Talk to me about appliances

[alicia622]

We are updating our kitchen and are in the market to replace appliances.

We want either black or stainless, I'd like a smooth cooktop on the range, and for the fridge, I'm contemplating a bottom freezer. No real concerns about the diswasher, we'll just pick one out.

So...I keep having people gasp when I say black because of the fingerprint problem! I think stainless is as problematic but maybe I'm wrong. I've never had a smooth cooktop, but it looks easy to clean- am I correct? Any problems with cooking on one? Are there things about dishwashers I should consider? What are the pros cons of the differnt fridge styles? Any definate brands you think are better than others? I'm not spending too much money- expect to spend about 2000 give or take a couple hundred. So, not top of the line but not the cheapest I can find either (the latter is so unlike me!)


I won't be back till this evening so please just keep the comments coming and I'll read and respond then.

[Melda]

Oh iwas at lowes or home depot a few weeks back and they had a new color of appliances. It was called graphite and i LOVED it ... it is a dark grey... i think i would choose that over black or stainless ... we will be remodeling our kitchen and that is what i well get

eta:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...cStoreNum=8125

and

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...cStoreNum=8125

[mightymoo]

I personally would never do stainless after living with my parents for a while - their stainless appliances look awful most of the time, keeping them looking nice is so hard, any sort of fingerprint or smudge shows.

Though I think sears has come out with some kind of stainless finish they claim is easy to maintain, dunno if that's true.

We have the flat cooktop and I love it - it is easy to clean, sometimes things get burned on if you aren't careful about letting them boil over and if you don't wipe them up right away and I just let it soak and scrub it, and worst case if you can't scrub something off you scrape it off with a razor blade.

We have a side by side fridge, a rather small one because I really wanted water and ice in the door of the fridge, but the side by side freezer is very small and narrow.

[alicia622]

bump

[Jennisee]

We have black appliances, and I never notice fingerprints. Maybe I need to go check...

We're also in the market for a refrigerator and range. The big thing that I've found with refrigerators is that you save both money and energy costs when you choose a model that doesn't have the bells and whistles like ice maker, water dispenser, water filter, etc. Side-by-sides and bottom-freezers also cost more than regular freezer-on-top models. We currently have a side-by-side that came with our house, and both the freezer and refrigerator are too narrow. I have trouble fitting certain wide items in. Right now, I'm leaning towards buying a Frigidaire Energy Star freezer-on-top model because it's reasonably priced, good on energy, and made in the USA.

I don't have much experience with a smooth cooktop, but my in-laws have one that is 8 years old and it is horribly scratched and discolored. It looks awful. They are also limited on the kinds of cookware they can use. I believe using cast iron voids the warranty.

[artemis33]

Ooh we're also shopping for a refrigerator (mine is old and making a deathly clunking sound....) and a dishwasher!

Good info about the stainless and fingerprints. Hmn....not sure that would be good around here.

I was also going to mention that you aren't supposed to use cast iron on a flat top stove. Some people say they do so anyway, but since that's almost exclusively what I use to cook I'd never get one. My mom loves hers though!

[Erinz]

My parent's just got a new fridge that is a freezer pull out on the bottom with 2 individual doors for the fridge on top (don't have to open/close in any specific sequence) it has a brushed finish that isn't magnetic (there goes the kitchen entertainment of fridge magnets for my son haha) but it is really nice and looks clean all the time.... and my parents are not tidy like that. They got it at Home Depot. It has an excellent energy rating! I'm having fridge envy

[alicia622]

Thanka, this is really good information for us!

[AlexisT]

my issue with top freezer is all the bending. I use the crisper drawers a lot more than the freezer!

Check the energy ratings for various appliances--some brands are lots better than others. over here we have a simple A-G system which makes it really easy.

I didn't love my old smoothtop, but if you have to go electric it's definitely the way to go. Anything else is just too d*mn slow. That said my preference would always be for gas on stainless steel.

Dishwasher: get one with a stainless interior and internal heater. Definitely the way to go. More expensive but less energy than sucking it off your tank and the stainless is more hygienic.

[alicia622]

So, we ended up with shiny black! We shall see if I regret this decision!

Stove is a last years model so the 700 price was reduced to 500, the fridge is LG bottom freezer marked from 1000 to 800 and the dw is also an LG with a stainless interior and was quite a bit more than I wanted to spend (600) BUT we decided we wanted the hidden panel and that's what they had.

All we have to do is wait to hear from the people who are picking up our old appliances so we can have the new ones delivered!