Home Appliance Blog

As all Minnesotans were sweating during this weekend’s extreme high temperatures and dew points, so was my cool basement and probably yours too.

While doing laundry last night, I noticed water in my basement where the concrete floor meets the wall. Then I found some water in a storage closet. Then I saw that my basement bathroom was wet.

Surprisingly, I still have to learn the necessity of dehumidifiers the hard way.

If you don’t yet have a dehumidifier for your home, I strongly recommend one to prevent mildew and mold cause by buildup of too much moisture. They start at $159.95, which is a pittance compared to water damage.

I’ll be plugging in my new Frigidaire dehumidifier tonight and using a simple garden hose attachment to help it drain directly into my laundry tub (note: the dehumidifier must be elevated, as the water won’t drain “up”). Otherwise, these portable dehumidifiers are better than your last one, with a carrying handle and a no-splash design.

Take note that dehumidifiers are seasonal items not widely available throughout the year, meaning that supplies run low at most retailers during hot, humid periods of the year. Don’t wait till you find water in your basement; call any of our 7 home appliance stores to confirm stock of your desired size (25 pint, 50 pint or 75 pint).

They’re still not whisper quiet, but certainly, they’re quieter than yours was growing up.

There is no “standard” size in appliances and certainly not in refrigerators.

Knowing the maximum height, depth and width of your opening is crucial in selecting a new refrigerator. In fact, size is the No. 1 factor in narrowing down your options.

Most refrigerators today fit either a 30″, 33″ or 36″  wide opening and a 66″, 68″ or 70″ high opening. You should also also allow 1″ of clearance on each side of the refrigerator for breathing room.

But because refrigerators have become deeper within the last 10 years, you also should consider the depth of your space. Manufacturers have added more insulation to retain temperatures in the refrigerator to keep up with increasing efficiency standards, which has increased the overall depth of today’s refrigerators by 2″-4″.

Which means your fridge will stick out even more from the edge of your cabinets. Solution? Cabinet depth refrigerators.

Cabinet depth (aka counter depth) refrigerators give your kitchen a more sleek look. The 24″ depth allows your refrigerator’s cabinet to align with the surrounding cabinetry, creating more of a “built-in” look for your kitchen. Cabinet depth styling is most commonly found in side-by-side models, but can also be found in top freezer models, bottom freezer styles and French door refrigerators.

So why doesn’t everyone have a counter depth fridge? Basically, price versus capacity. A French-door counter depth refrigerator is going to offer fewer cubic feet of food storage for the money than a full-depth French-door refrigerator.

If you’re looking to buy a refrigerator, the last time you researched your options likely was years ago. Well, a lot changed in the last decade.

Before, most refrigerators for sale were just the standard top-freezer refrigerator. Now, there are four major styles to choose from, not to mention refrigerator drawers, columns and compact options — which I’ll save for another post.

Top Freezer Refrigerator

The classic top freezer refrigerator remains  among one of the most popular styles in the market place today. The freezer is at eye-level, which is good if you use frozen food most often. Plus, the refrigerator has wider shelves than a side-by-side refrigerator, making it easy to store large trays of food and allow easy access to things stored in the back of the refrigerator.

If you have space constraints, you’ll likely end up with a top freezer, because some models in this style fit a smaller footprint. And from a budget perspective, top freezer refrigerators are an affordable style that boast convenience features such as factory-installed icemakers, chilled water dispensers (on some models) and glass shelves. Plus, top freezers are the most energy-efficient style, and are rated to last the longest.

Side by Side Refrigerator

On a side by side refrigerator, two compartment doors wing out from the center; the freezer compartment is located on the left side and the refrigerator compartment on the right.

If your kitchen has a narrow walkway or an island, you’ll like the side-by-side refrigerator’s smaller door swing clearance.

Many side by side refrigerators have the option for a filtered ice and water dispenser. And if you’re looking for lots of storage, most side by side refrigerators are
23-26 cu. ft., which is more overall cooling space than most top freezer refrigerators.

Bottom Freezer Refrigerator

The bottom freezer refrigerator is the most popular refrigerator style. Heck, I have one!

Because most people access the refrigerator compartment 9-10 times more often than they do the freezer, bringing the refrigerator section up to waist or chest level offers the most accessibility.

Many brands offer a choice of either a swing-door freezer or pull-out freezer drawer. The drawer design allows for easier access to the back of the freezer by minimizing the amount of bending and crouching needed. From a budget perspective, bottom freezer refrigerators are becoming more affordable as most brands now make them.

French Door Refrigerator

French-door refrigerators (I’ve also heard them called “3-door refrigerators”) combine the best of both worlds.

