Stainless steel or black appliances?

[msce2]

In your pics I like the look of the stainless.

Question for those of you with stainless, what is the best way to clean, what is the budget way to clean.

My budget busting stainless range is being delivered this afternoon. I am really excited but was just frustrated to have to do this now. I also have no other stainless appliances, just white. It was hard to find white ones with the features I wanted. I am willing to live with different colored appliances until the others break or we save up for each one.

I have read lots of different opinions on this. Apparently commercially alot of places use WD-40, and some swear by plain old baby oil. Both are relatively cheap options.

I have always used Stainless Steel Magic, but I find it doesn't get rid of all the greasy fingerprints.

Other people swear by a product called "Zep" but I'm not sure where you would find it. 1-877 I BUY ZEP

Lastly I have read that Pledge or Endust with a micro fiber cloth works wonders.

HTH!!

 

[acourtwdw]

I sell appliances and voted for SS just for the way it looked in the picture. It is a pain to keep clean! It is generally $100-$250 more for SS than black or white. In fridges, most companies make a SS look (like the Satina). It is generally less than SS but more than black/white. There are very few companies that do a SS-like in anything that heats up (range, micro, dishwashers).

To clean your SS, go to Target and buy the least expensive furniture polish that they carry. It's Kleen something and runs a little over a $1 a can. That is what we use at work and it is wonderful. Now keep in mind, that about once a month you will want to use actual SS cleaner (available at Best Buy for $8 a bottle) because that is like Armor All for your appliances. It cleans and protects. Make sure that you always go with the grain. Wipe on, wipe off (think Karate Kid).

Hope that helps

 

[sbell111]

Avocado all the way, baby.

 

[Baltazar]

Stainless steel is a chore to keep clean.

Fingerprint hiding textures are a line of bull.

But black probably opens up other cleaning problems.

I like our white appliances.

 

[EthansMom]

I have SS (they came with the house)... NEVER AGAIN. They are a pain in the tush to keep clean and every little ding shows so much more than on any other appliances (due to the reflectivity of the SS). Trust me on this... get black or white appliances.

 

[branv]

I used to have stainless but when we moved in here the only option was black. I HATE my black appliances! I totally disagree that black is easier to clean -- with the stainless all I needed was a stainless steel polish, and I found it no harder to use than any other kind of cleaner. With black, it shows dust by the very next day no matter how clean this house is. I can't seem to fully get any baked-on grease off of the stove top no matter what product/technique I've used (and I've used them all), and cleaning in general always leaves streaks...again, regardless of the wipe (shammy, magic eraser, newspaper, etc, etc). It's like some sort of neverending curse where you clean something, blink and it's filthy again. ARGH.

 

[Stucas]

I voted black, but I also vote gut the kitchen. Let hubby wait on the couch or get a inexpensive one. How long does a couch last anyway? A new kitchen will add value to a home, where a couch will not. Friends of mine did the exact same thing and it looks horrible. Just my opinion.

We have painted this type of cabinet before and they look fine. We're probably still going to redo the kitchen again down the line, we plan on being in this house 20+ years so when we go to sell it will be outdated anyways. I'm not really worried about the kitchen adding value. Gutting is no longer something I'm considering.

Thanks everyone for the fast replies. I'm still leaning toward black but maybe we'll just get the stove SS since it is also partially black. At least I still have a few weeks to think about it


-Lauren

 

[Brer Shay]

I voted black. As others have mentioned, the stainless is such a pain to keep looking nice. I'm not wild about the overall look of it, personally and I think it's way to trendy to hold it's value for too many more years.

 

[Shleedogg]

Stainless!!!! Black and brown do not go together! Plus, for resale, buyers are more impressed by stainless. We just bought all new stainless at Sears and love it! They have a great dishwasher that has the hidden controls for around $500. All other brands with a similar dishwasher are over $1k.

Another option that we got with our fridge is something that looks just like stainless but isn't, so it doesn't show fingerprints. DH was convinced it was a bad idea and it would look out of place w/ the stainless dishwasher and stove, but you can't tell. I wasn't about to buy a stainless fridge with a little one around, I could just imagine how many times a day I'd have to clean it.

 

[GJM]

I voted Black -

We have Stainless, it was orginally Black when we had the house built, but the last minute DH wanted Stainless. It is a pain to keep clean, I can't stand it.

