SSSSSSSSteam Heat!

It's time to jump on the bandwagon! Let's take a ride down Cleaning Lane and take a look at the benefits of steam cleaning and why it's quickly fogging up in our appliances.

Let's dumb it down and start from the beginning. What is steam? Steam is simply vaporized water. When you boil a pot of water and you see steam, this is just the reaction when the heated vapors hit the cooler air and creates a mist we call steam. Before today, steam was mostly used for cleansing our bodies and cleaning carpets.

The benefits of cleansing our bodies is it relieves our stiff joints and muscles, boosts our immune system, improves our blood circulation, and relieves our sinuses. Why do I not have a steam room in my office??? Not to mention it cleans our pores and helps rejuvenate our skin. For our carpets, it simply reacts with the fibers and cleans deep down to pull stubborn stains and spills. But why on earth would we want to use it in appliances?

We've always steam cleaned clothes to take the wrinkles out, so why not put the steam technology into a dryer that we can have in the house? Done. Dryers with this function exist now-a-days and not only does it take the wrinkles out of your clothes, but it cleanses them too. Think back to the carpet steamer. What is it's basic function? It uses the heat mixed with the water to break down stains that normally won't come out with any other cleaning method. It just makes sense to put it in a washer and a dryer. You're probably thinking "Why is this guy babbling about steam"? I'm getting to the point.

So, I was floating around the new products in Whirlpool's line, and came across this little gem. It's a freestanding range, that has a steam cleaning option when it comes to self-cleaning your range. Steam cleaning in your range? Genius!

Remember those handheld steamers that they sold on infomercials that had a little nozzle and a small tank? You'd fill it up, let it charge up some pressure, then release it on your grout, bathroom floors, pots and pans, and tons of other things to get them steam cleaned? This kinda works on the same concept. Spilled cheese off your killer homemade pizza in your new oven? No problem. Take your pizza out, allow the oven to cool a bit, remove the racks, and hit the steam clean option and in twenty minutes the steam clean is done. Open the oven and simply wipe up the remaining water from the steam clean and you're as good as done. Wow. Why isn't everything that easy? Why can't I simply put my pencil in a manual pencil sharpener and expect it to not keep snaping the tip off in-turn having to keep sharpening it over and over again until half the pencil is gone? Maybe a steam-assisted manual pencil sharpener is in order! (The oven will be available on our site soon.)

Now this oven steam cleaning option isn't meant for your 6 month cleaning regimen, it's only made for small jobs. But even still, sooner or later all different types of appliances will jump on the same bandwagon and follow us all down Cleaning Lane to a brighter and cleaner future. Here's to cleaner appliances!......and sharper pencils!

Take Care,

-Brian
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"Is Doing Laundry REALLY This Easy?"

This is the question you will probably say out loud after using this "state-of-the-art" new technology from GE. You know, we've come a long way from the wheel, the light bulb, the first phone, and now the automatic floor vacuuming robot. But why stop there? Why not go further? That's GE's mentality. "Let's see how we can go WAY beyond anyone's imagination while making it so simple". If I worked for GE, this is what I'd say...indefinitely....hence their slogan 'imagination at work'.

But what makes this so simple and yet so huge? Well, it's simple. GE a few years ago came up with this technology that revolutionized how we wash dishes. They added a reservoir inside the dishwasher and made it so the user can simply dump their entire bottle of dishwashing liquid into it. "Why would you want to do that?", you say? Easy. You never need to fill it again.....or at least until that batch dries up! It automatically dispenses the right amount of detergent for whatever wash cycle you choose. Simple right? (I should have entitled the blog "Simple"...and left it at that)

So now we have this technology that makes it easier for us, the consumer, to wash dishes and not have to worry about over or under-filling the soap. But let's not just keep it at dishwashers. What if people REALLY liked washing dishes by hand? Or maybe you don't have the space for a dishwasher, I don't know. Either way, the idea is there on the table and it's begging to be used for other things.

Enter the self dispensing washing machine. Why not, right? Personally I think this is THE best idea ever thought of and made into a reality. A press release from geappliances.com states this:

"With the GE Profile™ SmartDispense Frontload Laundry Pair, you can take a step out of the captain's seat and let the washer and dryer fly through your loads. Without having to guess how much detergent or fabric softener to use, or having to worry about selecting the right cycle for special fabrics, or having to closely monitor the dryer, you might actually consider laundry day a first-class experience"

They go on to say,

"...GE Profile's elegantly designed new washer and dryer are positioned on exclusive SmartDispense pedestals that hide a remarkable secret: the system stores and automatically dispenses detergent and fabric softener based on each load's size, soil level, water hardness and fabric or cycle type..."

But how does this technology work exactly? Well, instead of using the washer as a dispenser, GE has created a pedestal that doubles as the dispensing These dispensers hold up to a 6 months supply of detergent (on average...depending on load size, etc.) and holds up to 95 ounces of fabric softener. So now you have a washer that steams you clothes and automatically dispenses detergent and softener. Take that, whoever invented the wheel...

