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What's New:
You can select that favorite wine rack to suite your taste and decorate your modern house. Umbra offers several very interesting and modern designs.
Loopsey wine rack is made of clear acrylic in shape of blooming flower. Holds 6 bottles and sells for $215.
Cru combines several circular shapes with different attachment points so they can be configured to create exactly what you want. Price is $180
Vinello wine rack is a single ribbon of painted steel, rolled and fastened to create quite an elegant shape. Holds 7 wine bottles and is priced at just $105. Also comes in red.
Other wine racks,
Wine knot wine rack
Wine rack by Radius Design
Flexible wine rack
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Here’s some good news if you’ve got an old household appliance you’ve been wanting to replace. The government’s $300 million dollar incentive plan will help you pay for it. The plan is meant to help the appliance industry by giving a boost to slow appliance sales nationwide, but the relatively small amount of cash will not make a big impact on major appliance appliance dealers such as Whirlpool, GE, and Electrolux. There are also some potentially confusing details to be worked out:
The Wall Street Journal says unlike the clunkers plan, the program allows each state to pick qualifying models and tailor rebate amounts. Ohio might decide one washing machine qualifies for a $100 rebate, while California picks another for $125.
Manufacturers and retailers said they are reluctant to ramp up production or order new stocks until it is clear what models qualify. The Department of Energy, which designed the program, wants states to focus on just 10 categories of appliances carrying the federal Energy Star seal of approval for efficiency.
But other details are still uncertain. States could ask to include up to 46 other types of products, ranging from light bulbs to computers. While rebates are [...]
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Tip of the Day: When ordering appliances, carefully check the specs
 Carpenters live by the adage, Measure twice. Cut once. The same advice can apply to ordering appliances and equipment for a kitchen remodel, says one New Jersey homeowner who recently undertook a top-to-bottom makeover of the 300-square-foot kitchen at her 1960s Cape Cod house.
Because Helaine W.’s new kitchen includes a bank of windows on the exterior wall, the plans called for an island vent hood—a wall-mounted hood with through-the-wall venting wouldn’t fit the design. What’s more, the hood had to be 24 inches deep or less so it wouldn’t overhang the counter.
To find the right-size hood, Helaine, her kitchen designer, and a salesperson from a local appliance store searched the Web sites of several major manufacturers and found the Franke FDF 367 1XS 36-inch-wide island hood. The Franke site indicated a depth of a little more than 19 inches, ideal for the application. An order was placed for the unit.
When the hood arrived four weeks later, the contractor notified Helaine that the Franke FDF 367 1XS was deeper [...]
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These are The Top Eight Electrolux Design Lab 09 finalists, listed in no particular order. There are other very cool design ideas that didn’t make the cut, and will be posted separately.
Le Petit Prince by Martin Miklica, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic
The Prince is a robotic greenhouse designed for the upcoming exploration and population of Mars. It takes care of a plant it carries inside its glass case, which is mounted on top of its four-legged pod. In search of nutrients to care for the plant, the Prince is programmed to intuitively learn the optimal method for this process. It also shares everything with its fellow greenhouse robots via wireless communication so that they can learn from each other.
Bifoliate by Toma Brundzaite, Vilnius Academy of Art, Lithuania
Bifoliate is a space-saving, wall-mounted double dishwasher that will allow you to put dirty dishes in one compartment and use the other as a shelf for clean dishes, No more bending and reaching for dishes. The dishwasher uses ultrasonic wave technology to clean making it more efficient and eco-friendly than today’s dishwashers.
Naturewash by Zhenpeng Li, Zhejiang University, China
Naturewash [...]
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Name of Product: Black & Decker® Thermal Coffeemakers
Units: About 9,800
Distributor: Applica Consumer Products Inc., of Miramar, Fla.
Hazard: The coffeemakers can overheat and melt, posing a burn hazard to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received one report of a coffeemaker melting. No injuries reported.
Description: This recall involves Black & Decker 8-cup programmable thermal coffeemakers. Model number TCM1000IKT is printed on the rating plate on the bottom of the coffeemaker.
Sold at: Walmart and small retail stores nationwide from April 2008 through July 2009 for between and .
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the coffeemakers and contact Applica to receive a free replacement household product.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Applica at (866) 699-4595 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.acprecall.com
CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell them about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx
Join the forum discussion  on this post – (1) Posts
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The large Liebherr WTes4677 Vinidor is the capable wine refrigerator that stores wines at three different temperatures from +5°C to +20°C or +41°F to +68°F. This state-of-the-art wine refrigerator holds up to 143 bottles in three separately controlled temperature zones and enables both long term and serving temperature storage. This allows you to store champagne, red wine and white wine each at its optimum temperature without undermining the quality of wines produced by different grapes, prolonging the flavour and aroma and longevity. Liebherr equips this refrigerator with a dimmable LED display for accurate temperature monitoring. A carbon filter fitted to each zone purifies the incoming fresh air for purity. Even the hand made, untreated wooden shelves contribute to optimum wine storage. Refrigerator humidity is maintained between 50% and 80%, guaranteeing ideal conditions to ensure the corks do not dry out. The WTes4677 also allows wines to be stored long term, with the UV light repellent door keeping harmful light at bay while the motor, housed in an isolated environment, ensures a vibration free environment. This triple temperature wine refrigerator from Liebherr retails at approximately £2,850. Also, wine storage [...]
