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Washing Machine

Washing Your Washer?

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Whirlpool has just announced the release of cleaning tablets designed specifically for cleaning high efficiency (HE) washing machines.  These tablets called Affresh, are designed to remove mold and mildew from inside the washer.  Whirlpool claims that due to the efficient design of HE washers, they are more prone to mold and mildew residue. 

 They also mention that all manufacturers recommend monthly cleanings.  Well, I just checked the manual that came with my Bosch Nexxt washer and it specifically says that the inside should not need cleaning and if for some reason descaling(which is not mold and mildew removal) is needed, proceed with caution and follow the product instructions carefully.

I have noticed that the inside of the washer remains damp after every use and that could develop into a smelly problem, but if I leave the door open for a couple hours and let it air out, everything is fine.  I have had the same machine for almost two years and it smells just fine.

I suppose if the problem exists these tablets might be worth a try, but I would suggest prevention first, and then if necessary, be sure to follow the instructions carefully.

The Right Appliance for You

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Do you find that you are drawn to a certain brand of appliance again and again?  Did your mother always rely on one brand of washer and dryer?  Whirlpool is aware of consumers conscious and unconscious preferences for specific appliances.

For every Whirlpool Corporation brand – including Whirlpool®, Maytag®, KitchenAid®, Jenn-Air®, Amana® and Gladiator® GarageWorks – there is a unique brand identity that is defined using proprietary consumer research about preferences, lifestyles and values. Whirlpool Corporation uses this research to make tough, strategic decisions about the kinds of product innovations, features and designs it will offer to consumers.

Each of Whirlpool Corporation’s branded products is designed to meet the specific needs and preferences of consumers from a psychographic standpoint. What’s important to one consumer may not even occur to another,” said Michael A. Todman, president, Whirlpool North America. “For instance, the consumer who buys Maytag brand focuses on reliability, so the durability of internal nuts and bolts means everything. The time-starved nature of the Whirlpool brand consumer means placing greater value on getting more done quickly, so the brand’s focus is timesaving features.”

Some other Whirlpool insights into how they, and we view their large family of brands:

  • For 100 years, the Maytag brand has represented strength and lasting durability
  •  With a common-sense approach to life, Amana brand consumers believe in creating a pleasant atmosphere in their home. Amana consumers want quality and style at an affordable price.
  • KitchenAid brand consumers enjoy cooking with others, savoring the journey of making great food with great friends and family.
  • The Jenn-Air brand appeals to a consumer who loves to entertain, has uncompromising taste and pays great attention to detail.

So, the fact that your mother might have insisted on a Maytag washer because she knows they are durable is exactly what Maytag (remember they’re Whirlpool in disguise) wants her to think.  It’s up to Whirlpool to build machines that uphold the reputation. 

If you’d like to read more about the varieties of appliances available from these Whirlpool brands, you can do so here

Sears Going Green

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Turn off the Lights! Turn off the water! Reuse and recycle!

I know I try to follow those simple guidelines and have installed low flush toilets, energy efficient appliances and compact fluorescent lights in my home.  Sears is trying to help a bit by “rolling out the Kenmore Elite® dishwasher with Ultra WashHE technology, and the SteamCare(TM) Washer and Dryer lines, along with a new alliance with the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots Program. ”

The Roots & Shoots program is a youth program whose mission is to  foster respect and compassion for all living things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment.

With that goal in mind, Sears’ new product line will be high efficiency, high performance and have a sleek modern line.  “Consumers understand that small changes made in their homes can have a significant impact on the environment,” said Tina Settecase, vice president and general manager of home appliances, Sears Holdings Corp. ”  As part of the initiative, $25 will be donated to the Roots & Shoots Program for every Kenmore Elite dishwasher with Ultra WashHE technology sold between Oct. 28 and Nov. 7, 2007. To read more

Whirlpool does Right – wins the Helen Keller Accessibility award

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Superman said it best “Truth Justice and the American Way”. The American Way – the secret to our strength? well you can follow it back to the days of barn raising, and follow it forward to the deep response of American’s nationwide to the victims of Katrina. American’s look out for each other. We want our neighbors, our friends, and even strangers to have better lives.

