Hello blog readers, I hope you’re all well! It’s been a while since I last posted as I’ve been away on maternity leave, but I’m glad to be back after nearly nine months of sleepless nights and nappy changing. And I’m happy to tell you I’ve learned a thing or two about kitchen appliances while I’ve been away. The washing machine and I are now very well acquainted!

So now life is settling into some semblance of routine again, we’re embarking on the next big family adventure – moving house. And just to make life as stressful as possible we’re moving to a property that needs a complete makeover, including a brand new kitchen. So if you could keep your fingers crossed the move goes smoothly for us, I will hopefully have some before and after pictures to keep you entertained.

While I mull over materials and colour choices for worktops I wanted to give you three top tips which I have recently learned, for buying built in kitchen appliances.

1. Note the cut out for your new hob. You may know the dimensions of your hob but make sure you also have the cut out information for your work surface. The cut out hole in the work surface should be 1-2cm smaller than the dimensions of your new hob. This information can normally be found in the instruction manual.

2. The difference between built in and built under. Fridges, freezers and dishwashers look great if they’re built in and disguised by cupboard doors, but built under appliances are a breeze to install - just slot them in! Take into consideration timescale and budget when you’re choosing your new appliances. Built in appliances will obviously take longer and cost you more in installation.

3. Plan your space effectively. Having a large fridge freezer in the corner is all well and good until you try to open the drawers and they catch on the door because you can’t open it wide enough. Appliances with doors that open to the side (e.g. fridges, washers, dryers and ovens) are much easier to use if you can open the door past a 90 degree angle, so make sure you take into account anything which will prevent this from happening – handles which stick out are a common problem.

If you have any top tips for planning your own built in kitchen please feel free to let me know in the comments section below. I look forward to reading your thoughts!

It is with a heavy heart and a tear in my eye that I go as I depart on maternity leave. Thank you to everybody who’s read the blog and commented on it - I have very much enjoyed writing it.

But don’t despair, you won’t be abandoned – may I introduce Ben Fox as your new Appliances Online blogger. With his Masters degree in creative writing and previous experience as a content editor for the website, he’s sure to provide you with some wonderful anecdotes and valuable information about kitchen appliances.

Before I go on to my new life of bottles and nappies, let me leave you with one final post – a rather apt How To Friday blog entitled How To Wash Baby Clothes. And let me tell you I will definitely be practising what I preach in the years to come!

How to wash baby clothes

1.    Wash new baby clothes – clothes are coated in protective covering in shops to stop fading under harsh lights. This can be irritating to delicate baby skin.

2.    Use non-bio washing powder – this is better for sensitive skin.

3.    Use a baby wash cycle – if your machine has one this is great for baby clothes. Many Hotpoint machines (such as the Hotpoint WML560P) have a baby cycle specifically designed to tackle the toughest of stains typically associated with babies and young toddlers. This includes baby food, fruit yogurt, mud and grease.

4.    Give an extra rinse at the end of the cycle – this will ensure any residual detergent is washed away.

5.    Treat stains before washing – this stops you having to use a high temperature which stops delicate fabrics from shrinking.

If you have any other tips for keep your baby’s clothes clean and pristine, please do share them in the comments section below – I for one am going to need all the help I can get!!

Laundry is a vital part of life which unfortunately only increases as your family grows – you shoukd never underestimate the amount of time spent on washing and ironing every week!
A survey by Ecozone of 4,400 mums which shows that by the time a child is 18 his mum will have spent five months doing laundry!

The survey found that on average mothers spend two hours and 36 minutes per week per child doing laundry – as a mum to be I have to say this concerns me somewhat! And with an extra 55minutes doing ironing this adds up to a mammoth 183 hours per year, per child – which equates to more than a week of laundry every year.

With this in mind I thought I’d mention some time saving options for making the laundry experience quicker:

1. Use anti-crease programmes where possible to reduce ironing
2. Retain a little moisture in tumble dried clothes to make ironing easier
3. Use a refresh or steam refresh function (like that found on a Samsung Air Refresh WF8702RSW washing machine) on slightly dirty clothes rather than running a full wash cycle
4. Use sensor dry cycles so you don’t over estimate the drying time
5. Train your kids to sort their own washing – coloured in one basket, white in another. Of course this depends on whether you can get your children to use any washing basket whatsoever, or if they just prefer the floor...

If you have any suggestions on how you speed up laundry, please feel free to share them below!

In previous posts I have covered the steam clean washing machine in terms of refresh cycles. Whilst these short programmes are very useful for rejuvenating fabrics, refresh programmes are by no means the be all and end all of steam clean washing machines.

The Whirlpool AQUASTEAM9769 washing machine for example has several steam cleaning programmes to clean everything from tough stains to delicate fabrics, and a refresh cycle to boot!

Let me take you on a journey through these innovative steam cleaning cycles:

Steam stain removal – this allows you to remove even the toughest stains from your clothes during the washing cycle. You can use this option with any 40° - 60° programme to help remove stains. Steam enhances the stain removal capabilities of your detergent and it takes the same time as a normal wash cycles, giving you an even better clean!

Steam sanitisation – after the normal washing cycle has ended, steam is injected into the drum which provides an anti-bacterial effect on clothes, even when washed at 40 degrees. This cycle can be used on delicate fabrics and is great for achieving germ-free baby clothes.

Refresh cycle – This is a 10 minute steam programme used to remove odours and smells (like smoke and cooking scents) thanks to the deep penetration of the steam in the fabric. Clothes will come out slightly damp but will be ready to wear after hanging for 10 minutes, or immediately if ironing. Ironing is best performed when there is moisture in the clothes as it makes it easier to get rid of creases.

So how does the steam clean washing machine work?

When you inject steam into the drum of your washing machine, you relax the fibres of the fabric. This allows for the deeper penetration of detergent and gives you a superior level of cleanliness!

So there you have it - maybe the title of this post should be: “What can’t you do with a steam clean washing machine!”

As this week it’s Green Office Week, for the next five days we’re investing time and effort into making the Appliances Online workplace more environmentally friendly.

And in the spirit of going green we’d like to introduce you to the most energy efficient kitchen appliance that we sell, so you can make your home more eco-friendly too!

The beauty of green appliances is that they’re cheaper to run, whilst simultaneously giving your conscience a reassuring massage, plus they’re not as expensive to buy as you might think.

With every passing year appliance manufacturers make their products greener and we’re now at the point where they’re so efficient, many exceed even the A in the A-G energy rating system!

At Appliances Online our most efficient appliance is rated as A+++. That’s 30% more energy efficient than a standard A rated machine. So...what is it?

The Beko WMD78144 green washing machine

Not only is this machine green, it’s fast too – it’ll wash a small load in just 14 minutes!

Just because it’s a green washing machine doesn’t mean it compromises on performance. The Beko WMD78144 is also A rated for wash and spin performance, so you get a great clean at a fraction of the cost of running a less efficient machine.

This appliance is perfect for larger families with its 8kg load capacity – the equivalent of 40 men’s shirts!