My older model fridge is rather vain, I fear - painted face (but no wrinkle cream - as far as I know)!

o j

Shelley - you're almost at the right place. The best place to go for appliance questions is the Appliance Forum. This forum is more conversational but we are full of opinions on just about everything. But you are more than welcome to hang out with us and join in the talk at the Kitchen Table.

Here's the link for the Appliance Forum - it's right here on the Gardenweb.

Here is a link that might be useful: Appliance Forum

I've been using the Weinman wipes on my stainless steel ovens and range top. No problem for me with the wipes.

Oh my! I don't think you have a stainless steel door. The most rust resistant stainless is the 300 series with 302 being the most common. The 400 stainelss will stain but should not corrode unless the protective patina is removed.

Use a magnet to tell the diffiernce. 300 series stainless is non-magnetic; The 400 series is weakly magnetic. If your door is strongly magnetic, then suspect it is ordinary steel that has been coated/plated with stainless steel. This is the cheap stuff. It will rust in places where the coating is penetrated such as around screw holes and assembly holes, and sheared edges.

I have a kitchen FULL of Kitchenaid archetectual appliances...and no problems with any of them. It's been 8 years. I'm not familiar with the model your discussing...sorry...

asked dd2...

No problems so far (going on 6yrs)...we don't use wipes, some spray from Bedbathandbeyond.

by any chance are you in a high humidity area?

I've had a KA side by side in stainless for ten years. No problems in any way. That is very strange. I thought stainless doesn't rust?

Hi , after some experimenting I found a solution for my 2 year old kitchenaid architectural stainless refrigerator showing small signs of rusting on the door.. I used a paste of baking soda and water to rub the part with the glitter of rust. Rub with the grain. Rub gently. That will take the rust out of the tiny pitted parts. Wash gently with plain water. Let dry. Then, use a soft white cloth to rub olive oil with the grain across the entire refrigerator front. Let it sit for a day. The next day. Use a clean cloth to rub gently with the grain. That will take off any standing olive oil and leave a beautiful door. Mainly, do not wash your stainless refrigerator with soap and water. It does not like water. Not sure why except that it is true. Hope this helps someone else. I was so upset on the verge of returning the appliance as defective, but this worked.

Those with rust problems do you live near salt water? I know even the slightest spray in the air of salt water will start to rust anything in it's path.
From the link below this info:
"It is also possible for stainless steel to corrode (rust). There are over 150 grades of stainless steel and some are more prone to corrosion than others. Generally, the higher the chromium content, the less likely the steel will rust. However, over time, rust can and will develop on stainless steel. To prevent stainless steel from rusting, you need to passivate it. Passivating stainless steel is a process that allows stainless steel to retain its corrosion resistance."
The Rust Store

I clean my SS Samsung with WD40

Ravencajin is correct about the passivation although most 300 series stainless steel has some natural passivation. Cleaning too vigorously with abrasives can remove this protective skin, although for indoors application, Most 300 stainless may become a bit dull but should not 'rust'.

The 400 series stainless will stain, but resist crossion better than plain steel. The 400 series Stainless can be used to make kitchen knife blades since it can be hardened and sharpened. The olny way 300 Stainless steel can be hardened is by cold working. Regular 300 stainless blades will not 'take and edge' and is a poor choice for carving knives. However, much table flat ware is made of 300 stainless.

[It is aluminum that must be passivated. Raw aluminum naturally and quickly develops an oxide skin upon exposure to air. Aluminum can be electro-chemically passivated and colors added in the process.]

I suspect some kind of harsh chemical has been splashed on your metal door. The other possibility is that it is not stainless.

Yes, I clean my Kenmore French door refrigerator with Weinman spray cleaner and yes, there is small rust spots all over... The fridge is 4 years old. Will try the olive oil treatment. Thanks

Believe it or not this is a common problem.... The refrigerator in our kitchen is on it's last leg and I spent the past two days reading reviews on different new ones. I have seen a lot of complaints about rust and on fairly new ones too...and as you were told, the company says it's "cosmetic" and won't do anything about it. Reading reviews on new appliances is downright depressing... it doesn't appear much of anything is built with much quality anymore.

