Alessi Cutlery Purchased From Tesco Corrodes Like Rust
I do the majority of my food shopping at my local Tesco Store and at various times they have different promotions on, where if you spend so much money you get vouchers for money off items at greatly reduced prices.
Recently Tesco had a promotion on for Alessi Cutlery, entitling you to 85% off this particular range. I had some cutlery that that I had for many many years but this had now become a little stained. I saw this promotion and as I had done some research on the particular make of cutlery and had a good look at it in the store and it seemed to be of a high quality and decided that this appeared to be an offer I couldn’t resist.
You could purchase different sets of this cutlery but I needed the 4 piece table sets, which consisted of a dinner knife, a dinner fork, a dessert spoon and a teaspoon in each set. For each set of cutlery you needed 5 coupons and then had to pay the reduced price of £4.99 for each set, making a saving of £30.00. I collected enough coupons to get 12 sets over the next few weeks, and once I had collected them all, I got rid of all my old cutlery. I started to use this new cutlery and first impressions I was very pleased, as it appeared good robust cutlery that should last a good many years.
How wrong I was.
A few weeks had passed and when I was packing them away after wiping them off when they were taken out of the dishwasher before putting them in the drawer I noticed some what I thought was staining on a few of the blades, and a couple of spots on a couple of the handles. On closer inspection it appeared that there were little areas of corrosion, and one of the handles was completely bad and had what looked like rust spots over it.
I was extremely annoyed, as there appeared to be a manufacturing problem with them.
Next time I did my shopping I took 4 of the 12 knives back to the store where I purchased them. I saw a Manager who had a look at the knives and agreed with me that there was definitely a problem and he too could not believe what I showed him. He said that these should be indestructible and should last a lifetime, to which I agreed. He willingly changed the 4 knives for me and said he would pass my complaint on.
However the next few weeks, I noticed that 2 more knives are starting to corrode, just like the others and as you can imagine I was not very happy. These are supposed to be a good maker of cutlery, yet I have now had 6 knives that have had problems. I am now wondering if these sets that have been offered to Tesco to sell at reduced prices are in fact seconds from the manufacturer. I am now wondering if in the next few weeks, the other knives are going to go the same way. I decided to write to Tesco Customer Services in December 2012 at their Head Office and received their letter back which states “I have spoken to our Technical Team who advised me that they have received a few similar reports. However, given the amount of cutlery sets that we have sold, the level of complaints is minimal”.
They did however enclose a money card and some additional vouchers in order for me to purchase another 2 sets of cutlery, as they stated that they could not just replace the knives. I therefore then had a total of 14 sets of this cutlery.
I waited a couple more months, just to see if any more of the cutlery developed these problems, and needless to say another 8 knives have gone the same way. That is now a total of 10 knives out of 14 sets that are corroding with these rust spots. and therefore I have just written to Tesco 4th February 2013) with a further complaint relating to these knives, and I await their reply. I have asked that they replace my 10 faulty knives with 10 first grade knives (as clearly the knives offered for this promotion are substandard) and pointed out that this should not be a problem as this particular pattern is still current. I naturally await their response.
Update 22nd February 2013.
I have just received a letter from Tesco in reply to mine apologising and stating that they have reported my complaint to their Technical Manager. They also said that as the knives are covered by the manufacturers warranty that they have arranged for the supplier to send me 10 replacement knives which is a result and at least they have now decided to do something. The letter did say that a prepaid envelope will be provided for me to return the faulty knives. Once they have them back it will be interested to see if they actually report back to me on their findings. I eagerly await receipt of the replacement knives.
Updated 13th March 2013
As I had not received the replacement knives I send Tesco another letter stating this fact, to which I had a reply back on the 26th March, to which they apologised but “there had been an availability issue with the knives, hence the delay” (quite possible replacing other customers’ knives who had found the same problem). The letter did say that the replacement would be sent in two batches and should be with me within the next 10 working days. It also said that there was no need to return the faulty knives.
Updated 11th April 2013
A parcel arrived, and lo and behold it was my replacements, but not just the knives, but 10 complete boxed 4 piece dinner sets,, so an extra 10 knives, 10 forks, 10 dessert spoons and 10 teaspoons, so definitely a result, although it took long enough. Let’s just see if these new knives develop the rusting problem – watch this space!!!
I therefore urge anyone who has also purchased sets of this Alessi cutlery through the Tesco promotions, that you check your sets very closely (using a magnifying glass, as you might not notice these spots on first glance) as I am sure that there will be lots more sets that have gone un-noticed and therefore I am sure that if more people find a similar problem and report to Tesco, they will have to do something more about this problem. I have to say that I have only noticed a problem with the knives – at the moment, but who’s to say that the forks and spoons could go the same way.
An additional note, I did submit a review regarding this particular cutlery on the Tesco Direct Site, but they did not publish my first attempt obviously only publishing favourable reviews, however after contacting them I did submit a second one which was eventually published.
Alessi Cutlery Purchased From Tesco Corrodes Like Rust
Alessi Cutlery Purchased From Tesco Corrodes Like Rust
I have discovered the Milano series for sale on Amazon if you click the link below (this is an affilaite link and I may earn a small commission if you purchase from this link)
Having read through your experience with corrosion spots on Alessi stainless steel cutlery, may I just explain what I now know, having had the same experience with the same collection of cutlery, also from Tesco.
What you have experienced happens in dishwashers when some other item of cutlery or kitchenware, which can rust, has been washed alongside the stainless steel items, Small spots of rusty water will splash about and invariably end up on your cutlery. The stainless steel is not corroding on its own, the rusty water deposits are doing the damage. You will note that if you wipe off the spots as best you can, the areas in question do not continue to corrode. The warning is don’t put anything which could rust in your dishwasher.
