Archive for the ‘Gadgets and Appliances’ Category

Save Money – Five Appliances that can Help

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Our sister site, Appliance.net has another great article with tips on how we can save money by using our appliances to our advantage.

Coffeemakers —Save on pricey coffeehouse blends by brewing your morning cup at home. Resisting a three dollar cup of coffee will save you nearly $1,000 per year!

Freezers —Stock up on frozen foods when they are on sale. In 2008, shipments of home freezers were up five percent as consumers started to realize the savings in stocking up on frozen sale items. Also, remember to shop for an ENERGY STAR freezer to save even more on energy costs.

Water filters —Use a water filtration system in your refrigerator instead of buying bottled water. This practice will save you money, and will help the environment by reducing the number of plastic bottles that clog landfills.

Portable electric heaters —Turn down the heat and use portable heaters in rooms that are used frequently. Keeping the thermostat down will save money while portable heaters provide direct and quick warmth.

Electric Oven—An electric oven turned on for 1 hour on 350ºF only uses 2kWh of electricity, costing just 24 cents. The cost of dining out can add up quickly. Try cooking at home for a low-cost meal.

With a little effort and forethought, you can save quite a bit of change.

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Laundry Tips – Get the Dirt Out!

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

Here are some helpful tips from our sister-site Appliance.net that should make doing laundry easier, if not your favorite task of the week:

    As your laundry accumulates, pre-sort it into designated baskets for lights, darks and whites. This way, a load will be ready to throw in the washer whenever you have a minute to spare.
    While sorting, don’t forget to close zippers, clasp hooks and check pockets to prevent snags and avoid washing tissues, money, lipstick, etc.
    Streamline the laundry process by incorporating storage solutions and flat working surfaces into your laundry room. This will keep laundry where it belongs and eliminate the need to treat, sort and fold in other rooms of the house.
    Wash small loads as needed between laundry days. Today’s high efficiency washing machines use substantially less water and energy than a conventional top-loading washer. Which means you can do small loads when you have time, rather than waiting for the basket to fill up.
    Don’t overload the washer or dryer. Clothes come out cleaner and less wrinkled when given room to move freely.

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Simple Tips to Save Energy

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

It’s good for the earth and it’s good for your bank account: Saving Energy.
Also, this simple eco – friendly task may not only cut your bills but may also add a sense of safety and security to your home. With this you can utilize your home or contents insurance from norwich union or other safety net company.

Follow these tips to cut your energy use at home:

    Set your thermostat at 68 degrees F during the day and 60 degrees at night. You might need to wear a light sweater, but the change will show up on your bill.

    Keep your lamps and TVs away from air-conditioning thermostats. The heat they produce can cause the unit to run longer.

    Reduce your trips to the refrigerator. Up to 30 percent of the cold air escapes ecah time the door is opened.

    Make sure your furniture is not blocking any vents or radiators.

    Clean your dryer filter. A dirty filter can increase energy use by up to 30 percent.

This is little more involved:

Go to http://hes.lbl.gov to give your house and energy audit. Use the site to calculate you home’s energy use by entering your zip code. Then find out more ways to save energy.

I visited the site and found I could save up to $500 in energy costs. Of course some of those changes would require an initial cash output, for example, adding insulation to parts of my home, but the long term savings might make it worthwhile.

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Appliances and Their Warranties Don’t Last Long

Friday, February 13th, 2009

When I was a kid, my parents had a spare freezer in the garage that held cans of soda. (It probably held many other foods, but as a kid, soda was the only important one.) Besides the soda, what I remember most about the refrigerator was that it opened by pulling down on the handle and had rounded corners. It was OLD.
I really doubt that anyone (let’s avoid the energy usage issue here) would be able to keep and use a fridge that long anymore. I found a story on appliance.net that discusses this same problem.

Boy have times, and appliances changed. Today, you might get nine years out of your dishwasher and microwave, ten from your washer, and if you’re lucky thirteen out of your dryer and refrigerator. We’ve detailed the average lifespan in this article if you’d like find out about a specific appliance.

Not only are appliances not made to last anymore, but the manufacturers, being fully aware of this, have geared their warranties accordingly.

Hometownlife.com reports that a reader called to report that her 12-year-old dishwasher ran all night. Her husband turned it on when they went to bed around 10 p.m., and when she walked into the kitchen at 7 a.m., it was still running. She opened the door and the blast of heat was like opening an oven door. She called the manufacturer who sent out a service technician who couldn’t tell her why the dishwasher didn’t shut off. The manufacturer then told her they couldn’t do a thing for her because it was well out of warranty and besides that, they told her the average life span of the dishwasher was six years. They offered her $50 towards the purchase of a new dishwasher provided it was their brand.

