Busy Mom Reviews

As you already know, I was selected as a Frigidaire Test Drive Mom from Mom Central.

A few weeks ago, my faithful (but, loud and leaking), nearly 20 year old dishwasher:

was replaced by a shiny new Frigidaire Dishwasher:

Right away, I could see (and hear) a big difference:

Yep, it's on.

This dishwasher is so quiet (compared to the old one) that a couple of times, I've had to bend over and listen to make sure it's turned on. As a matter of fact, while I was writing this, I learned that it is the quietest dishwasher in it's class.

While I get to know it a little better, here are some of it's features (from the Frigidaire website):

- SpaceWise™ Organization System with adjustable racks and the Largest Silverware Basket with room for over 180 items

- Real Stainless Steel with a protective coating that reduces fingerprints and smudges so it's easy to clean.

- PowerPlus™ Cycle for an extra-heavy wash performance.

- Energy Saver Plus Cycle

- DishSense™ Technology sensors select the cycle for your based on your cleaning needs.

- Pro-Select™ Controls - Easily select options with the touch of a button.

- Adjustable Upper Dish Rack - flexible racking system lets you adjust the top rack to fit taller items.

- Low-Rinse Aid Indicator

People? Why did you never tell me about the wonders of rinse aid? Seriously, the old dishwasher had a place for it (I think), but it's one of those things I only had a vague notion about and I never paid much attention to it.

This dishwasher highly suggests (OK, the dishwasher didn't actually say anything, I read the directions) that you use it, and stuff actually gets dry and it looks better.

That in no way implies that I think rinse aid is right for you or your current dishwasher, but for me, this was like magic!

Uh, where was I?

Oh, yeah. This fancy new dishwasher.

One of the first few things I noticed was how much shorter the wash cycle is than my old one, and the other thing is that this dishwasher has a ton of space, too. I can get the crockpot in either the top or the bottom rack with ease, and I have a full sized crockpot.

Recent news: The Frigidaire line just received the EPA’s prestigious 2010 Energy Star award for their “Swap and Save” Energy Star Promotion and you can find out more about the Frigidaire Energy Savings features.

Stay tuned for more adventures with my new dishwasher where I will find out if it actually cleans dishes!

I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a Frigidaire Dishwasher to facilitate my review.

As you might remember, I was selected as a Frigidaire Test Drive Mom from Mom Central.

We've been getting to know our new dishwasher over the past couple of months, no easy feat as we'd had the old one for quite a long time. You'd be surprised at how much habit is involved in loading a dishwasher, and there's actually a bit of work involved when you get a new one.

Or, maybe that's just me.

The space is one of the greatest feature of this Frigidaire Dishwasher. You can get a lot of stuff in there, even the big items.

Some of the key features of the dishwasher related to space:

SpaceWise Organization System: features adjustable racks so there's a place for virtually anything.

(We are still experimenting with what is the best place for our dishes. We use a lot of small, glass bowls with about a 1" lip that we can't quite figure out the best place to put them, yet. But, the directions do offer a lot of loading options.

You can fit a lot of full-sized dinner plates in there along the bottom rack. The tines fold flat to get really large stuff in there, we can fit the inside of our large crockpot in the top rack.)

Largest Silverware Basket (among leading brands): There’s room for over 180 items in our multi-compartment silverware basket.

(The basket has several compartments, and spans the length of the lower rack. As a matter of fact, we had to wash everything in the utensil drawer (don't ask) and we were able to fit nearly the entire contents.)

Adjustable Upper Dish Rack: Flexible racking system lets you adjust the to rack to fit taller items.

(This really comes in handy when people who are not me use every dish in the house when they are cooking, including multiple casserole dishes and cutting boards.)

I also learned that it's kind of hard to take a picture of a loaded dishwasher and get the full effect of both levels, but here ya go:

All in all, it's been a great dishwasher so far, it's really sleek looking and very quiet. Just a couple of small snags to note:

We've had a couple of instances where the soap dispenser either didn't open, or didn't empty completely. I've heard that using detergent tablets helps that, but I can't remember to get them at the store.

Also, every now and then, if you pull the bottom rack out too far, it gets off track and you have to lift it back into place.

But, does it clean your dishes?

Stay tuned!

