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What's New:
Haier, China’s largest major appliance maker, and Fisher & Paykel (F&P), the premium appliance manufacturer, are exploring opportunities to cross market their products in the United States.
The move would extend a strategic partnership formed last May when Haier purchased a 20 percent stake in the New Zealand vendor and added its chief financial officer and chief marketing officer to F&P’s board.
Under the agreement, the two companies are sharing product development, manufacturing and market resources to reduce production and procurement costs.
As part of the arrangement, Haier is presently producing select products under the Fisher & Paykel brand, and the partners are looking to expand the assortment.
The pact also gives Haier exclusive rights to market and distribute Fisher & Paykel products in China, while F&P will distribute Haier-manufactured and branded products in New Zealand.
Haier Australia will continue to handle the Haier brand on that continent for the immediate future.
According to a Fisher & Paykel spokesperson, the companies are also exploring opportunities to market and sell each other’s products in the U.S.
The partnership gives Haier access to Fisher & Paykel’s premium assortment, while extending F&P’s global reach. The deal will also help the New Zealand manufacturer contain production costs amid the global recession, [...]
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 There are a number of options when choosing a cabinet material, some of the most popular are, wood, laminate, and metal.
Each has its advantages and disadvantages and it is worth spending some time researching the numerous options.
Wood doors are covered in the next section due the the large number of combinations of styles and colors available.
Laminate
Laminate cabinet doors can have endless possibilities in color, texture and shine.
You can go for a soft look with creamy colours and a matt finish, or, if you want to make a real statement, choose Italian-style with glossy fronts and bold colors.
A great advantage of laminate cabinets is that they are virtually maintenance-free. Wood is a natural product and prone to changes in temperature and humidity and needs a lot of care, but laminate only needs to be wiped clean occasionally.
Laminate doors suffer from a lot less wear and tear than laminate countertops and should stay looking good for a long time.
Glass
Large expanses of wood or laminate in a kitchen can look good sometimes but if you want to break up the monotony, glass doors can be used every now and again. Transparent glass is used [...]
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Inside Consumer Reports Test Labs: The LG WM210C[W] front-loading washer is a real mover and shaker
 Because front-loading washing machines spin so rapidly—up to 1,200 revolutions per minute—and their drums rotate on a horizontal axis, the vibration and noise these machines produce can be a nuisance for users, especially when a front-loader is used near main living areas or on a second floor in a home.
Our testers have seen plenty of front-loaders that produce a lot of vibration and noise, though no front-loader has ever actually moved from its spot during our vibration testing. Until now. In a recent vibration test on a wood floor, the $550 LG WM2010C[W] front-loader turned on an angle and moved forward about three inches when it had an 8-pound evenly distributed load . And when we repeated the test with a 1-pound unbalanced load, the LG again slid forward several inches.
LG offers a solution with the “SpinSense” function, which the manufacturer says “can be used to help reduce or eliminate vibrations, especially on wood floor installations.” When our testers [...]
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Q&A: Should I buy a stand mixer based on the wattage?
 I’ve read that more watts are better. Is that true or am I just wasting my money?
Don’t buy a stand mixer based on wattage. It’s usually the power used, not produced. But be sure to check the warranty as they vary. Also consider:
• Buying the biggest bowl available if your recipes frequently call for lots of flour
• Buying an extra bowl, for around $50, if you make two-step recipes so you won’t have to scrape and rinse between steps
• Checking Websites for rebate information. KitchenAid is offering $40 back on select 5- or 6-quart stand mixers (the KitchenAid Classic K45 has repeatedly been our top-rated model).
Most of the tested models have one beater that spins in one direction and moves around the bowl in the opposite way. The bottom-rated stand mixers have two beaters that spin against each other, just like a hand mixer.
 While these models were the least expensive, they were also mediocre or worse at mashing potatoes, mixing cookie dough, and kneading bread. We also found [...]
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DCS by Fisher & Paykel has once again scaled new heights of design and innovation with the announcement of its new DishDrawer Tall. Think of it as where DCS design meets Fisher & Paykel innovation. The company has reinvented its revolutionary DishDrawer, the world first dishwasher in a drawer, with the introduction of the DCS DishDrawer Tall featuring a more spacious design and new sleek modern styling that loses none of brand compact charm. Continuing to innovate and improve on its uniquely designed industry leading appliances has never been a tall order for Fisher & Paykel Appliances.
DishDrawer dishwasher is a signature product line for the company with its distinctive ergonomic design that doesn’t take up a lot space and cost-saving and environmental features that minimizes water, energy and detergent usage. Since launching the DishDrawer in 1997 after years of testing and research, Fisher & Paykel has continued to redefine the dishwasher of the future and to date has sold more than a million DishDrawers.
