May 25th, 2012 by Sofia Fernandez

The US equivalent of Australia's Choice has rated Bosch, GE and Whirlpool as some of the most reliable appliances on the market today. While consumers swoon over smart appliances with all the bells and whistles, and others look for style, sophistication and perfect integration in the home, consumer watchdogs Choice and its US equal, Consumer Reports search out and test the most reliable and trustworthy appliances. Based on ... Read more

May 22nd, 2012 by Louise Carter

Last month selected members from the Appliances Online team had the pleasure of visiting the Electrolux factory in Orange, NSW. Located 250 kilometres west of Sydney, the Electrolux factory has been operating since 1946 and is one of Orange's biggest employers (currently with over 600 staff). This factory manufactures between 300,000 and 325,000 fridges and freezers a year which are marketed under the Electrolux, Westinghouse, Kelvinator and Simpson ... Read more

May 16th, 2012 by Louise Carter

Sick of 'rectangle' being the only available shape for your fridge? Here are some quirky alternatives, guaranteed to enrich your life by at least 18.75%: R2-D2 USB Micro Fridge Powered by The Force a USB port, this mini Star Wars themed fridge will keep one can of Mountain Dew nicely chilled, allowing you stay hydrated during your thirty-six consecutive hour World of Warcraft sessions. To enjoy your cold beverage, ... Read more

May 10th, 2012 by Keri Algar

I wonder if some Mum's would prefer it if someone actually did the vacuuming, rather than buy her a vacuum cleaner for Mother's Day? Doing the chores for Mum this Sunday is one way to sweeten her up. But the weekly jobs are a short lived respite for Mum. So here are a few other house hold duties with more long term benefits: Give the refrigerator-coils a quick ... Read more

May 7th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Haier's presence is growing in Australia as it takes on a national sales manager and announces the release of new appliances. In 2010 Fisher & Paykel took over sales and marketing of Haier in Australia, offering its excellent after sales service as part of the deal. Since then, Haier has been able to concentrate on increasing its distribution and introducing new appliances into Australia. According to Haier, it ... Read more

May 3rd, 2012 by Keri Algar

A new gadget called Twine can get appliances to text, tweet and e-mail you. For those with un-smart appliances, you know, the ordinary kind of oven that doesn't count the calories of the the food it's cooking, or the fridge which won't tell you when the milk is off, then Twine will bridge the gap from dumb to smart. Say it has been left on top of the ... Read more

May 3rd, 2012 by Keri Algar

A squiz inside a family's fridge can offer some revealing insights to their culinary likes and dislikes. Is there a sweet tooth in the family? A carnivore, kids, or enough spicy sauces to harbour a Mexican mistress? There is a bit one can decipher from the contents, or lack of! Like the bachelor with his six pack of beer in an otherwise bare fridge. Poking around a couple of ... Read more

April 24th, 2012 by Kevin Bradford

Italians have always been renowned for design and fashion, and one appliance manufacturer has now combined those two qualities in a fridge. The Independent FAB fridge from Smeg was showcased last week at the EuroCucina, in Milan. Covered completely in denim, Smeg bosses claim the design is not art for art's sake, "it is creativity for the home, style for the day". The appliance is a development of the ... Read more

April 16th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Fisher & Paykel and Breville have joined Miele in the 2012 Choice awards that celebrate excellent customer service and product reliability. The recent 2012 awards have not only highlighted Miele for the best vacuum cleaner brand, but Fisher & Paykel for best fridge brand and Breville for its Fast Slow Cooker. Fisher & Paykel received the coveted award after two years of fridge testing across numerous brands and ... Read more

April 12th, 2012 by Louise Carter

Tired of waiting for the man with the ice cart to arrive? If you answered 'yes' to this question, what you need is a refrigerator my good friend! Refrigerators have many advantages: A convenient alternative to rancid food Botulism got you down? Salmonella making you sour? A refrigerator allows you to enjoy such delights as 'non-rancid ham' and 'not curdled milk' with the added advantage of keeping your vegetables in a ... Read more

April 11th, 2012 by Richie Black

We all know that Samantha Brick is a wonderful woman and an inspiration to many of us – the chosen few, that is, who uphold standards of beauty for the rest of you to aspire to. However hopelessly.  But did you know she is also something of a heroine for appliances? Her recent incisive piece of social commentary, which spoke eloquently and passionately about the evil ... Read more

April 4th, 2012 by Keri Algar

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 2nd, 2012 by Keri Algar

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

March 12th, 2012 by Keri Algar

There are arguments for both keeping eggs in the fridge and for keeping eggs in the cupboard - but for fear of sitting on the fence (think Humpty Dumpty) we're going with the most recommended option, the fridge. The case for the eggs in the fridge. Eggs are a nutritional powerhouse, easy to prepare and affordable to boot. Don't let them go to waste! Eggs will be kept ... Read more

March 7th, 2012 by Keri Algar

Smart electricity meters that are connected to household appliances will arrive in Australia soon. GE is already running a pilot project in the United States where appliances can monitor the electrical grid and adjust their settings to work at the most economically efficient level. The system operates independently and automatically with a Nucleus energy meter in the house acting as the go between the electricity provider and ... Read more