 

[wall*e2008]

In that kitchen blacks looks better. Are you just delaying the kitchen upgrade for a short time? If so then get what will look best in your new kitchen. If it will be many years, then go with the black and lower cost as you most likely will want all new appliances with that new kitchen.

 

[Green Tea]

To clean my ss i got a can of spray stuff at WalMart made by the same people that make the stove top cleaner-weimans or something like that A couple dollars a can.

 

[tlh0726]

Did not read all of the posts, so this may have been mentioned before.

Check out the stainless steel look appliances. Must easier to clean and gives you the stainless look.

My husband replaced my black 60 inch wide frig & freezer with stainless when the frig portion stopped working. The kids have the new strainless ones scratched up with their magnets and I cannot keep fingerprints off of it.
I would like these alot better if they were the stainless look.

 

[MrsPete]

I vote black. I know stainless is all the rage these days, but I think it looks cold. Industrial. Not homey.

On the other hand, if you have any intention of selling your house within a couple years, it would be better stick with what's likely to re-sell well -- and that's probably stainless.

 

[PaulaSue]

I have new ss and i hate trying to clean the frig. I miss my black ones!

 

[Piecey]

I got black/stainless appliances.

My dishwasher and fridge both have partial areas that are black and partial areas that are stainless. (my fridge is on the end, so you actually see the black on the side)

It was cheaper and made it easier to decide!

 

[Tink415]

In the pictures I like the stainless steel better. I have stainless now, had black before, both are a pain to keep looking clean!

 

[lady_hlh]

I vote for the fake stainless finish which is what we got when we had to replace the fridge, I really like it. The guy at Lowes actually ordered us the wrong fridge in real stainless which they delivered to our house. I hated trying to keep my DDs fingerprints off it while we waited for them to get us the correct fridge.

 

[DawnM]

We have sold several homes and the comments we get back from the realtors is always, "We love the stainless appliances!"

Where we live, unfortunately or fortunately, however you want to look at it, there is a snob factor involved. Stainless, granite, and solid hardwood are all necessities. We have a house in our neighborhood, the ONLY one that hasn't sold in the last few years when put on the market, and we are told it didn't sell because they put in pergo and non-stainless appliances, and outdated countertops.

Now, if I planned to stay in my house forever (which we don't), I wouldn't care, but if you are planning to sell or think you might have to, I would go with stainless.

Dawn

 

[DisTwix]

Hi there! Congrats on the new house!

First - as a former kitchen designer, cabinet retailer, price out both replacement of the cabinets AND just doors. When I was in the business, the door was fully 80% the cost of the cabinet - meaning to only replace the doors was no budget solution on cheap cabinets. Consider painting all of it, instead of replacing just the doors/drawer fronts, until you can gut.

Also - don't forget Ikea. Their kitchen cabinet prices are excellent for the quality of the construction and materials. They are mostly using the same materials as in what's considered higher end cabinets (as far as the boxes go - as very few are truly solid wood and not plywood/pressed wood) - the difference is that you are assembling the boxes instead of the factory.

Also - do NOT do the floors if you aren't doing the cabinets, and are planning on doing them in the relative future.

I also vote for black appliances. I know that stainless is all the snobbery rage right now, but totally agree with a previous poster in that granite counters and stainless appliances will date a kitchen in the same way that avocado green and harvest gold did in years past. Stainless dents, scratches and every smudge shows. I have black in my house, with very similar colored wood cabinets (mine are maple and a little more golden) and a VERY similar wall color - I think it looks fantastic (I have a 1950's house, so it's very vintagie, plus modern appliances).

My black appliances have been moved a number of times, and have gotten scratches ---- that I have used a black paint pen ($3) to cover and they look fabulous. I don't find they spot or look dirty in any way, and I'm not obsessively cleaning them either.

And, if you are worried about the contrast in the hardware, consider using black nickel hardware --- it's nearly black, has a satiny-silvery sheen, and for a previous kitchen I ordered the knobs off ebay for about 1/4 the cost of retail.

ALSO - for all those with cleaning questions.... for any color appliance, porcelain and all stainless... try Barkeeper's Friend. It's an old school powder cleaner, and it polishes and cleans like no ones business. My black flat top stove always looks new in spite of the many plastic bags that have been melted to burners (HA!). I use it on my porcelain sink, my tubs, my stainless cookware, everything. My only caution is that if you are going to used it for any period of time use gloves - it is very hard on skin.

Wow. Ok then. That's enough from me!