DishDrawer Tall has been designed specifically for the North American market and will be manufactured in the company new facility located in Reynosa, Mexico. DCS expects to release its DishDrawer [...]
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Appliance sales lagging amid signs of recovery, according to new Consumer Reports Index
 While
there are signs that the economy is starting to recover, the appliance
industry may be among the last sectors to see any green shoots. That’s
according to the Consumer Reports Retail Index, one of several indices
used to create the newly minted Consumer Report Index.
As reported in “Consumers Aren’t So Upbeat, New Consumer Reports Index Shows,” retail data from the last 30 days shows that consumer purchases
declined, and small appliances and large appliances posted the largest
percentage drops out of the surveyed product categories comprising
the index.
Over the next 30 days, appliance purchases are expected to dip again relative to the prior month.
The Consumer Reports Index findings reinforce dismal shipping numbers
for the appliance industry in June, when year-over-year shipments of
major appliances fell 30 percent.
Appliance purchases relate to
another figure from the Consumer Reports Index: the percentage of
homeowners who have postponed a home-improvement project. That figure
peaked in July, when 27 percent of respondents said they put a project
on hold. For August, the percentage decreased to 26 percent.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | [...]
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Someone sent me an email and asked if I thought there was a design flaw in a section of her cabinet design. I had to write back that, yes, I agreed with her that part of the design was flawed. Unfortunately, it was a finished picture of the kitchen that they had sent me, which made it even more uncomfortable for me to give my opinion. The kitchen was installed, and it looked like it cost a pretty penny. Here are words of wisdom:
“Lesson Learned
I learned a big lesson the hard way and wish I had gone with my instinct to hire a kitchen designer during my kitchen design process.
My contractor convinced me that it would make more sense for him to design the kitchen layout because he was also working on the electrical, plumbing etc. so there would be a cost savings to me if he designed it and worked with his preferred cabinet company.
We decided to go ahead and in the end I thought the kitchen looked great until I noticed some design elements that look flawed to me.
I believe that a good kitchen designer would have done a much [...]
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Name of Product: Blue Ember Gas Grills
Units: About 88,000 units in the United States (47,000 gas grills were previously recalled in October 2008) and 25,000 in Canada
Importer: Fiesta Gas Grills, of Dickson, Tenn.
Manufacturers: Unisplendor Corp., of China and Keesung Corp., of China
Hazard: The hose of the gas tank can get too close to the firebox and be exposed to heat, posing a fire hazard to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: Fiesta has received 161 reports of grill fires, resulting in nine injuries, including two incidents of major burns on different parts of the body, six incidents of minor burns, and an incident involving temporary hearing loss.
Description: This recall involves Blue Ember liquid propane (LP) outdoor grills with model and serial numbers listed below. The cabinet style grill has two doors and is silver and black or silver and gray. “Blue Ember” is printed on the grill’s hood. The model and serial numbers are printed on a rating plate label on the rear of the grill.
MODEL NUMBERS
SERIAL # RANGES
FG50045
FG50057
FG50069
07000003 thru 07010912
07057153 thru 07060224
07015613 thru 07018300
07062217 thru 07062344
07064221 thru 07064604
07029021 thru 07031580
07065373 thru 07065500
07032093 thru 07038876
07039261 thru 07039743
07067165 thru 07073548
07039837 thru 07039964
07074189 thru 07074316
07040221 thru 07042332
07074573 thru 07074828
07043013 thru 07043112
08K000001 thru 08K000640
07046416 thru 07046465
07049362 thru [...]
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Cleaning out the water heater might be some people’s idea of a fun day’s activity, but it sure isn’t mine. If you really plan to take this job on, please read on for what essortment.com has to say and be certain that your are ready for the task. Once you start, you’ve got to finish or you’ll be getting soapy water from your faucets for quite a while.
Mineral deposits in the tank, or problems caused by them, are the most common reasons to clean a tank. If you have a gas water heater the deposits form on the bottom of the tank and are usually stuck to the tank itself. Cleaning out the water heater will only remove a fraction of the deposits in there, if that’s what you are attempting to do. Electric water heaters collect any mineral deposits on the heating elements and they usually fall to the bottom of the tank over time. Some of the deposits from an electric tank will flush in the cleaning process; however, many are too large to flush through the drain valve.
If there are a lot of deposits in the tank, you might have to go [...]
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Washing machines and other hardworking appliances seem to know the worst times to breakdown. With the economy causing most of us to be careful with our spending, replacing a major appliance is not high on anyone’s to-do list. Sometimes your just need a few more months out of the machine before a big move or remodel, but then it happens, the squealing, leaking and motor problems – time for a new unit.
