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Recall: Sunbeam Products Wine Openers Due to Laceration Hazard

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Name of Product: Wine Bottle Openers

Units: About 159,000

Distributor: Sunbeam Products Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla.

Retailer: QVC, of West Chester, Pa.

Hazard: The wine bottles can break when opened with the recalled opener, posing a laceration hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Sunbeam has received 52 reports of wine bottles breaking while the opener was being used on them, including 22 reports of injuries. Injuries include lacerations to the hands.

Description: This recall involves the “skybar™ Air Pump Wine Opener” model number NBSKWA2600. The wine bottle opener was sold as a four piece set in the following colors: gray, blue, red or silver and black-colored with a black storage box. “skybar” is printed on the side of the wine bottle opener. Model number NBSKWA2600 is printed on the bottom of the wine bottle opener.

Sold at: QVC retail and employees stores nationwide, QVC’s televised shopping programs, and online at www.qvc.com and www.skybarhome.com from November 2010 through December 2010 for between $30 and $60.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled wine bottle openers. Consumers who purchased the wine bottle openers at a QVC store should return them to any QVC store for a full refund. Consumers who purchased the wine bottle openers through QVC’s televised shopping programs or at www.qvc.com were mailed instructions for obtaining a refund. Purchasers who have not received the mailed instructions should contact QVC. If the wine openers were not purchased through QVC, contact Sunbeam for instructions to obtain a full refund.

Consumer Contact: Contact QVC at (800) 367-9444 between 7 a.m. and 1 a.m. ET daily or visit the firm’s website at www.qvc.com. Consumers can also contact Sunbeam toll-free at (888) 759-2279 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.skybarhome.com

 

Recall: Sanus Elements Surge Protectors by Milestone AV Technologies Due to Shock Hazard

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Name of Product: Low-profile power conditioners/surge protectors

Units: About 2,500

Importer: Milestone AV Technologies LLC, of Savage, Minn.

Manufacturer: Rite-Tech Industrial Co., Ltd., of Taiwan

Hazard: Improper grounding of the case and inadequate insulation for the circuit breaker poses an electrical shock hazard to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported

Description: This recall involves all Sanus Elements model ELM205 low-profile power conditioners or surge protectors. SANUS ELEMENTS is printed on the front of the unit and the model number is printed near the UL logo on the back.

Sold by: Independent home theater dealers from June 2009 through December 2010 for about $90.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the product and contact Milestone for a replacement product or refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Milestone toll-free at (877) 894-6280 between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. CT Monday through Friday and between 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Saturday and Sunday, or visit the firm’s website at www.milestone.com/recall

How to Load a Dishwasher

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The proper way to load the dishwasher. Husbands and wives have been debating technique for years, roommates have had thoughts of moving out because of it. Some procedures, like careful placement, do guarantee that dishes are cleaned properly and emerge unscathed, dishwasher intact. We’ll let Consumer Reports step in with their official stance –

Here is the proper way to load your dishwasher:
* Skip pre-rinsing, a real water waster, but do scrape off food.
* Load large items at the side and back. Otherwise they’ll block water and detergent.
* Place the dirtier side of dish toward the center of machine, allowing for more exposure to the spray. Dishes shouldn’t rest against each other, or water won’t reach all surfaces.
* Put dishwasher-safe plastic and delicate items on the top rack.
* Rest glasses on prongs to prevent breakage and water from accumulating in them.
* Load forks and spoons with handles down, but place knives handles up. If your dishwasher has an open basket, mix flatware to prevent pieces from sticking together.
* Place items with baked-on food facedown and toward the sprayer in bottom rack.
* Avoid putting brass, bronze, cast-iron, wood, or gold leaf china in the machine.

 
To keep china from chipping, don’t allow dishes to touch other items, especially pots and pans. If you decide to hand wash your fine china and porcelain, line your sink with an old towel to prevent chipping and use a mild dish detergent.

The Way to a Woman’s Heart is Through the Kitchen – Yours!

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Hey guys – if your Valentine’s Day didn’t turn out as planned you may want to consider wooing your girl with a new kitchen.
The way to a woman’s heart is through your kitchen, according to the research by luxury appliance brand Thermador.