The pedestals are offered in Crimson Red or White, and the Washer and Dryer are available in those colors as well (washer in Crimson/White). 1 dispensing pedestal and 1 pedestal drawer will complete a washer and dryer package.


Take Care,

-Brian
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Cash for Clunkers

So the Government has taken additional steps on extending the Cash for Clunkers deal even further by funding $2 billion extra dollars. The average customer is getting $4,500 taken off the price automatically when they turn in a clunker that meets the federal required guidelines. It has to be a "gas guzzler" that produces below a certain number in MPG's (miles per gallon). This is the Governments way of helping the environment by paying money to give up your "clunker" for a more fuel efficient vehicle. Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep customers are getting lucky with a matched rebate offering up to $9,000 off the sticker price. But why should cars get all the fun?

How many of you own a washing machine that is one spin cycle away from kicking the bucket? I mean seriously, when this thing gets going it makes the neighborhood think a tank is charging down the street. It ACTUALLY makes your clothes dirtier instead of cleaning them. It makes the rust spots on your Buick clunker look like it's part of the paint. It makes...|...Ok I get it, I could do this all day. IT'S A CLUNKER! Well why can't you get a break? The Government won't step in and give you any type of discount or savings. So who will?

Percy's will! That's right. Come to Percy's with your "clunker" and we'll give you $100 instantly* towards a beautiful, less noisy, less rusty, "clean your clothes better" energy efficient front load washer.** There are tons of rebates on these washers and an additional $100 credit is just another way to help you become more green!

*$100 instant savings after old washer returned. **Front load brands include GE, Whirlpool, Maytag & Frigidaire. Offer ends Saturday August 15th! Hurry in today! No prior sales eligible. See salesperson for full details.

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Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

Huh? What on earth does this mean? Let me make it easier to read;

L - ight
A - mplification
S - timulated
E - mission
R - adiation

You probably never knew that that was the acronym "LASER". I'll be honest, I never knew either. We'll learn together. "So why are you blogging about laser", you ask? Simple. I'm going to step into the vast expanse of space and pull down, for you, the skinny on what Mitsubishi is all about with their new LaserVue Technology. I'm going to boldly go where no man has gone before and make you a firm believer in laser....no, not those pen things that could potentially blind someone...I'm talking "Uber-HighDef"

Ok. I'll get to the point. LaserVue Technology is ultimately going to be THE best technology when it comes to High Def and color distribution. Instead of using phosphors or liquid crystal, LaserVue uses...well, lasers. But not in the way that when you turn the TV on you instantly go blind. It uses a laser engine to filter the colors through fiber optic cables straight to the imager allowing unprecedented light and color distribution. Mitsubishi makes the technology so compact, that it makes it possible to mount this TV to the wall. But how much better is the color on LaserVue over LCD and Plasma?

This image shows the color spectrum differentiating Laser, LCD, & Plasma. In some cases, color seems to fair better on LCD over Plasma, but as you can see, Laser blows the color spectrum through the rafters surpassing LCD and Plasma. You see, LCD and Plasma use filters to filter bright white light into red, blue, and green colors to produce the images where as Laser can actually produce the colors without using a filter. So your reds, blues, and greens are more vibrant and powerful giving you a better picture.

This image depicts the Color Gamut Comparison between the three technologies. The chart shows all visible colors and the triangles show you the limits that the technologies can handle. Colors that have since been unseen in the TV world will now be visible to the eye when watching it through the LaserVue TV. Deep purples, crimson reds, and neon greens are just some of the many colors that are more vibrant on this TV. As you can see, LaserVue makes up more than double of LCD's gamma and almost double of Plasma's gamma. But is it just about color?

Actually, LaserVue is the best when it comes to using the LEAST amount of electricity. As you can see here, LaserVue uses only 135 watts of power and a comparable Plasma uses up to 799 watts of power. Now we all know about energy efficiency, but this blows them all out of the water! So let's recap. Best color distribution, no filters so the color is pure instead of "created", best array of colors (almost 1.8 times more colors than the other technologies), and unsurpassed energy savings. All in all, this TV seems to have it all. The price on this TV is $6,999 and is ready to luminate it's vast expanse of colors into your living room. Check our financing often to see when Mitsubishi has any special financing offers. I hope this was helpful in making you drool and I'll alert you all when we have one of these TV's in our showroom. Maybe I'll show a comparison pic! Have a great weekend.

Take Care,

-Brian

*Operating Power Consumption (in watts) is based upon manufacturer data as published in their respective websites or on the back of their TVs as of 09/19/2008. ** Avg Operating Annual Cost for LaserVue is calculated per the following formula found at the U.S. Dept. of Energy website as of 09/19/2008: Operating Power Consumption x Avg. Hours used per day (8) x 365 days/1,000 watts x Average Cost of Power ($.114 KW/HR). Hours used per day is based on 2007 findings by Nielsen Media Research which found U.S. households consume an average of 8 hours and 14 min per day. For purposes of this calculation, figure has been rounded off to 8 hours. Average Cost of power is based on information provided by Energy Information Administration website as of 09/19/2008.

Info courtesy of http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com.
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