Remove a Dent from a Stainless Steel Refrigerator
Refrigerators made from stainless steel can often become dented when they reside in a busy restaurant kitchen or a busy home. Although a dent may not affect the performance of a refrigerator, it can usually cause a refrigerator to become unattractive, especially since dents in stainless steel are more noticeable due to the metal's reflective and shiny properties. A dent can be removed from a stainless steel refrigerator using a hair dryer and dry ice. Continue reading this article to learn about the dent removal procedure.
Steps
- Clean the dented area of your refrigerator. Cleaning the affected section will allow you to see the dent clearly, and will prevent any dirt, food particles, and other elements from negatively affecting the dent removal procedure.
- Use a soft cloth, rag, or paper towels to remove any existing grime from the dented section of the refrigerator.
- Heat up the perimeter of the dented area using the hair dryer for between 30 seconds and 1 minute. The purpose of using the hair dryer is to heat up the metal so that it expands slightly.
- Use the hair dryer's medium or warm setting to avoid overheating the metal.
- Place thick, heavy-duty gloves on both of your hands. The gloves will protect you from injuries such as frostbite when handling the dry ice.
- Wrap a piece of dry ice in a soft, suede cloth. The suede cloth will protect your stainless steel refrigerator from any scratches during the application of the dry ice.
- Gently press the bundle of dry ice to the center of the dented area, then rub the dry ice gently in a circular motion over the entire perimeter of the affected area.
- Continue to rub over the dented area until 1 full minute has passed.
- Cease rubbing the dry ice over the dent on the refrigerator. The dent will pop out and disappear within seconds after the application of the dry ice.
- Repeat all steps using the hair dryer and dry ice if the dent is not removed from your stainless steel refrigerator after the first try. The rapid change in temperature from using the hair dryer to applying the dry ice should cause the dent to eventually pop out.
Tips
- Consult with the manufacturer of your stainless steel refrigerator to obtain additional dent removal procedures if the method outlined in this article is not effective on the make and model of your refrigerator.
- Use a spray can of air duster (also known as canned, or compressed air) in place of dry ice if necessary. After heating the dented area with your hair dryer, hold the can of air duster upside down, then spray the air duster all over the perimeter of the dented area. The dent will then pop out within seconds of application.
Warnings
- If the incident that dented your stainless steel refrigerator was severe enough to place a crease in the metal, the crease will most likely remain behind indefinitely; however, after the dent has been removed, the affected area may be less noticeable than it was before.
Things You'll Need
- Soft rag or paper towels
- Hair dryer
- Thick, heavy-duty gloves
- Soft, suede cloth
- Dry ice
