The One Feature That Will Help Your Kitchen Appliances Look Clean

Many people have strong opinions about stainless steel appliances — they either love them or hate them. Those that love them tout how modern and sleek they look in any kitchen design, while those that hate them usually have one main reason for their ire: fingerprints. It's one of the biggest drawbacks of adding a modern-looking stainless-steel appliance to your home: They look amazing and shiny at first, but after a short while they look messy with hundreds of greasy fingerprints all over them. It's especially bad if you have small children in the home. But there may be a solution that will give families all of the benefits of stainless-steel appliances without the nasty fingerprints — fingerprint-resistant stainless steel.

Fretting over the best way to clean your stainless steel appliance to keep it looking new on a daily basis is a thing of the past. Manufacturers have finally heard our cries and have created a coating that makes cleaning our shiny refrigerators a lot less stress-inducing. No longer will you have to wonder about what the best cleaner to use on your stainless-steel kitchen appliances is because you will only need to clean it maybe once a week with a mild soap and water and microfiber cloth. The key word in this new technology is "resistant." That does not mean it will be impossible to see fingerprints. What this special coating does is make it so you will not have to use special cleaners to get fingerprints off and it will resist most fingerprints except from greasy hands. The coating is hydrophobic, which means oil, water, and dust will not be able to adhere to the appliance's surface as easily and not be as noticeable to begin with.

While fingerprint-resistant stainless-steel appliances might initially cost a little more upfront, the overall long-term savings of time and money (not having to buy special cleaners) might make it worth it to you. If you're all about brand loyalty, many of the most popular manufacturers offer the fingerprint-resistant coated version of your favorite appliance. This option will likely also have the same long-term effects of traditional stainless-steel appliances on home resale value; with its timeless look and added benefit of not being a fingerprint magnet, it may even be a great selling point.

Like any new technology, it's always good to do your own research and make sure it's worth it for yourself. Write up a list of the pros and cons and what you won't compromise on for your chosen home appliance. Another great tip is that it's a good idea to wait and let the initial bugs get worked out. The protective coating not only resists fingerprints and makes your appliance more durable, but if not treated carefully, it can chip. Maybe in the future they will come up with a coating that's more durable and chip-resistant, but until then, this may be the perfect stainless-steel upgrade to give your cleaning arm a rest.