One of America’s great companies has been honored for keeping it sights on how to help all of its customers have better lives, even those with disabilities. The American Foundation for the Blind awards annual recognition to a companies or individuals that have made significant contributions to people who are blind or visually impaired. This year they honored Whirlpool for their tremendous focus on making their products easy to use for those with visual impairments.

whirlpoollogo.gif

Whirlpool brand is the 14th annual recipient of the Helen Keller Achievement Award, recognizing individuals and organizations who have improved the quality of life for those who are visually impaired. The award is named for the world renowned advocate for the deaf and blind, Helen Keller.

It’s not your grandmothers silver – Ionized Silver appliances

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No its not your NANA’s silver its NANO silver from Samsung. silver nano from samsung Samsung, the monster Korean manufacturing conglomerate is taking advantage of silver’s ability to inhibit bacterial growth. By using Nano technology to drop create a mist of silver ions 1/75,000th the width of a human hair Samsung has created a surface coating resistant, and supposedly deadly to a wide variety of bacteria.

The folks at Samsung swear that

the home appliances where the Silver Nano Health System is applied have gone through a series of strict testing at such international agencies as the British Allergy Foundation and the SLG Pruef-und Zertifizierungs GmbH in Germany. While the silver lining behind these high-tech appliances has been certified as effective in killing bacteria, it is also reportedly absolutely harmless to the human body.

They’ve treated air conditioner filters, the inside of refridgerators, dishwashers and even a waterless washing machine which cleans your delicate clothing with a blast of silver filtered hot air.

They call it the Silver Nano Health System. Kind of cool, you can read more about it here:

The silver nano sterilizing washer

or check it out in Polish here:

Famous for Doing Nothing

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He has to be one of the most easily recognized pitchmen on TV. He does nothing. He’s the most bored, lonely guy we know and he’s been missing in action for months. But not any more. He’s back. They found him.

Could it be this guy? I’d pick him just for his creative audition.

Well it’s a big enough deal to make the world news. Check it out:

If these guys don’t heat your clothes, check out this vintage clip with an earlier pitch girl.

Appliance.net, back in February: Whirlpool Seeks New Maytag Repairman

Behind The Appliance Brands – Lifting the Mask

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appliance brand namesConsumer Reports tells us “the nameplate doesn’t always indicate who makes your fridge, oven, or washer”.

Our recent tests of refrigerators included more than 70 models from 20 brands.

That’s a lot of companies, until you play appliance detective and discover that the $20 billion annual market for refrigerators, ovens, washers, and other major home appliances isn’t such a vast place after all. That activity turns out to be a bit like playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, though instead of the well-connected actor popping up repeatedly, a few mammoth manufacturers and brands do.

Got pen and paper ready? We haven’t covered every manufacturer, but this rundown will give you a good idea about who actually makes all those appliances. It’s also worth noting that the manufacturing arrangements change all the time.

The Whirlpool Corporation, based in Benton Harbor, Mich., makes Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and Gladiator products. The company accounts for about 17 percent of major appliance sales in the U.S., following closely behind the General Electric brand (17.8 percent) and the Sears Kenmore brand (22.2 percent). Over the years, the Whirlpool company has gobbled up Admiral, Amana, Jenn-Air, Magic Chef, and Maytag, and makes appliances for Ikea (ovens, ranges, cooktops, microwaves, refrigerators, freezers, and dishwashers) and Kenmore (some of the brand’s refrigerators, dishwashers, washers, and dryers). Gladiator and KitchenAid are two “Whirlpool bred” brands.

Whirlpool’s certainly not the only Kenmore supplier. Frigidaire and LG also manufacture Kenmore refrigerators, Haier handles some of its compact fridges, and Danby makes some of its wine chillers, Bosch makes some of its dishwashers, and Electrolux and Sanyo build some of its freezers.

General Electric is well known for a vast array of products–lightbulbs, jet engines for military planes, and “The Today Show.” But this corporate colossus, based in Fairfield, Conn., also makes appliances under the GE, GE Monogram, GE Profile, and Hotpoint brands.

