April 12th, 2012
To fix it or nix it? That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to repair or wiser to replace...Yes, it's the appliance industry's existential question of all time. We must consider the age of the appliance, the cost of repairing versus the cost of replacement, the urgency of the situation and the environment. Of course a lot of it boils down to money; both are going to cost a ... Read more
April 11th, 2012
A lovely bunch of flowers and a cup of tea in bed is what Mum wants for Mother's Day, like, in 1924. Which is the year that a Sydneysider by the name of Mrs Janet Heyden began the tradition of Mother's Day in Australia by organising a gift giving affair for the women at the Newington State Home. Back then, Chrysanthemums - autumn flowers - were given as ... Read more
April 11th, 2012
Sanyo has created a Facebook page to publicise the recall of a microwave that may cause 'severe electric shocks'. The page was created in March and it announces that Sanyo is now undertaking a full product recall of the EMC8787B convection grill microwave ovens. A recall notice was first issued in January, and the continued alerts may indicate that there are still enough faulty microwaves at large in ... Read more
April 11th, 2012
How many cups of Viennese coffee will two tonnes of coffee make? That's the likely question on two thieves' minds today, in Vienna. Holy cappuccino, hold the milk! Two thieves have nicked off with two tonnes of coffee in the Austrian capital Vienna. Mugged from a wholesaler and coffee-roaster's warehouse the thieves loaded the beans into a stolen van, also making off with two coffee machines, according to an ... Read more
April 5th, 2012
A conventional gift won't cut the mustard all the time. That's because not all your friends have a white picket fence and 2.4 children with a perfectly mortgaged kitchen to match. Tea towels and toasters will do for that lot but quirky people call for kooky gifts and we have found five that should cover all the offbeat bases. Gift 1: We'll ease into the list with a ... Read more
April 4th, 2012
Not that you needed another excuse to pop another bottle of vodka in the freezer but as it turns out, filling up your freezer (not necessarily with vodka) saves you money. Filling freezers and fridges to capacity makes them more energy efficient because most of the energy goes towards cooling down air that comes in when the doors are open. When the freezer or fridge is full, less ... Read more
April 4th, 2012
Brussels sprouts? Urgh! Even Bear Grylls would rather eat an animal's balls. The mere mention of the little green balls can give kids nightmares and make adults shudder. Funnily enough it's that strong taste which hints at the nutritional punch a brussels sprout packs. So let's give them a break and see if we can find a few good reasons to give them a second chance. It's a matter of ... Read more
April 3rd, 2012
If Earth Hour is more than just a one-night stand, why is it so easy to forget? It's quite impressive, really, that a voluntary movement has inspired well over a billion people to go out of their way on a Saturday night to turn off their lights. The precise number of switches are still being tallied but last year, 1.8 billion turned off the juice in an effort ... Read more
April 2nd, 2012
It has already decorated Red Bull fridges in London, Toronto and San Fransisco, and now the popular project has made its mark in Sydney. The project elected 11 of Australia's best street artists to transform the stainless steel on the fridges into works of art. Each Red Bull fridge is to belong to one of Sydney's vogue watering holes and so the artists were asked to work within ... Read more
April 2nd, 2012
Most Australians would rather to anything to avoid the vacuum. We would rather run 10kms or skip a meal or even clean up dog poo, so says a survey. Which is hardly a surprise. It freaks the cat out, takes forever, is loud, requires effort, can be a bit smelly if the vacuum is old or the bag is full and frankly there are a million other ... Read more
March 30th, 2012
Did you know...vegetables aren't always boring!? The eclectic lives of the edible plants vary from those that have changed colours over the centuries, to stems that stimulate sexy hormones. Crikey! There's a lot more to veges than first meets the mouth! Carrots Long story short, the Dutch made carrots orange in the 17th Century in honour of their hero William of Orange. Before then, they were purple and ... Read more
March 30th, 2012
Small appliances have more uses than ever imagined. What do anchovies, capers, and garlic have in common? Apart from giving you bad breath they're examples of little things that pack a lot of punch. As it is with kitchen appliances. Large appliances are mostly essential workhorses: the fridge, dishwasher and oven. But it's the small appliances, often tucked under benches and in cupboards, that can make a big difference ... Read more
March 29th, 2012
Organisers of the Electrolux Design Lab competition have asked people to submit pictures about sound. It may not be as obscure of an idea as the sound of a tree crashing down in an empty forest, but Electrolux hopes it will get contestants thinking outside the square. It's all part of this year's Design Lab competition, which is calling for appliance designs based around a sensory experience. The touch ... Read more
March 29th, 2012
It's time for some autumn cleaning! Keeping the air in a house clean is an even greater consideration with the approach of winter and the bugs and germs it brings along. Especially for allergy sufferers, as dusty, damp filters can be an excellent breeding ground for mould. Dirty filters on air conditioner units will not only run less efficiently but they can even push through and circulate disease, such ... Read more
March 28th, 2012
The most recent Canstar Blue survey has found that Australians are prepare to pay more for their air conditioner if the long term costs are reduced by being energy efficient. Almost two thirds of Australians said energy efficiency was their primary concern while 64 per cent said they would be prepared to spend over $1,000 on a new air conditioner that "would be kind to their power ... Read more