Its survey showed that 83 percent women fall for suitors with a luxury kitchen in their bachelor’s pad. Just 17 percent women go for guys with a fancy car in their garage.

Red convertibles may impress your friends, but they won’t make your Valentine’s heart race and cheeks flush like a top-of-the-line gourmet kitchen, said the luxury appliance maker on the findings of its survey.

In fact, 61 percent of women said a beautiful kitchen would better help them decide whether to ‘heat things up’ in a relationship than a romantic bedroom (38 percent ) or flashy garage (1 percent),” said the statement.

Steve Preiner, director of marketing for Thermador, said, ‘Not only is a well-designed and outfitted kitchen a great way to impress your date, it will also help strengthen your home’s resale value. ‘You can knock thousands of dollars off the value of a new car as soon as you drive it out of the dealership, but investing in a beautiful kitchen with quality appliances will only increase the beauty and the value of your home.”

If you are looking for a first date to turn into a second, then renovating your kitchen and installing luxury handcrafted appliances is the way to go, according to the survey.

But having an impressive kitchen is only part of the story, said the survey, adding that a lover also needs to be a good cook to impress his girl.

Forty-six percent women ‘swoon over men who can cook” and 44 percent over ‘who are fit, ” according to the survey findings.

Just one percent women are impressed by the guys who drive nice cars.

Electrolux Still Entertaining Daewoo Purchase

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Electrolux may be behind your next Daewoo purchase.

Electrolux is interested in buying Daewoo Electronics Corp. should the takeover of the bankrupt South Korean appliance maker by an Iranian rival fall through, Chief Executive Officer Keith McLoughlin said.

According to businessweek.com, creditors of Daewoo Electronics last year agreed to an offer from Entekhab Industrial Group over a competing one from Electrolux. Lenders have since extended the deadline for Entekhab to pay the 471.5 billion won ($420 million) price tag until April 7. Daewoo Electronics had sales of 1.13 trillion won in 2009, according to the latest available regulatory filing.

“If they come back to us, we’ll certainly talk to them,” McLoughlin said in a Feb. 17 interview at the Stockholm-based company’s headquarters. “They knew we were interested, and we’re still interested. If the phone rings, we’ll answer it.”

McLoughlin, who took the helm at the world’s second-biggest home appliance maker at the start of this year, said talks are under way with “more than a couple” potential takeover targets. These may include companies that make air conditioners and other “adjacent products” to Electrolux’s vacuum cleaners, washing machines and refrigerators, he said.

Recall: Sno-Tek Snow Blowers by Liquid Combustion Technology Due to Laceration Hazard

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Name of Product: Sno-Tek snow blowers

Units: About 1,500 in the U.S. and 300 in Canada

Importer: Liquid Combustion Technology, LLC (LCT), of Travelers Rest, S.C.

Manufacturer: Ariens, of Brillion, Wis.

Hazard: The snow blower’s engine is missing a safety shield above the side mounted electric starter, posing a laceration hazard to consumer’s fingers.

Injuries/Incidents: None reported.

Description: The recalled snow blowers have a LCT StormForce engine with “Sno-Tek” printed across a metal handlebar plate. Snow blowers with model numbers 920402 and 920403 and UPC codes 5105803094 and 5105803095 are included in this recall. Only snow blowers with engine model number PW1HK18650781DE-ABGOQUVE1M with serial numbers ranging from 1065H04008325A through 1065H04012104A are affected by this recall. The product model number and UPC codes are printed on a label attached to the outside of the gear box near the left wheel.

Sold at: Home Depot and Ariens authorized dealers nationwide and HD.com in Canada from August 2010 through September 2010 for between about $700 and $800.

Manufactured in: Snow blower in United States, engine in China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using these snow blowers and contact LCT for a free repair kit and installation instructions or return them to an authorized LCT service center location for a free repair. LCT’s Service Network toll free number is (800) 558-5402

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact LCT at (800) 552-8094 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s website at www.LCTUSA.com

Note: Health Canada’s press release is available at http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1275

Dishwasher Buying Guide – Special Features You May – Or May Not Need

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Dishwashers come with many options to help you get sparkling clean dishes. Some come standard on a basic machine and some will add considerably to the price of your new dishwasher. Read on to see what Consumer Reports had to say about these features.