Now it seems obvious that one would not knowingly nor intentionally put items, which could/;would rust in the dishwasher but let me assure you that this can occur. Check out any roasting pans, the readily available low-cost (even high-cost) non-stick type are very possible culprits. Look closely under the rolled top of the pan as it comes out of the dishwasher, run a piece of kitchen towel in the gap an see what you pick up. Quite possibly rusty deposits on the kitchen towel. Also, older steel knives, grandma’s best carving knife which wouldn’t necessarily show rust itself but it could be the origin of rusty spots of water. Even stoved enamel cooking trays, which become chipped and expose the metal can be a cause.. Remember, it doesn’t have to show any obvious outward signs of rust to be a cause.
Even some so-called stainless steel saucepans will rust if the steel quality is not that good, mainly in the little crevices around handles and lids.
My suggestion is, if in doubt, don’t dish-wash it. Not even on a separate wash as these spots can stay in the dishwasher and deposit on the next items that go in. They can even attack the dishwasher if allowed to stay long enough before they dry off.
Don’t ask me why this occurs, although I have researched it on the internet and it is quite well explained.. Unfortunately, I didn’t really take it all in, only that the resulting rust marks on your cutlery are explained by this action.
It’s a bit of a pain, I know, to hand wash cookware but consider maybe returning to glass dishes which don’t give this problem and the better quality plastic cooking utensils which are available now.
To conclude, since following what I have written above, I have had no further instances of corrosion spots on my cutlery, in fact none of any other stainless steel items which had also been affected.. In particular, a set very expensive set of cooking knives.
I would like to think that this now absolves Alessi of any poor conduct issues, I think my collection is excellent and that is from a bloke.
PS I have no connection with Alessi 🙂
Thank you for your time and trouble of leaving a comment on my blog regarding this cutlery. However as my blog states these were far more than the normal dishwasher rust spots, and there were also other stains and as my blog also states the Manager at Tesco agreed with me that there appeared to be a problem as he had not seen anything like it before. The letter of confirmation that I received, also stated that other people had reported similar issues. When you purchase items which state “suitable for dishwashers” then you would not expect to have to hand wash them. I am still using the dishwasher to wash this cutlery and apart from the odd rust spot which I am aware can happen and that can be wiped off, they now seem fine, hence I believe the batch I was sold were faulty.
Regards
Karen
I am trying desperately to find three knives in this set as my dear husband has ruined them opening tins of paint. Do you know the actual name of this cutlery as like you I collected 8 place settings of it. Never had any issue like. You are having though.regards Julie Bean
Hello Julie
Well they are very sturdy knives, but perhaps should be hidden away from husbands who want to use them for D.I.Y. I do not know the name of this cutlery and the photos I have uploaded are all the details I have. However I looked online and think that they might be Milano and here is the link to someone who sells them, but you would have to buy a full set. https://amzn.to/3ugmHn8
I didn’t look any further to see if anyone sold separate items but there might be someone out there who does.
Good luck hunting
Karen
I’ve had this set for quite some time now used daily but I hand wash them and never had any rusting issues or anything else, I just remember to wash all the soap off completely and give them a good dry thoroughly which almost buffs them up and i make sure to you a non scratch pad to clean them with! Got mine from Tesco too and so very happy with them that im actually going to add to the collection as Alessi still sell them they are the Nuovo Milano range and you can get them in boxes of 4 individual or a box with 6 place settings or just the knifes, forks, spoons on their own
Hello
Thank you for leaving a comment and I am glad that your experience with this cutlery is better than mine.
Karen
Hello
Thank you for your comment and I am glad that your experience you have had with this cutlery is better than mine.
Karen
What an interesting item. I’m fascinated to hear of the issue of not “contaminating” other items with rust. It explains a lot. I have to say I haven’t had the same problem with our sets of these so you must have had a bad batch at your store.
Hello
Thank you for your comment. Yes it definitely was a bad batch as confirmed by the store manager. The replacements were and still are fine and are fine with dishwasher use with no rust spots at all.
Regards
Karen
I had sets from Tesco’s and also bought additional pieces from Alessi and have been using them ever since then & they still look like new really happy with them.
Hello Helen
Hello
Thank you for your comment and I am glad that your experience you have had with this cutlery was better than mine.
Karen
i bought the same sets and am still using them today and they still look in great condition. not a rust spot or mark in sight and i Also is a dishwasher. im sorry you had a bad experience with them but they’ve given me over a decade of service daily.
Hi Darren
Thank you for your comment and I am glad that you are pleased with your cutlery and that you did not have the same experience that I had with mine.
Karen
Hello Karen,
I have some of the 2012 Tesco bargain Alessi Nuovo sets, unused and still boxed, and have been coinsdering buying more and bringing them into use, as our current cutlery set is now well past its best.
However, I am now concerned in case the ones I already have are from the same faulty batch as yours. So, before I invest in more pieces at full price, may I enquire as to where abouts in the country you are? Mine were purchased in Maldon, Essex.
If yours were purchased a long way from Essex, then I may take the plunge and order more. But if yours were bought anywhere close to where I buoght mine, then I am not sure it is worth the risk.
Apologies for the sudden contact. I bet when you wrote this blog post, you didn’t expect people would still be reading and responding to it 12 years later, lol!
Kind regards,
Rebekah (formerly of Essex, now in Herts.)
Hello Rebekah
Thank you for your enquiry. It is strange but I have had quite a lot of people commenting on this blog over the years as you can see. I live down in Devon so quite a distance from Essex. I will however say (although not updated on my blog) that the replacement boxes that I received have been okay and used daily and washed in the dishwasher. I can only assume that the original sets were a faulty batch. My other little gripe with them is that they are very heavy and easily fall off plates when carrying it.
I hope this helps.
Regards
Karen