Judd & Black

Monday, March 26, 2012

How a Product Earns the ENERGY STAR Label


By now we know that Energy Star appliances save energy which in turn helps the environment and saves us money, but there are some details that we may not know about.  I was visiting www.energystar.gov and found out that there is a whole list of requirements that an appliance has to meet before the EPA will give it the Energy Star label.


Here are some of those requirements:
  • Product categories must contribute significant energy savings nationwide.
  • Qualified products must deliver the features and performance demanded by consumers, in addition to increased energy efficiency.
  • If the qualified product costs more than a conventional, less-efficient counterpart, purchasers will recover their investment in increased energy efficiency through utility bill savings, within a reasonable period of time.
  • Product energy consumption and performance can be measured and verified with testing.
So not only does the appliance have to be energy efficient, it has to be up to your standards and save you money.  Sounds like an all-around good deal to me! 


Right now there are huge savings and rebates on Energy Star appliances.  Head to any one of our stores for details.  

Monday, March 19, 2012

HOW TO: clean stove drip pans

If you have an electric coil stove you have drip pans, which — by name — catch drips. Even if you clean your range top often, it’s a mess the next time you cook.
So the clean-up should be quick and easy, or it won’t get done, right?
The method I’ve suggested before is cleaning stove drip pans with a paste. But no matter how wonderful, applying the paste and rinsing the pans is still more than some of us have time for on a nightly basis.
And this applies to gas stove tops too. Lots of drips land on the burner caps and below the grates.
The fastest, easiest — and perhaps even most effective way to clean the surface — Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, or a generic version of this melamine foam sponge.  It looks like an ordinary sponge, but because it’s melamine, it actually has little micro scrubbers that can remove discoloration and baked on mess with minimal elbow grease.
That being said, it is abrasive in nature so it can scratch or dull surfaces if you’re not careful, in this case Bon-Ami is a great alternative.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Entering the Blogging World

Thank you for checking out our blog!  This is new territory for us, so please bear with us as we figure it all out.  The purpose of this blog is to better serve you, our customers.  So if there is anything you would like us to address such as certain product information, tips, store news, recipes, anything - just let us know.  Make sure to subscribe to this blog so that you will be notified when we post something new.  While you're at it, check out our NEW website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page (links are on the right).

Thanks again for stopping by.  We look forward to hearing from you in order to bring you the information you want.