Also, good news on the eco front for Frigidaire appliances: They just received the EPA’s prestigious 2010 Energy Star award for their “Swap and Save” Energy Star Promotion. The award recognizes Frigidaire’s commitment to smart energy management and its efforts to share the importance of energy efficiency with a wide audience.

Find out more about how you can save time, money, energy and water at Frigidaire Energy Saving.

I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a Frigidaire Dishwasher to facilitate my review.

One of the things I have enjoyed about my Frigidaire Dishwasher is the flexibility of the upper and lower racks. We tend to wash all kinds of things, not just proper place settings, and sometimes these things aren't really a standard size and it's hard to make them fit in dishwashers with lots of fixed space.

Both tiers have prongs that fold down to accommodate larger items, it can really make things easier by being able to put these things in the dishwasher rather than having to do them by hand because they won't fit! I don't know about you, but I have better things to do than to hand wash pots and pans.

Another great thing is that the entire upper rack is adjustable. With a quick motion, you can raise or lower the entire thing so that taller items can fit inside, thus further reducing the need to hand wash taller items.

The silverware basket also has a few options. It's removable, the containers are divided and smaller items can be protected by closing the tops to the basket. The basket tops can also double as a way to separate the silverware so it doesn't nest.

I'll take you on a tour! (I had to do this on my phone as the kids have absconded with all of our 20 million Flip cameras, sorry for the Blair Witch Project effect)

Call me lazy if you must (I prefer "efficient" or "energy conserving"), but I am all about getting as many of the dirty dishes in the dishwasher as I can, and my new Frigidaire dishwasher really helps make it possible for everything to fit in there.

I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a Frigidaire Dishwasher to facilitate my review.

What's the latest from Frigidaire Team Dishwasher?

We've been using our Frigidaire Dishwasher for several months, and I've told you about many of the features I enjoy such as the flexible space and energy saving features.

It's really nice looking, and it's so quiet (compared to our old one, anyway). There are lots of settings, and there's sure to be one to meet your needs.

Like I told you a while back, we'd had the same dishwasher for nearly 20 years, and it was a great change for me to have an up to date one! Once I got a routine down regarding the best way to load our particular dishes, we were off and running.

We did have occasional trouble with the soap door, at first. But, that was resolved by making sure the water was warmed up before starting the dishwasher (due to a combination of living in an old house, and the water heater being in the basement), and taking care to put the taller items on the opposite side of it on the bottom rack.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but does it clean the dishes?", you might be thinking to yourself.

Here, see for yourself:

Before

After

We've had great results. I'm doing a lot less rinsing now, as I used to have to practically wash the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher with our old one. Also, having a new dishwasher that encourages the use of a rinse agent, has made a difference (no idea why I wasn't using that stuff before!).

It's also quite sturdy so far, even with it's electronics and push buttons. We can really put appliances to the test around here, and we haven't broken it!

If you're in the market for a dishwasher, I'd be happy to answer any questions about my experience with Frigidaire.

So, a big thank you to Mom Central for letting me test drive the Frigidaire Dishwasher, we're very happy to be in the 21st century now!

I wrote this review while participating in a Test Drive Campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Frigidaire and received a Frigidaire Dishwasher to facilitate my review, however my opinions expressed here are my own.

It's well documented that we are serial appliance abusers around here.

OK, so we don't hurt them on purpose, we're just REALLY hard on things.

Therefore, when we buy something, it tends to be from a standby, quality name like Kenmore. In fact, our washer and dryer (such as they are, they tend to be on life-support since they've been around a LONG time, and are used multiple times a day) and refrigerator are from Kenmore

Now, I know what you're thinking, especially in light of the recent proliferation of appliances from fancy makers, Kenmore is...is...your mother's brand.

(No, I don't actually know your mother, much less what appliances she likes, just work with me here, mmmkay? Also, if you type "appliance" enough, it starts to look really, really funny.)

You know: white, reliable, functional (whispers: *boring*).

The Kenmore name has been around since 1928. It has a rich heritage, and the name has become synonymous with quality and dependability, but not so much style.

Guess what?

Things have changed.

Go on, go look at the Kenmore website.

Not what you expected, huh?

They like to think of it as KenMORE!

I know a little about this, because I attended the Kenmore Style Blogger Summit event at Sears Headquarters in Chicago last month with 19 other bloggers where we met with designers and brand managers to find out what's going on at Kenmore.

In 2008, Kenmore undertook a complete redesign of their appliance line. They sought inspiration from modern, popular electronics, even going to CES for ideas.

