The stainless steel is clean and shiny! Everyone that walks into my home says “that’s a nice garbage can”. Weird I know, but I have to agree with them. The foot pedal operates great and hasn’t given any problems yet. It seems to do well at keeping odors in and not floating around the house. My favorite part about this is the can on the inside has vent holes, when you put a bag in it didn’t trap any air. Great product, so far no issues.