General Electric Recalls Microwave Combo Ovens Due to Fire Hazard

GE is aware of 35 incidents of minor property damage and one incident in which a fire damaged adjacent kitchen cabinets. No injuries have been reported.

The hazard: the door switch in the microwave oven can overheat and ignite plastic components in the control area, posing a fire hazard to consumers. The lower thermal oven does not pose a hazard.

Sold at: Department and appliance stores from January 2000 to December 2003 for between $1,500 and $2,000.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the microwave oven immediately. Consumers should contact GE regarding their GE/GE Profile micro-oven combo or Sears for their Kenmore unit. GE is offering a free repair or rebate on a new product, a $300 rebate toward the purchase of a new GE brand unit, or a $600 rebate toward the purchase of a new GE Profile brand unit. Sears is offering a free repair or $300 rebate toward the purchase of a new Kenmore brand unit. Consumers can continue using the lower thermal oven.

Consumer Contact: For additional information on GE /Profile units, contact General Electric toll-free at (888)-240-2745 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET Saturday, or visit GE’s Web site at www.geappliances.com. For additional information on Kenmore units, contact Sears toll-free at (888) 679-0282 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday, or visit Sears’ Web site at www.sears.com

Please follow the link to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for more information to see if your model appliance is one of the 92,000 units recalled.

Post Note:
Despite the recall on the microwave, Consumer Reports says reports that brands such as GE, Whirlpool, Kenmore and are “safe bets” for major appliances. Between 2002 and 2006 they tended to have relatively low repair rates across the board.

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Small Space "Rejoice"

An idea who's time has come.
What to do with a home office/bedroom that is too small for both to coexist comfortably?

How about an improvement to the old Murphy Bed? It effortless. You have to see the video of this bed in action. Great innovation on an old idea!


No room for out of town guests? How about extra sleeping in the living room, behind the flat screen TV?

Europeans have known for years that bed frames made of bowed wooden slats outshine box springs in terms of comfort, support and durability. Zoom-Room™ has taken this concept one step further to create the ultimate design solution for convertible spaces.

Touch the wireless remote, and Zoom-Room’s premium latex mattress floats into the room. Supported by a German-designed and patented slatted frame, it simply glides down a vertical track hidden inside an elegant wood cabinet. Just 24” deep, Zoom-Room is undetectable, and unlike other wall beds, does not interfere with your flat screen TV, bookshelves – or whatever you have in front of it.

For more information visit: Zoom-Room

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Working with Resins.

How cool is this?
Lumicor blends the versatility of high performance resins with the vast world of decorative materials to bring light, texture and color to enhance any environment. Its unique decorative appearance is the result of a patented process that incorporates interesting core elements within clear resins.

The Design Possibilities are unlimited!
For more inspiration go to Lumicor.com

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ALUMINUM FRAME LED PANELS

I saw these illuminated glass shelves at the Kitchen and Bath Show this past year and loved the idea of each shelf having it's own source of light. No more shadows from the top. On their own, the severity of the linear pattern of the glass may appear very techno but when paired with resin inserts on framed doors, the look can be anything you want.

°eluma is an innovative LED panel that was created in conjunction with Tresco International,
one of the nation’s leading lighting distributors. °eluma can be used as illuminated shelving
in kitchen and bathroom cabinets, decorative panels, doors, etc. The patented technology
enables the glass shelves to be fully adjustable in cabinet applications with the incorporation
of a power bar into the cabinet and plug and play panel connectors. Hard wiring is not
required and therefore the end user can install the product without a professional
electrician. Previous lighting methods used in cabinet applications have not had the
adjustability nor the ease of installation that °eluma features.

In addition, °eluma utilizes Tresco International’s environmentally friendly, 12 VDC, low energy
LEDs as the light source. The LED panels emit minimal heat thus making the product
extremely safe. The high quality LEDs have a lifespan of 50,000 hours (11.4 years at 12 hours
per day) and are maintenance free.

For more information, visit: http://www.element-designs.com/eluma.html

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Dogs and Hardwood Floors

One of the phone calls I got this week was from a contractor who's client is accusing his crew of scratching their new hardwood floors. But, what we know is the homeowner has a small dog and the scratch marks are most decidedly the same pattern a small dog would make on a floor.

Item of note: if you have dogs, (what do we know from dogs? We're cat people!) So we went to the hardwood experts for advise. So before banishing the poor pooch to the pound we suggest you do modify the stain color for your floors. Avoid dark hardwood floors. Why? Their claw marks will show up more on a darker wood. Opt for lighter honey tones and choose a hand scraped plank that will lesson the appearance of scratches a dog will make.

And then there is this: SoftPaws.Net

Nail Caps as a preventive measure: Damage to Household Surfaces: Hardwood Floors - Doors - Walls - Screens - Furniture - Carpets. The nail caps effectively blunt your dog’s nails so their ability to scratch surfaces is significantly reduced.

Also, for more info on hardwood floors go to:
HARDWOOD FLOORING GUIDE
HARDWOOD FLOOR CARE.
HARDWOOD INSTALLER.COM
Image from the Hardwood Floor Nut, a great resource for useful information for anyone interested in hardwood floors.

More to know about when working with hardwood floors:

1. Place Ram Board down for protection over hardwood. It's temporary floor protection, thicker than Rosen paper.
2. Appliance Dollies and Hand Trucks. Be sure the contractor who is wheeling in your refrigerator or other heavy items is using the right one for the job. A smaller dolly with wheels not equipped to handle the weight of a refrigerator can wreak havoc with track marks on newly finished hardwood floors.

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