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Looking at up grading our kitchen oven, hotplate ,range hood just after feed back on stainless ,I have herd that it is hard to keep clean even the newer no finger print finish .Let me know in your reply if you have this type of cooking appliance or its an opinion any thoughts will help.
Zendo
As a chef I say go for stainless steel. But be aware that kitchen companies use a thin gauge S/S. I have recently upgraded my kitchen and we used 1.5 mm S/S and we are very happy with the outcome.
Yes it does 'finger up' quickly but to help slow this down we use a stainless steel polish, more of a spray and wipe style of application and we follow this with a thin film of oil, we use a commercially available one. But this does only slow the process down. A quick wipe with any cleaner will do the job not as well but will help.
We have a 900mm oven from Italy (IAG brand) it is S/S, dishwasher is brushed iridium, and our countertops are patini (a cheaper version of corian) it has seamless joins and we also used it as splashbacks too.
I think the most useful advice you can be given is BENCH SPACE you can never have too much and DRAWERS plenty of them. The only cupboard we have is under the sink.
Hope this helps
Pete
I reckon it depends on the style of kitchen. I like stainless appliances but the finger marks don't bother me at all. The non-marking variety looks like a silver paint finish to me, but I am sure there must be other stuff out there that works. Personally, I think major kitchen appliances are bloody outrageously expensive these days - saw one stove at the Melbourne home show - sure it was nice, but at $25,000 they can shove it....... just crazy.
For 9.95 you can get two back-issues of Kitchen and Bathroom quarterly from your newsagents ..... that might help you find the more knowledgeable sellers in your area....... BTW couldn't you state your state in your description to the left?
:D:D:D:D:D:D
I dont know really if that is true ,kitchen benches are very used and need to be as durable as possible as well as meeting the as code for food preperation surfaces .when i do s/steel tops i always quote on 1.2mm thick food grade stainless ,i loose some but then again i dont have the callbacks that the cheaper tops will generateQuote:
Originally Posted by Doughboy
:o Sorry arms I said that in a bad way.... :o
What I meant to say is that some of the kitchen companies do use a lighter gauge S/S to keep their quotes down. I find the lighter stuff to be less apropriate due to its ability to 'wobble'.
I like solid stuff and if that means it costs more then so be it.
Again apologies.
Pete
We've just a few weeks ago put in a SS wall oven, Cerapol make a product for SS that does wonders for cleaning and keeping the finger marks down, very happy with it. They also make a cleaner and sealer for the black glass top type of hotplate, thoroughly recommended.
We've got a SS underbench oven and rangehood (only a small part of the rangehood visible most of the time). I can't say I've had much problem with fingerprints, a good wipe over with a warm wet cloth, and then a quick buff with a dry cloth.
I really like the look (even though it will probably date), and in some models choosing that finish didn't make much difference to the price.
Cheers
Quote:
Originally Posted by zendo
If you got kids then the answer is
Noooooooo!
:D
I second that "Not if you have kids" reply. Nuthin' shows boogers off as well as brushed stainless steel.
We have a completely s/s kitchen, including small aplliances and even the peelers, corkscrews, tongs etc that hang on a rack. Well, I'm lying a bit, I sprayed the fridge with 'hammered pewter' paint to convert from white to s/s look.
It all does show up fingerprints but the modern cleaners (bit exxy tho) minimise this.
Generally with all the stuff flying around the kitchen, two dopey kids, a domestically challenged and miltantly feminist HI, two dogs, a tame pigeon and all their friends, a solitary finger mark is laughingly inconsequential.
About 90% of the appliances I sell are stainless. The sprays you can get not only clean but will form a film which minimises (not eliminates) fingermarks. DO NOT spray any cleaners directly onto the oven surfaces, they can damage the seals. Spray onto a cloth and wipe on. The component of these cleaners which hardens (I think it hydrolises, like Walnut Oil which I have been told also works on stainless) is actually the same stuff as in WD40. Doesn't smelltoo good if you use this though;).
I have stainless appliances and I am very happy with them. When my grandaughter visits I just accept there will be cleaning to do!
Cheers,
Mark
If you like stainless then buy stainless, if it gets dirty wipe it down - same rule as any stainless surface - no big deal.:)
Stainless steel, fingerprints, boogers (and other bodily fluids??); :confused:
It's a kitchen, not an episode of CSI.:D
Thanks for the feed back ,but (there is always a but) in my first post I only made reference to the finger print finish I not worryed about finger prints more the cleaning aspect of the stainless as with a white finish it is quite easy to clean , some stainless surfaces can be cleaned but still look streaky.
We have had all stainless steel appliances for over five years now and they look almost as good as new. Warm soapy cloth most of the time works well, but sometimes it doesn't. Then just use a stainless steel cleaner spray (still on the original can of 3M stuff). This cleans like magic and then just buff with a rag and it's back to new.
Don't use scourers or other abrasives unless you want an industrial look.
Have a quick go in the shop. Press a few greasy fingers on the brand in question, if it doesn't clean off with a few wipes of a hanky, then it's cheap and nasty.