Although the dishwasher was not new, one should expect that it would at the least run safely and that the response from the manufacturer would be more helpful.

You can read the whole article here.

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How to Remove Refrigerator Odor

Friday, November 28th, 2008

Here are some helpful tips from appliance.net for getting the smell out of the fridge.

We’ve all experienced power outages and the mess of melted and spoiled food that must be cleaned once the power is restored. If the power is out for an extended period of time, the smell of rotten food can be hard to remove.

Here are step-by-step instructions from inrich.com for getting the smell out:

Start by cleaning the refrigerator compartment thoroughly. Anne Field, an emeritus extension specialist with Michigan State University Extension, suggests this method: Unplug the appliance, remove all food and removable interior parts, and wash the interior with a solution of 1 to 2 tablespoons of baking soda in 1 quart of warm water. Rinse and wipe dry.

Leave the door open and let the refrigerator air out, with a fan directed toward the inside. If weather permits, open the kitchen windows.

Field recommends washing removable shelves and other parts in a warm detergent solution. Don’t put glass or plastic parts in hot water, she cautions. They might crack, especially if they’re cold.

Clean the door gasket with a detergent solution, too.

Next, clean the freezer compartment following the instructions that came with the appliance manual. If you don’t have a manual, contact the manufacturer. Some can be found online.

Ways to absorb odors: If odor remains, Field suggests trying one or all of these removal methods:

Spread baking soda on shallow pans and place them on the shelves of the empty refrigerator to absorb odors. Leave the door open and the refrigerator unplugged.
Spread activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, in shallow pans and place the pans on the shelves. Turn the refrigerator on low and run it empty a few days till the odors are absorbed.
You can also try the same method with cat litter spread on shallow pans, several ounces of imitation vanilla (not pure vanilla extract) poured into a saucer or fresh ground coffee in cereal bowls. With the coffee method, a slight coffee odor might remain, but it can be removed by cleaning the refrigerator again with baking soda solution, Field says.
Pack each shelf of an empty refrigerator with crumpled newspaper. Set a cup of water on the top shelf or sprinkle the newspaper lightly with water. Allow the refrigerator to run for five or six days. This method takes longer, but Field says it can be effective in removing strong odors.
Buy a commercial odor remover. One brand Field suggests is Odors Away by Wrap-on Co., available at some hardware and hospital supply stores.
If none of the methods removes all the odor, Field says it probably has penetrated the insulation. You can contact an appliance service company for an estimate on the cost of removing the liner and replacing the insulation, but replacing the refrigerator may be a better choice, she says.

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Consumers Fail to Properly Back-up Digital Libraries

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Here’s a great bit of advice from appliance.net

Americans are not backing up their digital photos, music, documents or other types of files, according to a new study released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®. Results of the study, Amassing Digital Fortunes: A Digital Storage Study, show that nearly one in three consumers don’t see the need to back up their files, while nearly a quarter (22 percent) say they aren’t backing up files because it’s too time consuming. “The issue appears to be a combination of lack of awareness of storage options and ease of use,” says CEA’s Director of Market Research, Tim Herbert. “Generally, consumers don’t know how to back up their data and if they do, they’re failing to back up data because they claim it takes too much time.”

The average American adult has 1,800 digital files, totaling 310 billion digital files nationwide. With another 1,060 being added per user in 2008, the total number is expected to hit just under 500 billion by the end of the year.

“The sheer amount of data being amassed every day creates tremendous opportunities for the digital storage market,” says Herbert.

Photos (85 percent) and music (67 percent) comprise the largest percentage of stored files, making them more common than productivity files, like home office documents (59 percent), which ranked third.

Research results show that consumers are satisfied with their storage options. Eight out of 10 respondents reported using their home computer as their primary long-term storage option. For back-up, over three quarters of people surveyed (77 percent) burn their files onto a CD or DVD. Over a quarter (29 percent) of those surveyed copy their files onto more than one device, such as having a file on a computer and a portable MP3 player.

CEA offers several tips for consumers to keep digital files safe:

If you are saving content onto a CD, DVD, USB Flash Drive or other removable device, keep an extra copy off-site, like an office. This ensures your contents safety in case your home is damaged by events such as a fire, flood or earthquake.
Use an online backup service to protect your content from disasters and/or hardware failures.
Scan and clean your backup drives. Viruses can spread to removable drives and other network connections, damaging your music and photos.
Regularly defragment your hard disk drive. This will ensure your computer is running faster for longer with less wear and tear.
Establish a regular back-up schedule. Many external hard-drives come with software that can assist in the back-up process and help maintain a consistent schedule to ensure data gets saved even if you forget to.
For more tips on how to protect and archive digital content, visit www.DigitalTips.org.