Adjustable racks and loading aids
Racks that adjust up or down, adjustable tines, and silverware and stemware holders let you reconfigure the interior and organize the contents. Those devices increase flexibility, especially when you cook for a crowd, and they can help accommodate large and oddly shaped items.

Dirt sensor
It adjusts water use and cycle length to soil level. A dirt sensor can improve efficiency, but not all work well.

Rinse/hold cycle
It lets you rinse dirty dishes before you’re ready to start a full cycle. This cycle can reduce odors and prevents soil from setting while you accumulate enough dirty dishes for a full load.

Filters
These keep wash water free of food that could be redeposited on clean dishes. There are two types: self-cleaning and manual.
Most filters are self-cleaning; a grinder pulverizes the debris and flushes it down the drain. That’s convenient but noisy. Some models have a filter without a grinder. It’s quieter, but it needs periodic cleaning, a job that takes a few minutes. It’s your choice.

Special wash cycles
Most dishwashers come with at least three cycles: light, normal, and heavy (pots and pans). Some offer pot-scrubber, soak/scrub, steam clean, china/crystal, or sanitizing cycles as well. The three basic cycles should be enough for most chores–even for baked-on food. A sanitizing option that raises water temperature above the typical 140° F doesn’t necessarily clean better.

Stainless-steel tub
Steel is more durable than plastic, but models with a plastic tub tend to cost far less. While light-colored plastic might become discolored, gray-speckled plastic should resist staining. Even a plastic tub should last longer than most people keep a dishwasher.

Hidden touchpad controls
Controls mounted along the top edge of the door are strictly a styling touch. They’re hidden when the door is closed. You can’t see cycle progress at a glance. (Partially hidden controls are a good compromise. They show that the machine is running and often display remaining cycle time.)

Phosphate Free Dishwasher Detergent – The Saga Continues…

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Back in July ’10 we published a story about sixteen states banning phosphates from dishwasher detergent. Detergent manufacturers have reacted to that ban by removing all but trace amounts of the chemical from their dishwasher detergents.

The response to that article has been loud and clear – the new formulas are a failure.

Phosphates are chemicals responsible for serious cleaning. Phosphorus debates in the cleaning industry began 40 years ago. By 1993, major manufacturers had stopped using it in laundry detergents, says Dennis Griesing of the American Cleaning Institute, a trade association in Washington, D.C. Automatic dishwasher detergents weren’t part of the change because phosphorous was more critical to the cleaning process.

“Phosphorus likes to bind to things,” Griesing explains. “It’s a very sociable element. It would hold soil from plates and glasses in suspension in the water and prevent redeposition.”

But in 2006, when the state of Washington first voted to limit phosphates in automatic dishwasher detergents, manufacturers saw the writing on the wall. Washington’s law, which reduced the allowable amount from nearly 9 percent to a mere one-half of 1 percent, became the standard for other states.

To get rid of residue on glasses and nonmetal dishes, the institute recommends placing two cups of white vinegar in a bowl on the bottom rack of the dishwasher and running the items through a cycle with no detergent. Rewash with detergent to remove residual vinegar.

Of course, this means using more water, another environmental no-no.

Consumer Reports has suggestions for frustrated consumers, besides doing testing to find the best low-phosphate detergents. Its tips to maximize the effectiveness of dishwashers include loading large items at the side and back so they don’t block water and detergent, placing the dirty side of a dish toward the center of the machine and placing items with baked-on food facedown and toward the sprayer in the bottom rack.

As for CR’s recommended detergents, they are:

Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPacs ($7.50, 26-count package)

Finish Powerball Tabs ($6, 20-count package)

Finish Quantum ($13, 45-count package)

Appliance Prices Are Going Up

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Top appliance makers Whirlpool and Electrolux are raising prices to pass soaring raw material costs on to customers, but their attempts may not pass muster with bargain-hungry shoppers.

According to Reuters, both companies reported quarterly profits that fell short of estimates as they grapple with tepid demand in major markets like the United States and Europe.
Many analysts questioned the timing of the move, especially since consumers in the developed world continue to look for incentives to buy expensive goods like appliances.