Zendo,
We have had SS appliances in our last two homes. A friend of ours who is a chef told us just to take a nice clean cloth, wet it with mineral oil and just wipe the SS with it often. Keep it in a plastic bag and it lasts for months. Works a treat! :D
We also have SS cooktop and range hood and find cleaning with a SS cleaner no problems, but have been told to always wipe "with the grain".
Is this a fact or just a furfie
Macca
I've just (almost:o) finished my new kitchen and stainless is less trouble than you think. The stove we have is a 900mm freestanding job and cleaning the top is less trouble than the old baked enamel.
I used solid tassie oak tops and fronts and stainless looks terrific against the timber. I chose against stainless tops and splashback as it would look too industrial and too expensive. I got the benchtops manufactured in tasmania and frieghted to Sydney for less than it would have cost for laminatex!!! Isn't shopping on the net fantastic.:)
I wipe in all directions and it hasn't made any difference in five years. I usually use swirls when clean and when buffing.Quote:
Originally Posted by macca2
Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER- 1px inset; BORDER- 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by macca2
but have been told to always wipe "with the grain".
Is this a fact or just a furfie
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I wipe in all directions and it hasn't made any difference in five years. I usually use swirls when clean and when buffing.
Silly me; I thought wood had grain and metal did not.
Now should I circular buff in clockwise or anticlockwise direction? And will me digital watch know?
Cheers
Graeme
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I've also heard about wipeing with the grain - don't know about that, but the same guy that told me this also said the best thing to clean SS was builders lime. I tried that out on a shower rail that had rust/staining the thing came up like new! Haven't tried it out on the new stove/rangehood/dishwasher though --I could just imagine SWMBO face.
Graeme..........in Tassie? probably both clock and anti clock to be sure of getting it right.
Your digital watch should check with your sundial, if you can catch it on a sunny day.
Macca
Most stainless does have a grain, due to the way it is polished (there is also micrograin but you won't see this). I've not noticed too much difference in cleaning with or against the grain, apart from on very "brushed" finishes.
BTW not coming clean after a "few wipes with a hankie" is not a sign of cheap and nasty, just a different finish. The "touch-free" surfaces advertised are simply a coating wich may come off after a while (less likely on fridges but many people can resist scrubbing an oven door).
Cheers,
Mark
(less likely on fridges but many people can resist scrubbing an oven door).
Let me assure you I have never had the urge!:D
Clean stainless ALWAYS with alkaline cleamer (e.g., soap suds) Rinse and dry. Detergents leave some sort of a film on it, and always look streaky!
Very happy with our 18 month old 900mm gas cook top and under bench oven (and new sink of course)! I do most of the kitchen cleaning and I find a quick wipe with a warm soapy cloth gets the spatters off, then a quick buff with a bit of old T shirt that I keep just for this job, always brings the gleam back. About once a week I use the 3M polish to add a bit of shine and protection to the surfaces. Certainly one heck of a lot easier than cleaning the old baked enamel stove we once had! Beware though, some SS can scratch quite easily.
Jeff
Hello, I'm new :) !
I must be doing something wrong - I don't like SS. Maybe it's to do with two kids who leave handprints on my fridge and dishwasher although I can deal with that and marks do wipe quite easily with 3M spray, but it's the cooktop...:( Admittedly, I simmer my stocks and stews for hours on end. What seems to happen is some sort of chemical reaction which leaves nasty marks around the gas rings (not talking food spileage) which is impossible to clean without scrubbing and it takes ages to do. So I am tossing SS and going black ceran cooktop and integrating the old fridge and dishwasher.
Hi all, I have just finished renovating my kitchen and have used a 304 with a 4b finish stainless steel benchtop. I also have a stainless steel range hood, microwave and oven. Love the look and the easiness of cleaning.
Would post pics but am new here and don't know how to yet.
we ended up going stainless with the appliances but wish we didn't, i made some splash backs at work and it's all to much effort to keep clean, we both wish we had gone for white appliances and tiles. attached is pictures of the kitchen.
Our fridge and freezer - after a month's extensive research we have decided on either Fisher and Paykel's Iridium finish, or the new Westinghouse E series (if it ever arrives). Both of these look like stainless but are in fact either clear coated or a very convincing silver paint finish. Alternatively we considered buying white products and putting period doors on the front, but I am not convinced the integration kits are much chop.
BTW LG has ice and water compartments totally in the door, so there are no mechanicals eating up heaps of freezer space - they also have a mini-door on the fridge front that you can fit several 2 litre bottles into - the lid functions as a ledge as well .... fantastic ideas that came from GE originally. Leaving the mini door open for two hours equals leaving the fridge door open for 2 minutes, so it is extremely effective. Reason I bring it up is because it seems we mainly go to the fridge to get milk, butter, and drinks..... this has to add up to savings if they're accessible in this manner.
Finally, we lusted after the Liebherr fridge, with its 6 star rating - something like a 480 litre fridge side of their three door series, uses $38 in electricity per annum...... by far the largest and cheapest, but at $6700 or so, an incredibly dear proposition.
have fun