You can get stainless steel topical treatments to help cut back on smudging, but ultimately like everything else in a working kitchen, you will need to use a soft, microfiber rag to polish on occasion. I would pay down some of the existing debt before doing any appliance shopping.

Yes, I “coat” mine with Wegman’s SS spray and it definitely helps with upkeep.

Wegman's SS spray and a carbon cloth after it's dry to buff it - generally need to only do that once a week.

+1 for the aerosol Weimans. Worked on low end bad SS, cleans and polishes so it somewhat prevents some headache. You may have to do a thorough cleaning first, then it will be a bit protective.

Hate the idea of aerosol, but it lasts a long time, using a very small amount and not much elbow grease. Used it with a simplehuman mitt designed for SS.

Not all SS have smudgy finishes, hope yours are a nice quality. Don't worry, many modern appliances will break at around 7 years old!

Thank you, I will look into that! The good news is aside from the mortgage we are actually debt free and cash flowing everything, but replacing appliances for a purely aesthetic reason is very far down the lsit of things we would do. Plenty of more urgent updates that are *needs* for the house as the previous owners neglected the property for years. But I look forward to the day they start dying! ;)

I just use a spray bottle of water and a microfiber cloth if I see prints. The polishes made my appliances harder to maintain.

A damp microfiber cloth is all I’ve needed too.

If your SS appliances are average mid-range brands, no need to worry about them lasting 15 years; more like 4-8 in a busy kitchen-- if you are lucky :(

Damp microfiber or white/green cloth followed by a dry toweling if necessary. I had white appliances before and was very hesitant to get SS this time, but it hasn't been as bad as I thought. I know you didn't ask, but I love no-knobs induction for easy cleanup. I don't imagine I will ever go back to gas, electric or an induction with knobs. I also prefer a DW with a bar handle to minimizing fingerprints on the door.