Have a friend who just mentioned his KA range is rusting. So far mine is just permanently stained in multiple places - not sure if that's a precursor to rust. In any case it's hardly "stainless" steel.

mom237 - thanks so much for your advice! I recently had a very nasty, contagious illness whose bacteria/spores can survive on hard surfaces for as much as 6 months. The only way to clean those surfaces is with bleach. As soon as I was on my feet, I hit all the doorknobs, cabinet knobs and pulls, faucets, etc. with Clorox spray, including the 'fridge. I wasn't feeling well, just semi-functional, so I neglected to go back and wipe it all off later. Oops. So your remedy worked perfectly and I can't tell you how glad I am!

I don't have stainless steel applicances -- we simply do not want SS. But, I have a comment, albeit a possibly stupid one...

I've always known that steel can and will rust. So, to me, "stainless steel" means, simply, that it will not stain. It doesn't mean it won't rust.

I was warned by a tech working on my Samsung to never use anything to clean the SS surface except a microfiber cloth, dampened with a little Dawn detergent and water. He said the SS finish is so thin that most anything can wear it off. I believe him as when I wipe mine, I get a metallic smell. He also said to always wipe in the direction of the "grain", which for me is back and forth, not up and down. I don't think the older models had the problem as much. He said when they went to trying to make ones that don't show fingerprints - that's when the issue started about rusting.

shelley123 I feel your pain, we have a less than 2 yr old KitchenAid 3 door fridge/freezer , model # KBFS25EWMS10 , all 3 doors starting to rust, looks like H#$%, purchased at the Brick here in Ontario. We purchased the extended warranty, now have found out it does not cover cosmetic. We now have a $2300 unit that looks brutal. The warranty is with a company called TransGlobal. They have told me " not their problem, cosmetic not covered " Not sure where we stand now , going to pursue Kitchenaid I guess. Have you or anyone else out there had any positive results or satisfaction regarding this subject ? Thanks NJ

I know this is an old thread, but thought I would mention that I have KA side by side fridge that is 13 years old and I have never had a bit of trouble. It is SS and there is no rust.

I am having the same problem as Shelley123! Awful!

My KitchenAid Stainless Steel fridge spontaneously rusted after less then 30 days. I was so sick with worry that it was ruined forever. We spent 2k on the fridge and another $500 to crane it into our apartment because it wouldn't fit up the steps, so getting a new one wasn't even an option. It was pretty much covered in rust and it looked very pitted all over. We were able to use bar keepers friend (the liquid version) on a gentle sponge and a lot of gentle rubbing with the grain to finally remove all of the rust! We wiped it clean with a damp sponge, dried with a microfiber cloth, and then polished it with wipes that KitchenAid sent us since it was technically still under the cosmetic warranty.

It's finally back to normal! I highly suggest bar keepers friend and extra gentle sponge (no abrasives).

I appreciate all your comments. As originally stated in my comment, I had an entire Kitchen Aid kitchen since 1990.

Updating after hurricane Sandy, I thought I'd go with them again. The difference is, it's all stainless. It would not make sense that the refrigerator is the only appliance rusting. My microwave, double oven and dishwasher are fine.

There is obviously a flaw in the manufacturing of these refrigerator doors, which they evidently don't care about. Highly disappointed in the product and the company!

I plan to move within the next 5 years and Kitchen Aid has lost my business, not only in their refrigerators but I don't trust them to stand behind any of their products.

I haven't updated my posting until now. A couple months ago, I noticed what I thought was some dried food on the lower freezer door of my 2nd Samsung French Door Fridge. When i went to wipe it off, I noticed it wasn't food, it was rust and looking closer, I found a second tiny spot. From the time we got this fridge as well as the first one we had (which was a nightmare for another reason), I have noticed "spots" on the freezer door, even after I have cleaned it with water and Dawn detergent as told by a repairman. I am beginning to believe that these spots may be areas where the SS is thinner and therefore the cold temperature from the freezer is affecting the finish. I had been so careful not to use any SS cleaners as I was told by the repairman and the man who install the fridge not to as the finish is "not what it used to be." Meaning not the quality of SS appliances from years ago. From reading posts here, that seems to be the case. Samsung will never get any of my money again for appliances - maybe TV's but nothing in my kitchen.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=bar+keepers+friend&tbm=shop works like a charm.