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Samsung Electronics America will add induction technology to its cooking appliance line this fall.
Details are sketchy, but the company said the freestanding model will be produced entirely in-house.
“It’s gorgeous,” said James Politeski, sales and marketing VP for Samsung digital appliances. “The controls are intuitive, more accessible and very cool.”
Joining the induction unit will be Samsung’s first gas-fueled ranges. Two models are also set to ship this fall, along with a 0 speed oven that features microwave and electric heating.
In laundry, Samsung has added a step between its opening price point 9 front-load washer and its ,499 front-load steam washer. The new, Energy Star-rated WF419 (suggested retail ,199) also features steam cycles and Samsung’s vibration-reduction technology (VRT), plus 4.3 cubic feet of capacity and a diamond-patterned drum surface that’s gentler on fabrics.
Samsung also lowered its opening price point in front-load laundry to 9 in a Lowe’s-exclusive model that could join the open line next year depending on marketplace conditions. Senior marketing manager Jeffrey Armstrong said the company is hesitant to play in the promotional arena after establishing Samsung as a premium appliance brand — a [...]
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 Increase in usage reported by owners of espresso/cappuccino coffeemakers over the past one to two years due to the recession, according to new research from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.
The home-brewed approach is saving those consumers as much as ,000 per year, says AHAM. You can do the math, but given the high price of coffeehouse concoction, the you don’t spend every day on a mocha-frappe-la-di-dah will add up quickly.
People who drink just a regular cup of joe stand to save less, which may explain why only 9 percent of owners of auto-drip coffeemakers say they’re using their machines more often. Owners of single-serve coffeemakers reported a 21 percent increase in use since the recession began.
The Eight O’Clock Coffee 100% Colombian that topped the ratings (available to subscribers) in our latest report on coffee costs only 15 cents cup.
These are tough times for the appliance industry—year-over-year shipments of major appliances were down nearly 30 percent in June—so perhaps AHAM deserves a pass for reading too much into the tea leaves, [...]
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Green is the new black when it comes to the laundry room, yet many consumers do not realize they have a choice when it comes to high-efficiency (HE), eco-friendly laundry appliances. A recent survey commissioned by Whirlpool Corporation revealed that while nearly 60 percent understand what HE means in regards to laundry appliances, almost 40 percent believe that top-load washers use more energy than front-loading machines – a common misconception in today’s marketplace.
Traditionally, consumers seeking high efficiency laundry turn to front-loading machines, yet according to previous Whirlpool research nearly three quarters of American households still own top-load washing machines. In fact, 44 percent of consumers in the most recent survey said they did not know if top-load washers use more energy than front-loaders and 38 percent believe that they do, indicating a need for clarity when it comes to communicating the benefits of HE machines to appliance shoppers.
“Historically, front-load laundry pairs have led the industry in capacity and efficiency,” said Mary Zeitler, home economist, Whirlpool Institute of Fabric Science, “but manufacturers like Whirlpool Corporation are working to offer superior energy and water savings in models to suit consumers’ needs and preferences. As more families look to save on energy, water [...]
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Buzzword: Pay As You Throw
 What it means. In most municipalities nationwide, households pay a flat annual fee to have their garbage hauled away once or more a week. The cost is often rolled into property-tax payments and doesn’t fluctuate regardless of how much waste a household generates. With pay as you throw, or PAYT, household waste is treated more like a utility, with each household getting charged for how much garbage its sends to the curb.
In most PAYT programs, households sign up for a specific containers—say one 32-gallon and one 64-gallon receptacle—and are charged extra when they go over that limit in a certain period. Other PAYT programs use logoed bags that consumers buy from municipal centers or participating retailers; these are the only bags they can use to throw out their trash.
 Why the buzz? As recycling grows—curbside programs are up 500 percent in the last 5 years, says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—so does PAYT. It’s now in 7,100 communities nationwide, according to the Skumatz Economic [...]
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By the Numbers: Energy-efficiency investments would pay huge dividends, says McKinsey & Company report
.2 trillion
 Amount U.S. consumers and businesses could save by 2020 by boosting their energy efficiency, according to “Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy,” a new report from management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. (The report covers nontransportation energy use.)