A second-hand washer, dryer or refrigerator can be just what you need. We’ve got some suggestions on where and how you can get what you need.
Buy used appliances at furniture stores. Most of these stores have a section for used appliances and furniture that people have traded in. Check to see if there is a warranty left or if it is “as is.” Some stores offer their own short return period of thirty to sixty days.
Check the want ads in your local newspaper for used appliances. If you see an ad for something you want, make an appointment to go inspect the appliance. These will be “as is” so make sure the appliance is fully functional before you buy.
Go online to [...]
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Hard times don’t mean college students have to give up healthful, tasty food.
These appliances will come in handy whether your son or daughter lives in a dorm or an off-campus apartment.
And while this gear won’t turn your college-age cooks into an Iron Chef, they can save them some money and add variety and spice to their diet.
Be sure to check your school’s guidelines about appliances, and see the rest of our back-to-school coverage.
Compact Refrigerators
The “dorm-room refrigerator” moniker shows how closely compact refrigerators have become identified with college life, but only some of the models we tested made the grade. Many models have a single temperature-control dial, so you can’t find an ideal temperature between the refrigerator and freezer sections. And all that we tested for this report are comparative energy hogs.
Only two refrigerators we tested had freezer sections that were able to keep frozen confections from turning to mush, and the 3.7-cubic-foot Avanti 308YWT, 0, flunked basic refrigeration. Choose the 4.6-cubic-foot Frigidaire FRC05L5D, 0, if your student will be a frequent frozen-food diner. Tell your kid to discard frozen foods that have been stored above 40°F for more than two [...]
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Fiesta Blue Ember gas grill
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada yesterday announced the recall of about 113,000 Fiesta Gas Grills’ Blue Ember gas grills. The hose on the gas tank can get to close to the grill’s firebox, which poses a fire hazard.
In the U.S., the recall involves models FG50045, FG50057, and FG50069; in Canada, models C1072-30744 and C1072-30754 are part of the recall. Read the recall notice on the CPSC site for the specific serial numbers being recalled.
If you own an affected grill, stop using it immediately and contact Fiesta to obtain a free replacement grease-pan assembly and instructions for installing the pan and the gas tank. For more information, call 866-740-7849 (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday) or send an e-mail to mnorman@fiestagasgrills.com.
Read “After Reported Injuries, Fiesta Again Recalls Blue Ember Grills” on the Consumer Reports Safety blog for all the details on this recall, and follow this advice for safe grilling. e-mail | Twitter | Forums | [...]
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Now I know why someone associated with House Beautiful yesterday said to me “We love bloggers!” This post will have taken me about 6 hours to produce by the time I’m finished. Why? It’s the images! I’m not even going to tell you how how many I took…but maybe I’m the worst editor, or maybe there are just WAY too many inspiring vignettes in this beauitful kitchen/living space. In either case, maybe I was a little obsessive. That’s ok, I surrender to it and you benefit.
Ok, let’s talk about the kitchen. There’s A LOT going on in this kitchen, a lot to talk about. I think I’ll be organized about it. Yes, Susan, that’s a good concept.
OVERALL DESIGN
The kitchen design, by Robert Stilin in close collaboration with Ina Garten, was meant to replicate Ina’s East Hampton kitchen for House Beautiful’s Kitchen Of The Year 2009. The kitchen of the year can be viewed at Rockefeller Center (you can’t miss it) until July 24.
 You’re hearing it more and more…the kitchen is the new living room. The drum beat is getting louder. I think we were shocked by the financial crisis into rediscovering the [...]
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Welcome to my third annual series of posts on French kitchens inspired by the Tour de France! This 3 week event is an excellent opportunity to celebrate authentic French kitchens and to study their many wonderful design details.
 In the coming weeks, I’d love to look at all sorts of French kitchens, from modern to (really) rustic to those French country kitchens rich with charm and texture. Let’s take these kitchens apart, look at the details, compare and contrast, and just admire what makes these French kitchens uniquely….French!
This year of the Tour is particularly exciting for me. After all, it’s the Tour de Lance! Lance Armstrong has returned to the Tour to raise funds and awareness and to bring people together toward a common enemy…cancer. I think what he is doing is amazing. Check out Lance’s videos and explore the site of Lance’s foundation, Livestrong. Follow Lance on Twitter, I love his tweets.
SO…onward! The prologue of the Tour began today in fabulous Monaco. What kind of kitchens do they have in Monaco? If you rented an apartment in one of the many apartment buildings surrounding the harbor to see the start of the [...]
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August was another amazing month of Kitchen Contraptions – filled with kitchen gadgets, grilling, and other kitchen wonders. Thanks again to all of our loyal readers, and we hope to do some giveaways soon. You can also follow us now on