Korean manufacturer Samsung has not announced increases and appears to be planning to hold existing prices. Still, Whirlpool’s chief executive, Jeff Fettig, insisted it was not “economically feasible” for Whirlpool to remain indefinitely in the promotional mindset it adopted for the holiday season and last year in general. “For 2011, we expect positive but uneven demand levels around the world,” Fettig said, adding the company still hoped to expand operating margins in the year through price increases and boosts in productivity.

LG Electronics does plan an increase as well. The planned price increase matches moves announced earlier by Whirlpool and Electrolux.

Whirlpool has shut plants, cut jobs and moved some manufacturing to lower cost centers like Mexico. It has also started using common parts across its lineup of dishwashers, refrigerators and washing machines.

Electrolux, which sells under its own name as well as the Zanussi and Frigidaire brands, is planning to raise prices by 8 percent to 10 percent in North America starting in April and gradually in Europe and other markets. The move comes as manufacturers around the globe plot price increases to offset higher materials costs and regain ground lost in the recession. Electrolux Chief Executive Keith McLoughlin said the rise in raw materials’ costs had been across the board.

Dacor Introduces the Distinctive 24″ Microwave and the Epicure 36″ Raised Ventilation System

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Dacor has just introduced two new products – the Distinctive 24” Microwave and the Epicure 36” Raised Ventilation System.

Available in stainless steel, the Distinctive 24” Microwave is a classic combination of form and functionality, with an affordable price that has become a signature of the Distinctive Series. Equipped with state-of-the-art Sensor Technology the Distinctive Microwave takes the guesswork out of cooking by detecting the moisture and humidity level of the food inside and cooking it accordingly. A built-in electronic sensor automatically sets the time for cooking or reheating and then “senses” the vapor emitted from the food to determine the duration and power level needed to thoroughly cook the food.

In addition, the Menu Label is clearly displayed on the inside of the oven door, providing a functional list of automatic settings to assist in meal preparation and take the guesswork out of cooking. Users no longer have to worry that food is burning or remains cold in the center. The Distinctive Microwave also comes with pre-set options for recipes that can be made directly in the microwave. Complete with recipe cards so home chefs can prepare the ingredients, the Microwave display prompts users on the recipe’s next step. During the cooking process the microwave displays recipe instructions and pauses automatically to allow users to stir, season, or add ingredients as necessary. The Auto Start option allows users to program the oven to begin cooking at a pre-set time and power level. Food can be placed inside, and the menu used to set the appropriate time and power level.

Additional features of the 24” Distinctive Microwave:
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Keep Warm – keeps hot foods heated up to 30 minutes after cooking is finished with no loss of quality
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Four Defrost Options – quickly defrosts meats and poultry by weight. Specific programs for each category assure excellent, even results
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Minute Plus – provides users one minute of high power cooking with a single touch

36” Epicure Ventilation System

An efficient, high-quality ventilation system is essential to improving air quality in the kitchen. Ventilation Systems not only eliminate kitchen odors, but also help to control the humidity in a kitchen, which inhibits the growth of bacteria. The 36” Epicure Ventilation System offers a stylish solution for homeowners who need a ventilation system but do not want the look of a large hood hanging from the ceiling. Designed in stainless steel, this innovative ventilation system is installed under the counter and remains out of view when not in use. When needed, the system rises 15” above the countertop to efficiently remove smoke and other cooking odors. When finished, the touch of a button lowers the system back into the surface of the counter for a clear, uncluttered countertop. The ventilation system’s slim profile makes it versatile and allows it to be installed behind an oven/cooktop combination.
Dacor specially designed the Epicure Ventilation System to compliment the Distinctive Cooktop and Distinctive Rangetop. The system has an infinite speed blower control and must be vented with a Remote Blower or In Line Blower, which reduce kitchen noise, or a Cabinet Blower. Powerful and efficient design allows Dacor blowers to easily remove the most persistent and dense kitchen pollutants – from heat and odor to steam and smoke.

The Distinctive 24” Microwave rolls out to authorized Dacor dealers in February 2011 with UMRP starting at $459 while the Epicure 36” Raised Ventilation System will be available to dealers in March 2011 and has a UMRP starting at $979.