Since Kenmore thinks of themselves as the “brand of the people” they are committed to high end design at affordable prices. Even though their new appliances are all fancy, the prices are still comparable.

We got to see all of the redesigns up close, and I don't say this lightly, I'm very impressed with what they've done (photos shamelessly yoinked from Short Pump Preppy as my kids downloaded mine from my camera into computer folders unknown right now):

From the refrigerator with a capacity 465 cans of Coke ("soda" or "pop" to you Yankees) to better understand how big is it, to the dryer with 5 different motions, depending on the fabric, and washers with the ability to handle a king-sized comforter, it's clear that Kenmore has spent time talking to consumers, finding out what they need and want, and putting into practice.

One innovative feature with their washers and dryers is Kenmore Connect.

If something goes wrong, you can send real-time diagnostic information to a repair technician over the phone using Kenmore Connect,

You can get your questions answered, and maybe even save a service call. Seriously, you just hold your phone up to the appliance and magic happens.

If a service call is necessary, the service person will arrive with the correct parts, so there's no more "come back later" to get it working again.

(What? Correct parts for the washer or dryer. What did you think I meant?)

Did you know that Kenmore also has a line of small appliances and a line of cookware? I wasn't really aware of how much stuff they had, and these rank right up there with the popular fancy brands.

We capped off the day at the Kenmore Live Studio where they host weekly live events featuring their products for the Mommy Bloggers v. Food Bloggers Throwdown (includes recipes), where we had a fun evening cheering for our favorite bloggers, and sampling the great food.

If you're in the market for appliances, do check out what's new at Kenmore for style and innovation at a great price.

Disclosure: Many thanks as I was invited by Mom Impact and Kenmore to participate in this event. Food, lodging and transportation were paid for by Kenmore, I was also paid to participate in a focus group, and will receive a couple of small appliances.

However, I am free to write what I want, and I can tell you I'm truly impressed with what they've done, and you really oughta go look at them.

Kenmore sent me a vacuum cleaner to check out because, for people with an old house with many wood floors, we seem to go through them as if they were disposable.

More specifically, I received a Kenmore Canister Vacuum Cleaner to put through the Busy Household Test.

It's got lots of great features including (from the website):

* Cross Over Powermate: Built in bare floor nozzle detaches to clean all floor surfaces
* Electronic control pad handle with all settings and indicators at your fingertips
* Lightweight telecopic wand with light and swivel action for ease and convenience
* Variable Power can adjust for all your cleaning needs
* Quiet Guard 2 sound insulation for quieter vacuuming performance
* Infrared dirt sensor indicates locations to help you locate and remove embedded dirt
* Quick Release and deluxe tools on board to make above floor cleaning a snap
* HEPA filtration for cleaner exhaust air

But the truth is that I don't often get to vacuum, as Busy Dad may or may not (I'll never tell) be a compulsive vacuum-er, so he's the real expert on how this Kenmore Canister Vacuum works.

Please note the following:

1. I am not a video editor. A video editor would have made an actual video out of these clips.
2. Busy Dad really likes vacuum cleaners.
2. Busy Dad actually has a head.

The Kenmore Canister Vacuum has easy to access and useful controls right on the handle, and even features an infrared dirt sensor that lets you know when to stop vacuuming.

And, one of my favorite features, the quick release:

Isn't that cool?

Another great feature is the Pet Powermate for removing pet hair (and kid miscellanious fuzz) from furniture.

The Kenmore Canister Vacuum is very powerful with great suction (resisting "it sucks!" jokes, here) and cleans floors and carpets well. The tools are useful and easily accessible, and easy to change to with the quick release functions.

The HEPA filtration is important for us, as I have a couple of kids with asthma. It's pretty quiet (as far as vacuums go), and is reasonably easy to transport.

For the wish list: re-tool the wheel on the canister a little as it doesn't always move as predicted, and you sometimes have to tug on the hose itself to get where you're going, and that puts strain on the hose connection at the canister.

Overall, we really like this vacuum (and by "we" I mean Busy Dad, as I think I've gotten to use it twice since we've had it), and we he looks forward to using it for a long time!

(Disclosure: Didn't you read the first sentence? Kenmore gave me the vacuum. However, I'm under no obligation to write a positive review, or any review at all, for that matter. These words are the honest opinion from my family, I just thought you might like this product, too.)