Archive for October, 2011

Live, Laugh & Learn with Lillyan: It’s All Just Some Hocus Pocus

Monday, October 31st, 2011

By Lillyan Baker

No tricks, just treats for the Mr. Appliance office on Halloween Monday!  From Jack-O-Lantern quesadillas to “bat” hot wings, our office was deliciously frightful all afternoon long. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because there is no right or wrong way to celebrate. It’s that time of the year where I can walk around the grocery store with cat ears & whiskers painted on my cheeks and people just smile and say, “Happy Halloween!” It’s all just some hocus pocus! So to continue the spooky spirit, I brewed up a batch of sinful chocolate cupcakes, homemade chocolate buttercream frosting and with a wave of my wand…

Give them fur black as black, all the way down the back.

Double, double toil & trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Give them fur black as black
All the way down their back.
Beady eyes, glowing red
Legs of 8 stick out their head.
Crawling from your oven door
All your guests will scream,
“WE WANT MORE!”

Hairy Spider Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes
Chocolate frosting
Chocolate sprinkles
Eye-type candy
Black string lace licorice

Find festive Halloween cupcake liners at your local craft store.

Use your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe to bake at least a dozen cupcakes. Set aside on cooling racks. Frost cupcakes with heavy amount of chocolate buttercream frosting. Pour sprinkles in a bowl and roll frosted cupcake until completely covered.  Spook beyond your normal brown sprinkles and purchase festive holiday decorating goodies. I purchased metallic sprinkles to match the spider web cupcake liners I found at a local craft store.

Beady eyes, glowing red, legs of 8 stick out their head!

Use eye-type candy to create the beady eyes. I purchased a box of Sixlets and made each spider unique with a different colored pair for each cupcake. Press into center. Cut the lace licorice into eight 4-inch pieces for each cupcake. If you can’t find black string lace licorice, just purchase black licorice and create your own legs. Use a knife to slice down the middle, then cut in half to create four legs. Press four thin pieces of licorice into each side of the cupcake to create eight legs.

These hairy spider cupcakes will make you go, BOO! Happy Halloween!

Display spiders on a cupcake stand to look like a frightful family! For a really spooky way to display the spiders, carve out a pumpkin. Place a few spiders in the opening at the top to look like they are crawling out of a hollow pumpkin.

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It’s Easy to be Green:  Five Easy Laundry Tip

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

Rock Out Your Laundry!

By Rockin’ Green Founder, Kimberly Webb

Use Warm Water: Switch the rinse and wash cycles on your machine to warm instead of cold. Stains are created at 98.5 degrees F, so the best way to prevent them from setting in is to rinse them at a similar, warm temperature.

Pre-Treat: Be sure to use a pre-treater, like Rockin’ Green. Add a little water to your powered detergent to create a paste, and then apply it directly to the stain. Allow it to sit for a few minutes before laundering. This will prevent you from having to wash and then re-wash your clothing and linens (not too green)!

Lay Out in the Sun: For really stubborn stains, try laying them out in the sun to dry! It’s a time-old trick that truly just works and doesn’t cost a thing to do.

Soften ‘Em: One way to naturally soften your clothing is by using a 100% wool dryer ball. These balls fluff your laundry, cut your dryer time in half (good for the electric bill), and last forever. Keep a few on hand so you can use a few in each wash (they work well when they bounce off each other in the dryer!) No need for a fabric softener sheet – so you’ll save money too!

Consolidate: To save time and get your linens and clothing truly clean, wash similar size items together such as sheets and towels, socks with undershirts and underwear and pants and jeans. Another way to save energy when you don’t need your laundry items immediately is to hang them to dry on a clothes line or over the shower rod and skip the dryer altogether.

Kimberly Webb is the CEO and founder of Rockin’ Green, an award-winning manufacturer of eco-friendly cleaning products designed to make cleaning easier and greener. For more information or to contact Kimberly, please visit www.RockinGreenSoap.com.

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Pumpkin Carving Tips

Monday, October 17th, 2011

By Ilianna Garcia

It's The Great Pumpkin!

Halloween doesn’t have to be a horrific holiday for your drain! Keep your frightful night unclogged by following these pumpkin carving tips from Mr. Appliance for a spooktakaular good time with family and friends.

  • Throw pumpkin carving insides in the trash and not the garbage disposal. Slimy insides of a pumpkin can potentially damage or ruin your garbage disposal. To avoid a spooky situation carve a pumpkin on a layer of newspaper. When you are done carving wrap up the pumpkin insides in the newspaper and toss in the trash.