The refrigerator compartment is at waist and chest level like a bott0m-freezer, but the refrigerator has French doors (side-by-side) opening from the center, which means symmetrical styling and less door clearance is needed if a walkway or island is involved.

But the two doors open to the same, sole refrigerator compartment so you still have wide refrigerator shelves to accommodate large party trays or oblong dishes. Similar to the bottom freezer style, French door refrigerators feature a freezer drawer design. Many models also offer the option of an ice & water dispenser on the freezer door or an internal water-only dispenser.

Cabinet depth refrigerators

I’ve already received two messages since we started running commercials encouraging viewers to “Celebrate Your Independents.”

That is — of course — because the Fourth of July is Independence Day, not Independents Day.

(God love these people; these are my people. I commonly contact businesses to bring their attention to possible errors [though I generally do it with a large dose of sensitivity as I am keenly aware that fellow local businesses squeak by on fewer resources than their national counterparts].)

But we aren’t asking you to buy from us because it’s July 4 on Monday. We want you to understand the value of independent businesses, so we’re participating in the Celebrate Your Independents promotion.

During the month of July, select local, independent retailers and restaurants have teamed up to provide money-saving offers and a chance to win $1,250 in gift cards in exchange for your support and your ear. We want you to know the importance of buying local!

Multiple studies have shown that dollars spent at local, independent businesses generates at least three times more direct local economic benefit a dollars spent at absentee-owned chain businesses. Plus, these are the retailers, restaurants and service providers that lend support to your childrens’ schools, your places of worship and our neediest nonprofits because it’s their communities, too.

So among all the picnics and patriotism of this holiday weekend, take care to Celebrate Your Independents, as well.

(Yes, I get the irony of writing this post with a full sink of dirty dishes.)

Raise your hand if you’ve ever rearranged dishes in a dishwasher that someone else loaded.

Me too.

Because there is one right way to do it, did you know that?

And it’s found in your use & care manual. Each dishwasher comes with its own “right way” to load it for optimal performance.

If you’ve lost your use & care manual, try Googling it (like I did; it’s now a bookmark on my smartphone).

In lieu of your manual, here are some dishwasher loading tips, adapted from Whirlpool Corp.

1. Scrape, don’t rinse
Remove leftover food and hard items from the dishes, though it is not necessary to rinse the dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. Repeat, rinsing your dishes is unnecessary.If you’re not going to run your dishwasher immediately, simply run a rinse cycle to keep dishes moist. It will use far, far less water than you and your faucet will.

2. Don’t mess with the rotation
Load dishes so they are not stacked or overlapping. Make sure that tall items, such as pan handles and cookie sheets, don’t get in the way of  spray arm. And for best drying results, water must be able to drain from all surfaces.

3. Stay on top

Cups, glasses and plastic items should only be loaded on the top rack, otherwise they could get damaged. Only load cups and glasses in the rows between the rack tines, as putting them over the tines can lead to breakage and water spots.

Small bowls, pans and other utensils can be placed in the top rack. Load bowls in the center section for best stability. Don’t let stemware touch anything else, or else it could break.

4. What should lie beneath

Load plates and soup bowls between the rack tines; plate edges can be overlapped for large loads, but don’t nest bowls because the spray won’t reach all surfaces.

Large items like cookie sheets and cake pans should go along the sides and in the back. If you have a super dirty pan or casserole, load it face down in the rack.

5. Don’t be a basket case

Load some utensils in the silverware basket pointing up and some pointing down to avoid nesting — especially if you eat a lot of peanut butter Sharp-edged items should always be loaded pointing down.

Small items like baby bottle caps, jar lids and corncob holders should go in sections with hinged covers.

A view of our warehouse sale showfloor from atop a dishwasher. Click to view more photos posted on our Facebook page.

Against my better judgment, I just walked the showfloor of our Extreme Warehouse Sale, starting this Saturday at 7 a.m.

I say that because when I see all the pretty, shiny appliances going for WAY less than they should, I can’t help but start shopping. (Don’t worry, I didn’t actually buy anything.)

So I kept busy by snapping photos:

We’ve developed a talent for gently picking up jaws that have dropped after walking into our warehouse. I guess it looks unassuming from the street, but it’s massive. And every year, we bring more inventory and stretch the boundaries farther.

See all “sneak peek” photos on our Facebook page. What’s that? You don’t Like us yet. Shame on you…

That’s right. Tonight’s the night…

Warners’ Stellian will be featured alongside Nicole Curtis on tonight’s episode of “Rehab Addict” on DIY Network at 9.

Expect drama. Lots of it.

Just kidding, but this is the much-anticipated “kitchen episode,” which — if you’ve seen the finished kitchen — you’d understand why it’s such a big deal!

Here’s the before:

…to give you an idea of how exciting the “after” is. A taste, below:

See more about our journey with this project