If you're interested in appliance industry news or views then sign up for my RSS feed and I'll try to keep you informed and entertained. You can also sign up here to receive Neighbour's Appliance updates by email. Thanks for visiting!

Blogger Karen at I Am Not Left-handed shows off her new Sharp Microwave Drawer. Warning: your Pampered Chef Rice Cooker will NOT fit in this microwave.

In an interesting twist (literally) on the old non-stick cookware we now have silicone bakeware. They are a unique blend of what looks and feels like plastic made to be put into the oven. However, cooking temps are limited - most limit the upper range at 428 deg F. which would be a bit low for some types of baking. The pans are flexible which allows you to peel your baked product out of the pan instead of prying it out with a knife. It also claims to eliminate the need for greasing your pan, which always ticks off the low-fat crowd. Kitchen-aid has them available at their website but there are many other lesser known brands as well. I wonder what cooking your food in a silicone tray will do to your body in the future. I mean, I hope it turns out to be safe in the long term.

I saw an ad for a product called a Microfridge. Saying that it was a 3 in 1 appliance (fridge, freezer and microwave), I thought that I would be looking at something like the old Woods Compactkitchen. But when I went to the Microfridge website that is not what I found. Looks like someone took a cheap bar fridge and screwed a cheap microwave to the top of it. That’s a 3 in 1 appliance? Not very inovative at all and believe me, you can buy a separate bar fridge and microwave for far less than what you will pay for this thing.

This is one that sales people often don’t get right. The fan part of an Over The Range Microwave (OTR) is never going to work as well as even a cheap hood fan. There are two things on OTR’s that spoil their air draw. One is that the CFM rating of the fan is usually not what is actually being sucked. The reason is the somewhat convoluted way the air has to flow through the inside of the OTR thereby reducing the overall draw. And second, they do not draw well from the front of the unit. All the suction of the OTR is at the back where the opening is. Even when you remove the filters you will often see the cavity where the fan is located is behind the filters rather than just above. This means that even if the OTR draws OK from the back burners on your stove, the steam and smoke from the front burners will end up in the kitchen rather than outside. Consumer Reports has a nice article on this topic called Hoods Trumps Microwaves. See them for specific advice about what to look at when shopping for a hood or an OTR microwave.

Last week, in the post Appliance Prices are going Up, we speculated that the rise of appliance prices was in part due to the rising oil prices. This article confirms those suspisions.

“Even with the U.S. housing market cooling, Whirlpool executives recently announced price increases in North America of 6 percent to 12 percent to cover a $150 million jump in costs. The company wouldn’t break out fuel costs for competitive reasons, but spokesman Christopher Wyse said Whirlpool had hefty transport costs and uses plastics, paint, resins, hoses and other goods derived from oil.”

I suppose that it is time for service prices to go up as well. About this time last year, I could gas my van up for 69 cents per liter. Now, I am happy to find $1.09 per liter. I usually fill the tank twice a week, which means that I am spending $80.00 more a week to do the same work. Yep, that confirms it - service prices will be going up.

Fisher & Paykel have launched their new Active Smart ice and water dispensing refrigerators in New Zealand. They are available in both Iridium or brushed EZKleen stainless steel - two models in Designer Series flat fronted doors and two in traditional curved Icon Series door panels. Nice looking fridge - not sure if they are available in North America yet though.

Got a big kitchen you want to fill? Try on the new GE 72″ refrigerator for size. You thought a 48″ Sub Zero was big? This is just ridiculously huge! Featuring two fridge doors and two freezer drawers down below, this 41 cubic foot behemoth will retail for approximately $14,000.00 US. Pity the poor service tech that has to pull it out for service.

Whirlpool Corp. has announced that they plan to spend up to 11 million dollars to expand their Amana refrigeration plant. The plant produces the very popular bottom freezer units. The expenditure should create up to 400 new jobs in the Amana, Iowa area.

We all know cars get hot when sitting in the full sun - but did you know you could bake cookies on your dashboard? Sandi Fontaine seen here cooks her cookies in her Toyota Rav4. I guess this would be a perfect solution to cooking indoors on those hot summer days - fresh cookies and a house that has not been heated up by cooking.

According to information posted at the American Academy of Family Physicians web site, 19,109 washing machine injuries were reported between 1993 and 2000 in children under age 15. That’s a lot of injuries! I would suspect that many are related to falling injuries - where children are placed on a washer while a parent is loading the dryer. However, I can attest to the power of an agitator - it will break your arm if you stick it in there. The spin cycle on most top loaders runs at about 350 rpm - that too will break bones rather easily. Most washers have safety devices that stop the unit from operating during wash and spin cycles but still the danger is there.