  • Use short votive candles to minimize the risk of fire. Never leave a room with a candle burning inside a jack-o’-lantern. Keep a close watch on candles because you could set your house on fire. A safer alternative is to opt for a battery operated candle.
  • Use a plastic pumpkin carving knife. Minimize the risk of cutting your fingers or hands by using a plastic carving knife instead of one with a real blade.  As a rule of thumb, never leave your child unattended when carving a pumpkin.

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Mr. Appliance in HGTV Magazine

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

By Lillyan Baker

Premiere Issue of HGTV Magazine

The autumn season is here and it’s time to fall for something new, like the premiere issue of HGTV Magazine. I love HGTV for all of the homeowner tips and tricks, but it didn’t surprise me when they came knocking on our expert appliance repair door for simple fridge tips for their homeowners to live by. Check out a few of the tips that the article is based off of on our Mr. Appliance blog. Want more? Of course, you do! I suggest brewing up your favorite cup of pumpkin spice coffee and taking a seat at your kitchen table with the October/November issue of HGTV Magazine. Flip to page 42 and take notes on the tips in “If Your Fridge Could Talk” written by the “queen of kitchen appliance” (their words, not mine)! If our Mr. Appliance fridge could talk, I am sure it would say, “HGTV Magazine knows how to keep it cool!”

Open The Door to More Savings

·Give your refrigerator some breathing room by keeping the appliance at least two or three inches away from the wall. Also, place your refrigerator away from direct sunlight and appliances that produce heat to make your refrigerator run more efficiently.

·Do you crave a midnight snack, but can’t decide what to eat? Keep your fridge full, not only to satisfy all of your midnight munchies, but also to help the fridge save energy after recovery from the door being open.

·Check and care for the rubber seals surrounding the inside of your fridge by using mild soap twice a year to help prevent cracked and torn seals. Use your money to test the seals by placing a dollar bill halfway inside the refrigerator door. If the dollar pulls out easily, then your losing money in more than one way and it may be time to replace the rubber seals.

·Enjoy a night of leftovers and defrost your fridge regularly. The frost build-up wastes energy by making the compressor run longer.

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Are You Safe From a Dryer Fire?

Monday, October 10th, 2011

Fire Prevention Week Oct. 9-Oct. 15, 2011

By Lillyan Baker

Every day you take precautions to keep your family safe. You keep flammable materials in a safe environment, make sure all smoke alarms are working properly and teach your kids what to do in case of a fire, but what about the potential fire hazard lurking in your laundry room? Take a proactive step this National Fire Prevention week (Oct. 9-Oct. 15, 2011) by looking beyond your chimney and into your dryer system to keep your family safe.

Mr. Appliance® recommends these tips to keep your dryer operating properly:

  • Keep the dryer as lint-free as possible by cleaning the lint screen or filter before or after each load of clothes. Hire a licensed appliance professional to clean the interior of the dryer chassis and inspect the rollers, belt, motor and heating system every one or two years.
  • Keep the exhaust duct in good condition by disconnecting, cleaning and inspecting the duct on a regular basis. If the exhaust duct opening outside the house is low to the ground, make sure to check it monthly for leaves, birds’ nests and other debris. If needed, have your licensed appliance expert to check it out for you and remove any potential fire hazard.
  • Use semi-rigid or flexible aluminum ducting behind the dryer and smooth rigid metallic ducting through the wall to the outside vent.
  • The exhaust should only vent to the outside of the house – never to the attic or crawlspace. It’s best to use a flap vent that will open when the dryer is in use and close when it is off. This will keep birds and other animals out of the vent and will keep the vent from getting clogged with lint as easily as it might with a mesh or grate vent covering.
  • The vents should be as straight as possible, with all excess venting trimmed off. Twisting or crushing exhaust piping restricts the airflow.
  • Try not to use screws to put your vent pipe together, because the screw shafts inside the piping collect lint and cause additional friction.

Lint and debris in and around your dryer could be putting your home at risk for a dryer fire. The National Fire Protection Association estimates that in 2006, there were 17,700 home fires involving clothes dryers or washing machines resulting in 360 civilian injuries and 15 civilian deaths. The leading cause of dryer fires was failure to clean the appliance.

“Dryer fires are preventable with periodic maintenance to remove lint buildup inside the unit and the venting hose,” said Doug Rogers, president of Mr. Appliance Corp. “Following these tips and staying proactive will help prevent fires and potentially protect homes and save lives.”

To learn more about dryer maintenance, follow us on Twitter at @MrApplianceCorp and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MrApplianceCorp.

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