After a month of effort, Eric got Lowes to give him a washer that doesn’t shake itself to pieces. His complaint letters and phone calls to corporate had the effect of water dashing against a rock, so he turned his attention to the store manager, where he found success. Domo arigato, Mr. Vibrato!
appliances
5 Portable Air Conditioners Ranked
By 8.8.07
Portable air conditioners are good when you need to cool only a single room in your home, or when you live in a studio with a crummy wall unit and no central heating/ac, or when you go camping. They also free up the view out your window. On the downside, they recycle “inside air,” require a drainage tube or a bucket, can be noisy, and make it look like you have a dorm fridge in your living room. Slate reviews five mid-range portable units (between 9,000 and 12,000 BTUs, or enough to cool between 350 and 550 square feet).
Dyson Sends You A New Vacuum Because You Broke Yours
By 8.6.07
Reader Daniel is overjoyed. He broke his Dyson vacuum and when he called to see if he could buy a replacement part, he found that it was too expensive because you have to buy one whole half of the vacuum. So he said, “No Thanks.”
10 Fancypants Kitchen Features You Don't Need
By 7.31.07
Consumer Reports lays the smack down on 10 kitchen features that aren’t worth the money. “Overhyped” and overpriced items include multimedia appliances, professional-grade ranges, “appliance drawers,” steam ovens, and “turbocharged” dishwashers. Thankfully, not even knowing what an “appliance drawer” is, we haven’t wanted one yet. Whew. Consider this your opportunity to expand on CR’s list: What kitchen appliances and features does no one really need? Or which ones suck?
Consumer Reports: GE Washers That Make Clothes Dirtier?
By 7.3.07
Consumer Reports tested some washers in June and found two that left stain-soaked swatches nearly as dirty as when they went in. Now further tests have revealed that the washing machines actually made the clothes dirtier! From Consumer Reports:
Door seals in the GE WCVH6600H[WW], $900, and WBVH5100H[WW], $750, frequently trapped washcloths during the high-speed spin cycle. The seals were abraded and deposited ground-up rubber on the cloths. We tested one unit of each washer before they were sold at retail and one unit each bought at stores anonymously. Door seals in all four washers left the residue, and we couldn’t completely remove the resulting stains with further washing.
Consumer Reports has downgraded the washers to “not recommended.”
Save On Utilities By Spending More On Your Home
By 6.30.07
Saving by spending is not as counterintuitive as it sounds when it comes to home improvements. Though energy-saving improvements can cost more upfront, savings are eventually realized as lower utility bills. Kiplinger put together a nifty list to help determine how long it takes to recoup the extra amount spent on energy-efficient improvements:
UPDATE: Sears.com Repeatedly Delivers Wrong Dryer, Doesn't Correct Website
By 6.21.07
We posted about how Ian started blogging his quest to get Sears to make up for delivering the wrong dryer, repeatedly. Now, the executive customer service types are ignoring his requests for a refund, despite their promises to do so in full. Ian has vowed to take Sears to small claims court-the last recourse for aggrieved customers.
GE: "Your Broken Refrigerator Is Working Fine"
By 6.4.07
To say that Paul is upset about his refrigerator would be an understatement.
Sears.com Repeatedly Delivers Wrong Dryer, Doesn't Correct Website
By 5.26.07
All Ian wanted was a dryer. Ian tried ordering a GE DWSR463GGW dryer from Sears.com. The dryer that arrived at his door was labeled DWSR, but was in fact the smaller, less desirable DBXR463GGW. Ian called Sears.com and told them to fix their mistake. Sears.com delivered another DBXR labeled as a DWSR; when Ian pointed out the repeated error, they inexplicably offered him yet another DBXR.
Hack Your AC Adaptors To Power Low Voltage Electronics
By 1.11.07
This example shows converting a cellphone adaptor for use with a computer fan.
Kill-A-Watt: Learn Which Appliances Are Costing You
By 12.6.06
J.D. at Get Rich Slowly has a review of a nifty little device that tells you how much electricity appliances draw. You can use it to calculate how much money you’d save by turning things off/unplugging them. Cool!
Cook in the Kitchen, Cook in the Bedroom
By 10.26.06
That annoying Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus guy is taking money from Sears (yes, the department store) to study whether or not cooking more improves your sex life.
Best Buy Repair Melts Meat, Not Hearts
By 6.15.06
There is some use crying over spilt ice cream, though Best Buy won’t shed too many tears over it. That’s just as well. The resulting mix would leave a bad taste in your mouth, just like their customer service, as Nikki found when trying to get her refrigerator repaired.
Whirlpool Water Heaters Give Hundreds Cold Showers
By 5.30.06
We hope you don’t own a Whirlpool Flame Lock Gas Water heater, because boy, do they totally suck.
Morning Deals Round Up
By 1.19.06
• Get the Rogue Hawaiian Soprano Ukulele for just $26 shipped at Musicians’ Friend. Ukulele is the new Strat knock-off, hipsters. [via Dealnews]
