Cooking and sharing meals is a time-honored summertime tradition, especially on holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day. While you may be thinking more about serving your guests, you should take steps to ensure food safety during your summertime gathering, especially if you are cooking, eating or serving outdoors. Cases of food poisoning, which affects about 48 million people in the U.S. each year, tend to increase in the summer. Food safety starts with your refrigerator and freezer. You can start by making sure they are in good working order. Freezers, particularly in hot ..read more

It’s easy to forget what a heat wave feels like until it happens. However, you’re already behind the cooling curve if you wait until temperatures approach triple digits to shop for an air conditioner. Plan now, before portable and room air conditioners fly off the shelves and you’re left overheated and longing for autumn’s cool relief. Choosing the right air conditioner involves more than just looking at price and power. It is important to  understand the area you’re trying to cool before you buy an air conditioner. Buy too strong of a unit for the room size and you’ll use more power tha ..read more

With memories of massive snowfalls still fresh in the minds of many, it’s easy to forget that spring allergy season is just about here. When the first sniffles of spring strike, allergy sufferers may be tempted to hole up and avoid the outdoors. But the air inside may be just as bad or even worse, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA estimates that indoor air may contain double to five times as many pollutants as the air outside. There are four main sources of indoor air pollution: pollen tracked in or blown in from outside; animal dander; mold and mildew; and tobacco smo ..read more

If you’re serious about keeping your carpets clean and your floors shining, just any vacuum won’t do. The type, features and design of the vacuum are important, but the type of floors and the level of cleaning they’ll require should be your focus when making a decision. Do you have hardwood floors? Standard or ultra-soft carpet? Area rugs? Pets? People with specific allergies in the house? Do you vacuum every day or once a week? Make the wrong decision and you could end up with more of a mess and a vacuum that just takes up space. Walk into an appliance retail store and you’re likely to come f ..read more

What’s the biggest barrier to healthier eating? Certainly, willpower and determination are factors. But according to Isabel Maples, a registered dietitian practicing in Virginia, the biggest challenge for many is planning. “The biggest barrier to getting a healthier meal on the table is the thinking ahead,” Maples said. “I can’t tell you the number of times I’ll get to the end of the day and think ‘What is for dinner?’” Whether you’re preparing fresh meals or storing them to eat later, your appliances can help you get on the path toward healthy eating. We recently spoke with Maples and another ..read more

Serious storms, including heavy rain on the U.S. East Coast and snow in the Midwest, has put millions of households at risk for power outages. If you are in the affected areas, follow these tips from the USDA on how to keep food safe if your home loses power: A fully packed, free-standing freezer (that has remained closed) will stay at acceptably cold temperatures for two to four days. Place dry ice, a block of ice or several frozen gel packs in a well-insulated cooler; transfer perishables from the refrigerator to the cooler. According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, a 50 ..read more

Spring is a few months away, but January is a great time to get your living space in order. Whether your New Year’s resolution involves keeping a tidier space, or your home just needs a deep clean after the holidays, you’ll find something in AHAM’s roundup that will help you keep your appliances and home cleaner! Easy oven and range-cleaning tips: Your oven and range may need a proper cleaning after all of your holiday cooking. A dirty range can affect your oven and range performance and even how food tastes. Follow AHAM’s tips to make it quick and easy. Expert tips on refrigerator organizati ..read more

With the high gas prices and head-wagging inflation these days, what budget-conscious family isn’t trying to save money wherever they can? While there’s certainly nothing wrong with an occasional indulgence or splurge on things that make you happy, if you find yourself stopping off at the local coffee shop each morning, lugging home cases of bottled water, or eating out for most meals, you might want to consider cutting back where you can.   A variety of home appliances can help save big money in the long run; whether through energy savings or simply saving money by making and doing ..read more

Home cooks are fortunate to have three solid options for cooking methods in ranges and cooktops—gas, standard electric and induction. While induction ranges make up less than 5 percent of all electric ranges, according to AHAM factory shipment data, that percentage has grown in recent years. In 2022, induction cooktops made up about one-third of all electric cooktop shipments, a 6% increase over the previous year. Induction technology is not new—it was introduced publicly at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair—but many consumers still are not as familiar with induction cooking as they are with its ..read more

A food waste disposer, often called a ‘garbage disposal,’ can make cleaning up after a big meal or get-together a whole lot easier. These under-the-sink workhorses provide an environmentally friendly option for effortlessly disposing of food waste – waste that might otherwise go to the landfill.   According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), food waste is estimated to be between 30 and 40 percent of the food supply in the United States and is the biggest single contributor to municipal landfills. The top three groups of wasted foods are meat, poultry, and fish (41%); ve ..read more