Rust on new stainless steel appliances

Hi Myrna. Many pseudo-environmentalists are more concerned about an American shop using an ounce of phosphate to properly corrosion-proof a ton of steel components for years of life, than about a ton of phosphate-free crappy steel components being imported from China that will have to be scrapped and replaced almost immediately :-)

Regards,

A. I realise that the USA is a notably litigious environment but really the only winners in class actions are the lawyers and the class action funders.
Surely the answer is to use the 4th estate.
Pepper the media!!
The one thing that such companies hate is a reduction in sales. Obviously translating to a reduction in profit.
If consumers are made aware of defective equipment they will not buy it.
In your approaches to the media it would be wise to suggest that a recall of defective appliances should occur and replacement (fit and proper) appliances supplied and installed free of charge, together with an assurance that the defective items are not sent to landfill but returned to places of manufacture.
Although technically, any grade of Stainless steel can be called stainless, it is surely misleading and deceptive conduct to imply that a grade which the manufacturer knows (or should know) is not stain-less?
Give them hell in the media and see what compensation you are offered.
That way you might get a result which satisfies you and prevents a recurrence without enabling another orgy for the bottom feeding lawyers & litigation funders.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Bill

adv.
May, I think Ted usually frowns on outright advertising by the people posting here, but since you asked directly, maybe he'll allow me to say that if you contact me I will indeed give you a name of one of my products and a place to purchase it.

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Ed. note: For the record, we have no problem with clearly labeled paid advertising, and Stellar Solutions is a paying advertiser. But other than paid advertising we avoid brands & sourcing for a long list of reasons ( huh? why?) :-)

A. Rust staining on stainless is going to continue as manufacturers build more product using SS430 magnetic metal. Improper cleaning products (those containing chlorine or breach) or coastal exposure (live by ocean) will facilitate rust staining on this surface.

adv.
Regardless of reason, Scratch-B-Gone quickly restores your finish to like new while removing surface scratches and chemical acid stains as well.

Jeff,
No doubt it is a mix of all factors.

Certainly in a kitchen or outdoor patio environment there are plenty of things that can get onto surfaces and dry there, leaving a stains or residues with various difficulties of removal.

But there is also always a strong potential for the unwitting use of cleaners that are known to be damaging to stainless surfaces, and also we can't always count on the manufacturers to not use cheaper stainless that has its corrosion resistance hampered by the low alloy quality.

As always in this field, before you can do a proper cleaning job, you have to ask, what are you removing, and removing it from what? Not knowing the answers to these questions inevitably makes the job harder. I often am presented with a "stain that won't come off", only to find that it is in fact an area of surface etching. Of course it won't clean off. I also deal with high sulfur "free machining" grades of stainless that can bleed sulfur out onto the surface if not dealt with properly. This looks almost exactly like rust, but treating it like rust doesn't solve the issue.

Any stainless steel that is showing repeat corrosion due to environmental factors (marine location or repeat exposure to corrosive chemicals) should be repassivated on a regular basis. (Easy and safe with citric acid products.) Anything else that gets on there, of course you should clean off using an appropriate method. Scratches or etch damage due to chemical attack or severe corrosion can be handled with things like Barry Feinman's kit mentioned above.

Update to my original post. On 2/17/15 a Whirlpool approved - and sent by the company - service technician examined my less than 30-day old refrigerator and has now ordered 3 new doors (French doors plus bottom freezer drawer door). I tried to confirm this replacement order today with Whirlpool corporate online chat. I was told they will not have a record from their authorized service vendor until the work is performed and bill is sent to Whirpool for the covered warranty work and parts. Makes sense I guess. I am continuing to post to sites like this to warn others and to create a record of my trials. Thanks for the forum!

Hi Cristina. Don't worry, it's not hazardous to you or your baby. Sorry that it's ugly though.

In the 1970s, Japan brought American automakers to their knees with the simple idea of offering consumers the option to buy quality cars. The end result 40 years later is that all cars are excellent today. I think the idea will come to appliance manufacturing eventually, but we're still in the 1970s and the transformation is yet to start :-)

Regards,

! Because of other instances of defective materials showing up in products previously trouble free, I cannot help but wonder if US stainless steel is now being manufactured partly or in whole in China...ex. lead in children's toys, toxic material used in wallboard, etc. Does anyone have any info on this?

Sorry to hear of this problem cousin Bren. I would suggest washing anything you can reach with a dilute mix of baking soda [in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] (sodium bicarbonate) dissolved in water; this will neutralize any acid still hanging around, so there is no further damage. Make sure it's dilute and completely dissolved because you don't want to scratch your stainless with a scouring action with a paste.

Then you can try citric acid to dissolve any rust and passivate the stainless against more rust. Best of luck.

Regards,

A. Problem solved and for cheap! I had the same problem on my Whirlpool refrigerator and only a few months after buying it. Just long enough for the crappy warranty to run out. I used The Bearded Chef Wood Butter and a Scotch-Brite scrub sponge to clean up the surface returning it to showroom quality. It's been over 3 months and the surface still looks as good as new. The wood butter product absorbs into the pores of the metal and keeps the problem from returning.

https://www.tbchef.com/blank-2/wood-balm

Less than 14 bucks for it and a sponge and the problem was solved. Plus, I freshened up my cutting board with the rest of the wood butter.
Instructions:
1. Remove any handles if possible.
2. Work a thin layer of the wood butter on the stainless-steel surface. Take the green scrub portion of the sponge and rub it back and forth horizontally across the length of the stainless steel to keep the original look of the finish. Starting at one end work across the entire length and back. Move the pad down and continue to work only one pad width at a time.
3. Wipe off the remaining wood butter and metal material from the surface with paper towels or cloth. Buff the surface with a clean towel and you'll be amazed at the result.

Hope this helps!
Gary

  I just want to thank all who have posted their experiences with supposed "stainless" steel kitchen appliances. It so happens that yesterday I bought 4 stainless steel matching Whirlpool appliances (microwave, range, refrigerator, and dishwasher) at Best Buy here in Southern California to upgrade our kitchen. After reading all of your comments I went back today to change my order to white appliances. Strangely enough (or maybe not so strange) I had to pay an extra $400 for the white finish! White appliances used to be the basic fallback color, but apparently not anymore. Another interesting tidbit is that most appliance sales apply to stainless steel finishes but not to white finishes. It seems to me, based on what all of you have shared, that these companies can afford to reduce the prices of their stainless steel products because they are buying cheaply manufactured stainless steel, probably from China. For all the recent criticism of the internet and social media, keeping each other informed of scams like this is a great use of these tools. I feel like I've dodged a bullet thanks to all of you.