Cindierock, I don't understand why you don't go after the company. Be a squeaky wheel and don't let them get away with this!

Cindy Rock, I think that you should rock the boat of the store from which you bought the frig, and Kitchen Aide's, heavy duty!

Maybe threaten to carry a sign on public land near them saying, "My ****** (^#*&$+#) (so-called) 'Stainless Steel' frig began to rust when less than 30 days in my house!"

The outfit that builds a so-called "stainless steel" covered frig. that rusts in about a month has minimal (to nil) integrity.

They began to build frigs about 80 years ago, and many of the ones built 60 years ago lasted for 40 years.

I've told this story many times, in recent years, and when I say that " ... now they last for about 10 years ... ", at that point about a quarter of the listeners enter the conversation, and about a quarter of them say the same three words ... "If you're lucky!!".

Then I ask whether it may be that the engineers have become so much stupider, over those 60 years - those guys who put a man on the moon 40 years ago?

Don't tell me that I need to reduce the claim of expected lifespan of recently manufactured ones to about ... eight? (five?) years??

Yuck!!!

And my landlord's frig, in my house, probably at least 20 years old, has been developing strange habits, of late.

ole joyful ... most of the time

Just found rust spots on my 2 month old k.a. Fridge. Grrr

same problem with Kitchen Aide fridge, rust spots after about 2 years in low humidity, I will try the olive oil,

Same problem w/ White Whirlpool. Started @ 6 yrs old. Oddly, the rust is way worse where I clean it most (using Windex-type cleaner). Same excuse - cosmetic problem so we just put up with it. Now it died from other issues including crack in liner and freezer fan. Was gonna replace w/ stainless till we just saw the news about it not resisting rust. So gonna buy a cheap white one and be prepared to use appliance paint assuming it doesn't die first. Saw something about Phosphoric acid to treat rust.

We need another Ralph Nader. Won't be buying top-of-the-line anything anymore.

normjohnston14 - You probably know this already, but The Brick owns Transglobal. If you buy your appliance at The Brick you will be getting Transglobal.

We used to have (emphasis on "used to") an appliance repair contract. The company used Transglobal. I do not put a lot of faith in the Cdn. home service rating company, but Transglobal has practically a 0 rating.

We recently had to buy a new fridge. We were seriously challenged by space due to the height - cupboards can't really be cut. So we had to go with a top mount fridge that just fits under the cupboards with the minimum requirement of space above it. I shudder to think of the issues if this fridge dies in the short term because even most of the top mounts are starting to be made at a height of 67 - 69 inches - and many are 33 inches in width. Heck we couldn't get that size of fridge in the doorway. A lot of people have found that while an appliance might fit their space, getting it into their homes can be a major issue - if not impossible.

It was also the only top mount we could find (in Ontario) that was Energy Efficient and since you live in Ontario you will know all about that issue. People in the U.S. have considerably more options. I looked at every website out there.

We did take out the Extended Warranty just in case - I was afraid not to. It is stainless steel but the type that you can't use stainless steel cleaners on. It is a good thing I knew this because the manual was written by someone I am certain had never seen the fridge and was one of those manuals that cover every single fridge the company makes.

But we did not buy the fridge from The Brick. I was told by the fridge manufacturer that if we bought it from The Brick they would have to send Transglobal. Never! The warranty was purchased directly from the manufacturer.

I am aware that cosmetic issues are not covered. Actually if you read the Limited Warranty that came with your fridge you will see how hardly anything is covered.

We had major issues with our Whirlpool starting at age 1.5. At least it had a bottom mount freezer. You want to speak about rust. Yikes.

I have all new KitchenAid appliances purchased in December 2014 and installed in March 2015 after my kitchen remodel was complete. After a year and a half I started noticing rust spots on my refrigerator and microwave doors. To this date spots continue to appear. I have only used the stainless steel appliance cleaner that I purchased from KitchenAid's website. I'm disgusted and now researching class action lawsuits involving rusting stainless steel appliances.

Same here 6 months - rust!