Here’s the realtor’s listing picture of our kitchen from when our house was for sale late 2016. The appliances are a matched set in black, which look good in the overall decor but individually are a disaster each of it’s own kind.
Refrigerator: The refrigerator is a side by side – the worst configuration ever invented. I miss the back-saving convenience of my NJ freezer-on-the bottom model, plus there’s a lot less room and a lot more pushing and pulling things around to see what’s in there. The outside is covered with scratches and magnet marks and the hard water here has etched the plastic parts of the water dispenser and made permanent tracks down the lower half of that door.
Stove: love love love the flat ceramic cooktop but have grave concerns about the oven. First, the thing runs hot and cooks unevenly. a year and a half later, we’re still not adjusted to it. Plus I miss my NJ convection oven. The oven door near the bottom where the glass part meets the metal frame is buckled inward and I’m always worried it’s going to explode. In that small, work area, we’ll all get hit by the shrapnel.
Microwave: In truth this is the best microwave we’ve ever owned. The issues we have with it are minor and livable. It’s missing one light cover on the under side and it only uses a 4 watt bulb in each bay. Not enough work light to baste a midnight egg by.
Dishwasher: No complaints except intractable water marks on the outer surface.
So we are planning to replace 2 out of 4 appliances, but I really think we need to replace them all We’ll be doing stainless steel and there’s a big difference between manufacturers in terms of color tones and surface finish of the facades. In that small space, any difference will be obvious (and unacceptable to me.) I suspect that appliances even by the same manufacture will look different if added over time instead of all at once.
But here’s the thing: the internet says everything is terrible. One brand has a great refrigerator but the stove stinks. Another has way too frequent breakdowns. And don’t even ask about the dishwashers unless you want a broken heart. This one is hard to get parts for and that one has a long wait for repair technicians and when they come they are unprepared to actually repair things.
So I turn to you: What brand of kitchen appliances do you have? What’s the repair/reliability record of your personal experience? Would you have made the same purchase again or are there regrets?
Please help.
Cripes Suzette 
GE Profile stainless steel dishwasher. Best one I’ve ever owned, if a bit pricey. Quiet and cleans everything, bottle cleaners on top (worked for grandkids’ bottles a few years ago). I’ve had Kitchen Aid dishwashers and they do not compare with the GE Profile.
I have a stainless Kitchen Aid side by side fridge/freezer, purchased 2005. The ice cube maker has had to be fixed and one of the vegetable drawers on the fridge side has a bit broken off inside so it doesn’t fit the tracks well. Meh.
I can’t speak to the issues of an electric stove. I also need to replace a double electric wall oven, in a narrow space, and am looking at a Kitchen Aid with convection oven on top, but I’m worried that will break in a shorter period of time than the rest of it…
We have a Samsung fridge and they had to replace the computer board twice in the first year. Since then, we’ve gone eight or nine years trouble free. I love it.
Our dishwasher and range are Frigidaire. I like the dishwasher, but the oven is now dead. Once again, it’s a computer board problem. We’re just going to replace the whole range in the very near future. The stove is gas and still works fine. Overall, it was a good appliance, and the oven worked well until the very end.
We wrestled with this dilemma four years ago when we remo’d our kitchen. All stainless. It ain’t cheap.
Dishwasher’s an LG. I like the 34 minute quick cycle and air dry overnight; my DSW would rather the 3 hour full cycle with double dry (which doesn’t dry either). The little sing-song tones at the end is an earworm.
Fridge is a Kenmore, 3-door with bottom freezer. Huge. Tried an LG at first and sent that defective monstrosity back to its maker – which is apparently the same subterranean Korean Kave that Konstructs Kenmores. But I knew I could fuss at Sears and quickly get a suitable reaction. I swear it’s the same box with different labels.
Oven(s). The old GE failing actually triggered the whole adventure. My DSW demanded double ovens back in the day and uses them *just* often enough to justify it. Whirlpool. Convection top. Thirty inch.
Microwave – since it’s in the laundry room, it’s white and whatever brand Walmart had for $35.
Vent Hood (since we don’t have a Microwave over the stove) Broan, highest capacity you can get for 30 inch.
Stove – Whirlpool. Gas. Four burners (five required an unacceptable loss of cabinet space). Two put out enough BTUs to bring a full stock pot to a rolling boil before you know it. Did I mention Gas? You can still make coffee when the power’s out.
Cleaner – 409 Stone ‘n Steel. Probably either overkill or placebo.
And apparently the realtor brought in lighting for that vintage picture given your project to enhance same.
Schmed, at this point in time she can’t have gas. The only natural gas available is for businesses in the area, the piping of neighborhoods has been going to happen “next year” for the past 7 or 8 years. So if she wants something other than electric she’ll have to go with propane, which will also involve installing an underground propane tank. If she goes that route, bigger is better and she needs to own her own tank, which isn’t easy or cheap.
I know because my cooktop and water heater are propane. Propane is not regulated in Florida the way it is in other states and price fixing is the name of the game.
Alas. The cruel cold reality of limited choices.
I have a Samsung fridge. It’s the french door kind with freezer on the bottom. (Hint neighbor, I was just in Lowe’s and they have a bunch of refrigerators on clearance must be changing out model years??) We’ve had this refrigerator for 7 years now. We’ve only had one problem which was quickly repaired once we found a competent person to repair it…….that took 3 tries.
We have a Bosch dishwasher, it works great. I love the quick wash cycle.
Both of those are replacements for original appliances. I still have the original cooktop and double convection ovens with warming drawer, which are frigidaire. They work, they get the job done……I just want something nicer, so I keep hoping for them to fail……no such luck yet.
I love those little spice cabinets…..I need them. My spice cabinet is a mess. I end up pulling out half the cabinet to find what I want.
By the way don’t forget to check the Sears outlet for appliances, there are two in Jacksonville. You could always go the internet route too, just be mindful not to get something with curbside only delivery…..white glove or buy local!! Also, Lowe’s offers many appliances that they may not have in the store, probably same for Home Depot and Best Buy, so check their websites.
As for the hard water stains, CLR, vinegar, lemon juice, used dryer sheet. Any of those or all, just not together. You can make a paste using baking soda and just enough water, coat the area and let sit a few minutes then spray with vinegar. It will bubble and remove scale, but remove it from the surface fairly quickly only give it a minute or two to work. The tray you can let foam away in the sink.
I’m just gonna throw this out there, buy American. 😉