Under current conditions, the United States wastes more energy each year than Canada consumes. Our nearly 130 million homes, many of which lose energy to leaky ductwork, underinsulated attics, and inefficient appliances, account for roughly 35 percent of the potential energy-efficiency gains, says the report. (You can make your old windows less drafty by caulking gaps, as shown. And use a programmable thermostat to boost your household-energy savings.)
As the report details, an initial investment of 0 billion would be needed to reduce annual energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020, which translates into .2 trillion in savings and an end-use reduction of 9.1 quadrillion British thermal units.
Those savings are key, because worldwide energy use is projected to soar over the next two decades, according to the [...]
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SiteSeeing: ApplianceRepair.com offers useful how-to troubleshooting tips for home appliances
 Stuck with a leaky, noisy, bouncy, smelly, or otherwise underperforming
appliance? The folks at RepairClinic.com, who have helped us with “Can
This [fill in the blank] Be Saved?” sidebars on refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, and other household gear, has a new site that provides
even more sage appliance-repair advice for DIYers. (We haven’t tried out any of the repairs, so use your judgment to determine whether the you want to proceed with the recommended fixes.)
At the heart of ApplianceRepair.com
are dozens of transcripts of the site’s Sunday-morning radio show with
host John Sowden (shown). Each transcript is quite effectively divided into
detailed descriptions and savvy solutions to problems like:
• Musty, noisy, or dancing washing machines.
• The balky top burner on a Kenmore range.
• Refrigerator lightbulbs that won’t stay lit.
• Enigmatic error codes for GE electric ranges.
• Cures for a shaky garbage disposer. See our buyer’s guide to garbage disposers.
 [...]
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Name of Product: Crosley®, Frigidaire®, Kelvinator®, Kenmore®, Wascomat®, and White-Westinghouse® clothes washers
Units: About 35,000
Distributor: Frigidaire, of Cleveland, Ohio
Hazard: An internal defect in the washer’s drain pump can cause heat to build up, posing a fire hazard to the consumer.
Incidents/Injuries: No incidents or injuries have been reported.
Description: This recall involves the Crosley®, Frigidaire®, Kelvinator®, Kenmore®, Wascomat®, and White-Westinghouse® top load washers, 3.1 cubic foot front load washers and laundry centers.
Product Type
Brand
Model
Serial Number
Top Load Washer
Crosley, Frigidaire, Kelvinator,
White- Westinghouse
CTW100FW
GLWS1749FS
SWS833HS
FTW3011KW
KWS1349DS
SWX703HQ
FTW3014KW
MWS939AS
SWX703HS
FWS1233FS
SWS1233HQ
WWS833FS
FWS933FS
SWS1233HS
WWTW3000KW
GLWS1439FC
SWS1339HS
GLWS1439FS
SWS1649HS
XC90306228 to XC91606302
Front Load Washer
Crosley, Frigidaire, Wascomat,
White- Westinghouse
CFW2000FW
FTF530FS
WE17N
FCCW3000FS
GLTF1570FS
WTF330HS
FTF1240FS
WE17M
XC90501765 to XC91607678
Laundry Center
Crosley, Frigidaire, Kenmore,
White -Westinghouse
97812
CLCE900FW
GLET1142FS
97912
FEX831FS
GLGH1642FS
97962
FGX831FS
GLGT1031FS
C97812
FLGB8200FS
GLGT1142FS
C97912
GCET1031FS
MEX731CFS
C97962
GLEH1642FS
SWSG1031HS
CLCE500FW
GLET1031FS
SWXG831HS
XE85104013 to XE91603486
*Not all serial numbers within these ranges are affected.
Model and serial numbers can be located as follows:
Top load washer = open the product’s lid, and the model and serial number are located inside the product’s lid, on the top, right hand corner.
Front load washer = open the door, and the model and serial number are located with other information at the top, center.
Laundry center = open the door to the dryer, and the model and serial number are located on the outer edge of the door nearest the door’s handle.
Sold by: Sears and other retailers [...]
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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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The next generation of laundry has arrived and the status quo is getting a much-needed makeover. New washer and dryer technologies and innovations in detergents and clothing care save time and energy, making laundry feel like less of a chore.
Everything in its place
Laundry rooms used to be relegated to the basement, but more people are finding space for washers and dryers in convenient areas of the house like upstairs near bedrooms. Experts say installing a “laundry nook” is not only a good investment and can raise the value of your home, but it can make hauling baskets of clothing up and down flights of stairs a thing of the past.
The closer the washer and dryer are to living spaces the more important it is for them to be quiet. “Look for machines with new technologies that reduce vibration for nearly noiseless laundry sessions,” says home design expert Doug Wilson. “If your washer and dryer are out in the open, look for colorful and sleek models that can stand out stylishly on their own. New models are available in a variety of designer finishes such as wild cherry red, Riviera blue and even colors that give the look of [...]
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