Most of us have reached into the back of our cupboards to pull out our kitchen appliances – Only to find they have started to turn a creamy yellow shade. This is most prevalent in older appliances made around the 1990s. Fear not! A yellow kitchen appliance needn’t mean the death of your favourite piece of kit.
Rice cookers often turn yellow after being stored somewhere warm or in direct sunlight. You can remove yellowing by first using an all-purpose cleaner to prepare the surface. Next, use a baking soda water mix 3:1 to form a paste. Lather over your yellowed rice cooker and leave for an hour before washing off with warm water.
This method will likely bring your rice cooker back to its former glory. This same method can be used on most kitchen appliances which have suffered from discolouration. However, discolouration sometimes needs a heavier hand, which I have the tips for below!
Yellow kitchen appliances used to be commonplace in every kitchen. Thankfully, it would seem kitchen appliances are made from a more durable, stain-resistant plastic.
As outlined, heat and light are the main culprits for kitchen appliances yellow, meaning those in warmer climates are especially susceptible to yellowing kitchen appliances. Sadly, if you are fortunate enough to live somewhere warm, even appliances in the back of a cupboard will naturally pick up more yellowing than those in the mountains.
There is, however, one more reason for yellowing – and that is nicotine stains. A couple of decades ago, stepping into a smoke-filled home wouldn’t be unusual.
Smoke and nicotine had a way of makings their way to every nook and cranny in the house. Although nicotine may LOOK like yellowing, it’s an entirely different problem, with the nicotine instead attaching and coating anything white. (even curtains)
Nicotine can be removed in the same way as yellowing, although you will be able to soon identify if the culprit is a nicotine stain due to the water and rags used to clean turning a distinct shade of yellow-orange. (and if you’re unlucky enough, the smell!)
Once you have cleaned your appliances back to former health, you will no doubt be keen to put some preventative measures in place. The first and only genuine concern is where to store equipment. If you can, you should keep appliances off countertops and somewhere dark.
This can be easier said than done for appliances you regularly use. I have a cupboard below my cabinets. I try to store any white devices I have – that I use regularly.
For any other appliances, I try to keep them in the basement or the pantry. Yes, it can be not very pleasant traipsing back and forward the pull a bread maker or blender out. For me – it is worth adding to the longevity of appliances.
As a side note, it would seem newer white appliances are somewhat treated differently to be less susceptible to yellowing. Just a quick check of used white goods, anything from the 90s and early 2000s seem vulnerable to yellowing (either that or the newer units haven’t had a chance to yellow yet).
As a precaution, I try not to buy white appliances anymore (even though I have just purchased a new white rice cooker!) if I can. Other colours of plastic seem to fade, but let’s be honest, a faded black appliance always looks better than a yellowed appliance.
There is a chance that baking soda won’t work alone, especially on heavily yellowed units. In this case, you can try adding a little bleach and making the cleaning solution wet rather than a thick leave-on.
Try using 1/4 cup baking soda, 3 cups water, 1 cup bleach.
I would only use this AFTER you have tried the previous method, as using bleach can corrode and damage units.
If bleach doesn’t work, sometimes acceptance is the way forward. I wouldn’t resort to anything harsher than bleach, and certain chemicals will damage the internals and electrics of a machine if they seep through the outer shell.
Note: Another alternative suggested since discussing this subject are “Magic erasers”. I haven’t personally used them to remove yellowing, so I can’t speak about their effectiveness. I have been assured these are absolutely “magic” and work well.
Having looked at the ingredients of magic erasers, they shouldn’t cause any damage to the units or compromise the fidelity (tech talk, for “break the casings”) of units!
White plastics, unfortunately, tends to “yellow” over time. Anything from fridges to toasters can be especially susceptible if left in sunlight or warm environments.
If you do find yellowed plastics and want to clean them up, you can use a mix of baking soda and water to form a paste to leave to dry on the appliance. If this doesn’t work, you can try using a little bleach alongside the baking soda and water mix.
If this doesn’t work, you should probably move to accept your yellowed units the way they are. There are harsher alternatives available, although I wouldn’t advise using anything more strenuous than bleach.
Moving forward. If your home is susceptible to the yellowing of plastics (especially if you are in a warmer environment), you should consider changing to a different color of kitchen appliances.
