magnetic. However, very good quality 304 or 316 that has been formed, or "cold-worked", can be magnetic enough to hold a magnet, so magnetic attraction isn't necessarily a fool proof indication of alloy composition. A good example is some nice 18-10 flatware I own. It is somewhat magnetic but has shown no sign of corrosion. Interestingly, some of the spoons are more magnetic than others, but they are all marked "18-10"...

 

 

 

[abcomatic]

I hate stainless steel. None of that in the house.

 

[appnut]

I hate stainless steel appliances. I too find black not obnoxious to clean. I also love my 1984 Hotpoint slide-in with black glass look front and brusheed chrome coooking surface and brushed chrome GE Deluxe hood. Dishwasher & fridge are black. I was in Lowes on Saturday and strolled through the appliance department. The bank of SS appliances is so obnoxious it practically threw me up against a wall at the opposit end of the store.

 

[midcentnurse]

We are going back and forth between all stainless for the retro kitchen which I know will look really sharp, but low quality SS is yuk. The DW is white, and although a lower level frigidaire about 8 years old, I test ran a rinse cycle today and was impressed with the power. Literally don't make em like they used to, even 5 years apparently! So, white fridge and wall oven is a possibility.. Only prob, great cooktop is SS and oven is 24".

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I pretty much put aside my "morbid feelings" about Stainless Steel appliances in my kitchen...

 

With '50's, '60's, '70's, '80's and then the "only Black, White--and ALMOND of the '90's" coming & going--and now, mostly GONE!--it seems this one "neutral hue" is to me, the only way to go...

 

Likewise, I wish the front of my fridge could be magnetic--as is the side of it, and I don't know why the doors of my dishwasher and stove are the only things I can hang stuff on--and I really DON'T want to, on the latter two!--and I should buy those Stainless Steel cleaning wipes of they will do a good job of eliminating the prints & streaks that my front of my fridge is admittedly plagued with....

 

However, it is very unlikely that a Stainless Steel WASHER or DRYER, is anything that I could ever live with--I'll be the many who will stick with WHITE (and who HAD even in the golden age of changing, trendy colors), Thank You!!!!

 

 

-- Dave