Easy Off Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner Caused Stainless Steel Discoloration

by Vicki

Vicki has shared her experience with Easy Off heavy duty oven cleaner (the one in the yellow can).

Vicki says:

I read on the back of the Easy Off yellow can that I could use it on stainless steel appliances so I tried in on my stainless steel fridge.


It total discolored the handles!! And I am trying to sell my house with the appliances and now I don't think the buyers would want the fridge now!

Taylor says:

Vicki, I am so sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with Easy Off oven cleaner.

There are, of course, several versions of Easy Off, and the yellow can is the more heavy duty version of it. I looked myself at the instructions, to see what they said, and it did indeed say that it is "Ideal for cleaning ovens/oven doors, BBQ grills, broilers/broiler pans and stainless steel surfaces."

The only thing I can think, based on your description, is that perhaps the handles on the refrigerator were not stainless steel like the face of it, since it sounds likes it didn't hurt the face of it, just the handles. That, of course, is little comfort to you now, and I don't know for sure it is even true, just a guess really.

In the future, for just cleaning light dirt and soil of stainless steel items (not burned on gunk like you need oven cleaner for), I would suggest using one of many stainless steel cleaners on the market.

I would suggest calling the manufacturer, Easy Off, to complain about the damage to your refrigerator handles. They may have a suggestion for fixing the damage. (Typically there is a customer service number listed on the can.)

I would also love to hear from others, sharing if they have had a problem with Easy Off Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner on their stainless steel surfaces, or otherwise what your experiences are with the yellow canned product. You can share your own oven cleaner review here, for this or any other brand, or you can read other reviews already submitted.

I have lots of reviews of the Easy Off Oven Cleaner, Fume Free Version here.

Easy Off Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner In Yellow Can Also Ruined My Stainless Steel Surface

by Mrs. Nettles
(Rochester NY)

I received this story from Mrs. Nettles, who also used the yellow can of Easy Off Heavy Duty oven cleaner to try to clean her stainless steel surfaces, in this case the outside of her stove. She also provided several photos of what happened to her stove when she did this.

I previously received a story from Vicki (see above) who used the product to clean her stainless steel refrigerator, and it caused damage to some of the stainless steel surface. Read the story above for full details, and my response to Vicki, so that Mrs. Nettles subsequent story makes sense.

From these two stories I would now caution everyone not to use this product to clean stainless steel surfaces, just to be on the safe side. The problem though is that the product, when you read the instructions, says you can use it on stainless steel surfaces which means I'm afraid damage like this will continue to occur.

Mrs. Nettles says:

Per Taylor's response to Vicki I called the customer service number and got absolutely nowhere.

What I was told is the cleaner is for ovens, not exterior services of ovens. Basically I was the bonehead who sprayed a toxic product on my $2,400.00 stove regardless of the suggestion that it is safe for stainless steel surfaces.

I was told to create a paste of baking soda and water and to let it sit for 10-15 min and then remove it with paper towel. I pray that this works.

I will tell you this -- I will never knowingly invest in an Easy Off product of any kind. What an awful experience.

Taylor says:

Mrs. Nettles, I am so sorry to hear that this happened to you. Hopefully, however, now with both your and Vicki's stories more people can avoid this problem because they will know not to do this.

In addition, I know I'm just one person, but I will try to contact the company through some social media channels, to show them this page and what happened to both you and Vicki. If nothing else, it might help them change the language on their instructions so they don't say it is safe for stainless steel anymore, which would also help more people avoid this problem in the future since I know you relied on the language in using it on the outside of your stove.

Please tell me if the baking soda paste they suggested makes any difference, since other people that experience this problem will want to know (and so do I). *** Update - on the comments page several people wanted to know if this suggestion from Easy Off to try baking soda paste worked or not. One reader actually tried it and has reported back that unfortunately it does not work. (You can read all the comments here.) Therefore, I'm still looking for suggestions from anyone for how to fix this problem (if there is a way), if you've also encountered it.***

I agree with you, the product instructions are misleading, in that it says it is safe for use on stainless steel. Your pictures, however, show this is not the case. (For readers, to see each picture in more detail just click on the thumbnail pic and you will see the bigger version pop up for you to see better.)

Has anyone else used the Easy Off Heavy Duty cleaner, and want to share a review of it, positive or negative? Clearly, I wouldn't use it on stainless steel, but it says it can also be used, obviously, inside ovens, and also to clean barbecue grills, etc. How has it worked in those situations for you?

Please share your oven cleaner review here, for this or any other brand, sharing how it worked for you. You can also read other reviews that have already been submitted.

Related Links At Stain-Removal-101.com

House Cleaning Supplies Reviews - What To Stock In Your Cleaning Closet

Oven Cleaning Tips To Help With This Dreaded Task

Tips For How To Clean Stainless Steel

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