Across the Atlantic, BSH Home Appliances is a leading purveyor of high-end appliances. This German company brings you upscale kitchen and laundry appliances under the brand names Bosch, Gaggenau, Siemens, and Thermador.

BSH has other bedfellows, including KitchenAid, for which it will start making induction cooktops in the summer. Keeping it in the family, KitchenAid turns out a built-in side-by-side refrigerator for Thermador. Bosch’s relationships spread as far as Asia–South Korea’s Daewoo Electronics makes a Bosch side-by-side refrigerator.

Elsewhere in Europe, you might think of Electrolux as the onetime producer of those old, quirky-looking canister vacuums. But this Swedish manufacturer has also brought you refrigerators, freezers, washers, and more under its own nameplate and brands like Frigidaire, Gibson, Kelvinator, Tappan, and White Westinghouse. Proving the Kevin Bacon theory, Electrolux is also connected to Sears: It makes Kenmore dishwashers and high-end Kenmore Pro appliances.

Viking sounds Scandinavian, too, but the company, known for its pro-style ranges and built-in refrigerators, is actually based in Greenwood, Miss. It’s a small world after all: Sweden’s Asko company currently makes some of Viking’s dishwashers. Viking does manufacture its other appliances (and by the end of 2007 will make its own dishwashers), except for a freestanding refrigerator that’s made by Amana and undercounter fridges from Marvel. Got all that?

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Recall:Maytag and Samsung Front Loading Washer

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of product: Maytag and Samsung Brand Front Loading Washing Machines

Units: About 250,000 Maytag-brand units and about 20,000 Samsung-brand units

Distributor: Maytag Corp., of Newton, Iowa, and Samsung Electronics America Inc., of Ridgefield Park, N.J.

Manufacturer: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., of South Korea

Hazard: Water leakage onto the electrical connections to the washing machine’s thermal sensor could cause an electrical short and ignite a circuit board, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Maytag has received five reports of incidents involving ignition in the circuit board. Samsung has received one report of an incident involving ignition in the circuit board. No injuries, fires or property damage outside the washing machine have been reported.

Description and Models: The recall involves certain Maytag and Samsung brand front-load washers. The Maytag washers have model numbers beginning with MAH9700 or MAH8700. The Samsung model number WF306BHW or a model number beginning with WF316. Not all serial numbers are subject to the recall. The model and serial numbers are located on a tag at the bottom of the door opening. Maytag models with a serial number ending in the last two letters identified below are subject to the recall:

2005 GA GC GE GG GJ GL GN GP GR GT GV GX
2006 JA JC JE JG JJ JL JN          

Sample Maytag Serial Number: 10123456GN

Samsung models with the six-digit number 100001 through 799999 prior to a letter at the end of the serial number are subject to the recall:

Sample Samsung Serial Number: 230854AL300026B

Sold at: Major department and appliance stores nationwide from April 2005 through August 2006 for between $1,000 and $1,200.

Manufactured in: South Korea

Remedy: Consumers should immediately contact the firm for information on how to receive a free repair. Consumers should not return the washing machine to the retailer where it was purchased.

Consumer Contact: For more information, consumers can call Maytag toll-free at (800) 868-5109 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go to Maytag’s Web site at www.washerrecall.com – Samsung customers can call (800) 515-7902 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go to Samsung’s Web site at www.Samsung.com/washerrecall

Maytag Media Contact: Monica Teague, (269) 923-7405 or monica.teague@Whirlpool.com

Samsung Media Contact: Deborah Szajngarten at (201) 229-4090 or dszajngarten@sea.samsung.com

Picture of Recalled Maytag Washing Machine    Picture of Recalled Samsung Washing Machine

Whirlpool seeks new Maytag Repairman

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maytag repairman man men
Whirlpool Corp. is launching a nationwide search for someone to portray the Maytag Repairman — the lonely, iconic character that has represented Maytag for 40 years.

The Repairman has been under new ownership since Whirlpool purchased the Newton-based Maytag in March and announced that all Maytag’s Newton operations would close by the end of 2007.
The new Repairman could be a professional actor, an ordinary guy next door or even a real-life appliance repairman, Whirlpool officials said.