What causes white plastic appliances to go yellow? In our kitchen there's a yellowing washing machine which we inherited and we assumed it was the result of heavy smoking by the previous owner. However the fridge we bought with us is also now yellowing afte 18 months. Is it sunlight, or cooking, or residual smoke or something else? It's an East facing room which doesn't get all that much sun. We need to replace all the appliances and are not sure if white is a good idea TIA!