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Appliance Maintenance Tips and Lifespan Estimates

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

Here are some great tips on caring for your appliances and also some estimates in how long they will likely last.

Refrigerator

Average life span: 14 years

What you need to do: Locate the condenser coils by checking your owner’s manual. Clean them by unplugging the fridge and removing dust gently with a broom or brush. Check the seals by sliding a piece of paper in the closed door. If it falls out, you need to replace your seals. And defrosting regularly can’t hurt.

Inspected and cleaned: Have it done if your at-home remedies don’t work or if there are noises you can’t locate.

Washer, dryer

Average life span: Washer: 12 years; Dryer: 14 years

What to do: Clean the dryer’s lint filter and hoses. Kinks or ridges can cause highly flammable lint to build up, a major cause of fire.

Inspected and cleaned: Replace the hoses on your washing machine every 3 to 5 years.

Window air conditioner

Average life span: 13 years

What you need to do: Changing the air filter every month helps the system run more efficiently and improves air quality. Dirt and neglect are the main causes of AC failures, so clean it well.

Inspected and cleaned: Do it twice a year, usually fall and spring.

Garbage disposal

Average life span: 13 years

What you need to do: Keep anything stringy, like pumpkin pulp, out of it. Also leave out tough produce, anything hard that can dull the blades, and grease, which can clog your pipes.

Inspected and cleaned: Have this looked at whenever your plumbing is checked.

Microwave

Average life span: 5 to 8 years

What you need to do: Microwaves are simple appliances; they don’t know the difference between the food you want cooked and old splatters in the chamber, so keep it clean and don’t exceed the recommended usage.

Inspected and cleaned: Anytime there’s a problem. You should never attempt to work on it yourself.

Dishwasher

Average life span: 9 to 12 years

What you need to do: Be mindful of what you put in it. Leave out small pieces that can get lodged in the drain and make sure everything is dishwasher-safe. Use a powdered detergent, because gels can cloud dispenser and glasswear. Spend the few dollars on a rinse aid, such as Jet-Dry, every month or so.

Inspected and cleaned: Every 2 to 3 years.

Water heater

Average life span: electric: 6 to 14 years; gas: 5 to 9 years

What you need to do: Check your hoses, fittings and release valves. Also watch for damaged areas on the outside of the tank and leaking.

Inspected and cleaned: Every couple of years.

Stove

Average life span: electric, 16 years; gas, 19 years

What you need to do: Check temperature with a thermometer or by following a basic white cake mix and making sure it cooks correctly. Keep it clean inside and out, using nonabrasive cleaners. Check your seals and the hinges, which can bend over time and let heat escape.

Inspected and cleaned: Any time it’s not heating properly.

Central air system

Average life span: 10 to 20 years

What you need to do: Check for leaks around the system and with hose connections. You should also change your filter monthly.

Inspect and cleaned: Seasonally

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In Kitchen Design, Appliances Come First

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

Here’s some advice from appliance.net a great site for learning about household appliances.

If you are planning a kitchen remodel, take your time making design decisions, the kitchen is a complex room with many different elements to consider.

Here are a few things to consider in your planning:

•Pick your appliances first — everything gets built around them.

• Pick your countertop before you select your cabinets. The cabinet company won’t know what height to build the lower cabinets without knowing the thickness of the countertop — they’re all different.

• Pick your backsplash before you hire the electrician. The placement of the electrical boxes will depend on the thickness of the counter’s backsplash. Will it be tile or a solid material? What thickness will the material be and will it be affixed directly to the wall or will mortar be placed between the wall and the splash? There is nothing worse than paying the electrician extra to go back and add spacers to the electric boxes because they aren’t flush with the finished surface — fire hazard!

• With certain sink/disposal combinations you may have to adjust the height of your existing drain outlet. Kohler currently offers a stainless kitchen sink 28 centimetres (11 inches) deep and ISE has a gigantic new one HP disposer. Together they fit a bit lower into the under-cabinet area than other models.

• Selecting appliances in advance will also be important to the plumber and the electrician. The plumber may need to run an icemaker line if the refrigerator has one and the electrician will have to know what size circuits will have to be run for the range, oven, exhaust fan and other appliances.

• Some sales people will offer you the least efficient alternative just to keep the price in your budget. For example: It is less expensive to use doors rather than drawers when designing a set of kitchen cabinets. However, for many users drawers provide far more efficient storage space. Also, the rails that drawers glide on vary greatly in cost and strength. There are some drawer glides that bend when the drawer is full. Better types can hold an adult doing push-ups.

You can read more here.

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