Tell Me About Your Fridge

[nuthinbutpink]

If you want the look of stainless but do not want to see all the fingerprints, look for a Satina finish- magnets will stick to that finish too- they will never stick to true stainless steel.

I had a stainless refrigerator and I will never have one again. We get cabinet fronts put on ours so it blends with the cabinets but that is not available in the price range you listed- try Satina!

[Mochagirl]

Thanks for all the advice, ladies! Keep it coming!

[Mochagirl]

We have a black fridge. It is textured, not glossy, but it still looks really good. It has been easy to keep clean for the most part, and doesn't scratch easily at all! My kids pull magnets off all the time, nothing has happened. Plus, the black appliances are cheaper than the stainless steel! Ours is a Kenmore, but I don't necessarily recommend that brand--we got all Kenmore appliances when we built our house, because they offered a discount if you got all of them at once. The fridge has broken once, and all the other appliances have broken at least once too--some multiple times! I can't say if any other brands are better, though. We may have just got ours in a bad year (2007).

Thanks, Hobber. We were looking into Kenmores just because they have more options at the lower price level. It's nice to know the textured black is holding up well for you. I was dazzled by the sleek, shiny black, but I'm not sure it's practical for my lifestyle (and my subpar housekeeping skills)

[Hobbermittens]

Thanks, Hobber. We were looking into Kenmores just because they have more options at the lower price level. It's nice to know the textured black is holding up well for you. I was dazzled by the sleek, shiny black, but I'm not sure it's practical for my lifestyle (and my subpar housekeeping skills)

Well, I am not saying all Kenmores are bad. The last repair man who was out here told me that Kenmore just puts its name on other products, and the year we got ours, they were made by Whirlpool. I think he said this past year they were LGs. So maybe you can find out who is the current brand behind the Kenmore? Kenmore stuff is reasonably priced, and if you extend the warranty (which we thankfully did) they will just keep on fixing it for free. Good luck deciding!

p.s. I am a horrible housekeeper, and rarely wipe down the fridge door, and it still looks great. I'd say go with the textured finish!

[Mochagirl]

I'm fairly sure the salesperson told me Kenmores are made by Frigidaire right now. Are they a good brand?

[Mochagirl]

NBP - I've been looking into this satina stuff - it looks like a great compromise, though some have mentioned it scractches easily. It's also tricky to figure out which fridges have this and which are real stainless steel...online at least. It seems every brand has a different name for this fake stainless steel - Whirlpool calls it 'satina', GE calls it 'cleansteel', and I'm not sure what the other brands call it. I know in person I'd be able to tell the difference, but right now I'm just trying to scope out prices online! I also hate that most sites don't specify whether the finish of the black fridges is textured or smooth!

I'm thinking of visiting a local 'scratch & dent' warehouse tomorrow to see if I can find any deals. I figure the fridge is bound to get scratched or dented pretty quickly in my house, so if I get one that's already damaged it takes the pressure off!

Oh, and Hobber - you're making that textured black fridge sound better and better. I am truly a lazy housekeeper, so if I get something that shows smudges and fingerprints easily, those fingerprints will be there a looooong time .

[Glittergirl]

We recently purchased a stainless steel LG fridge and I love the space. It's got the double doors and two separate freezer drawers on the bottom with the ice and water dispenser on the front. I agree with others...it does stain with fingerprints and usually sticky hands opening the doors etc. I clean the outside when I'm cleaning the kitchen and it's not that hard to maintain. I don't do it everyday though but I would say by the end of the week it looks sloppy. we had all black appliances when we built our house 15 years ago and slowly as appliances die, we are switching to stainless. Our dishwasher and microwave are stainless as well and we stick to the same brand (I think the SS grain matches better when you do that). I say if you love the look, then it's worth the cleanup but not if you are the type to obsess about it and if fingerprints bother you that much. I use a microfiber cloth and stainless cleaner and wipe it down once a week or so, but then again, I clean all appliances every week or so, so it's not a big deal to me.

[Mochagirl]

Sigh...I wish we could afford one of those double-doored fridges a lot of you have mentioned. We're going to have to stick with a freezer-top fridge because they're the cheapest. What we have now is a side-by-side that's about 20 years old, and I hate it - I find the freezer part so narrow it's almost unusable.

[Hobbermittens]

Sigh...I wish we could afford one of those double-doored fridges a lot of you have mentioned. We're going to have to stick with a freezer-top fridge because they're the cheapest. What we have now is a side-by-side that's about 20 years old, and I hate it - I find the freezer part so narrow it's almost unusable.

We have the freezer on top kind, and it is fine. I wanted a fancy side-by-side with the freezer on the bottom, but the way we built our kitchen, it wouldn't fit. I have been pretty happy with ours, though I do wish it was a little bigger--especially after trips to Costco!

[nuthinbutpink]

The scratch and dent is an awesome idea. You can order a new panel if you need one!