The Headlines

There have been some pretty unfair headlines in press lately regarding dishwashers. They are surrounding claims that there is research to show that the fungus growing in over 180 dishwashers around the world is harmful to humans. They even go so far as to suggest that it may be fatal in some cases.

I really want to break down these claims to their bare facts and see exactly how much of this is truth and how much is just scare-mongering.

The fungus is question is a black yeast, which is particularly fond of warm, damp environments and the theory is that because this fungus develops in places where high concentrations of soaps and detergents are present, they become less affected by cleaning products over time.

“Luckily they are normally not at all harmful in healthy people”  
-Prof. Neil Gow, Aberdeen University

Not wanting to take the papers view of the research at face value (I daresay you’ll understand why), we got in touch with revered microbiologist Professor Neil Gow of Aberdeen University; a leading member of the Aberdeen Fungal Group. He explained to us that “Black yeasts are commonly found in both domestic and public places.  They can be seen growing on shower curtains, bathroom tiles, and in many other warm, wet places such as in changing rooms, swimming pools, sauna baths etc.”

“Luckily they are normally not at all harmful in healthy people and our immune systems are very adept at mopping up the few black  we come in contact with in day to day life.”

Professor Gow went on to explain that those who succumb to a black yeast infection normally have a medical condition or immunity problem that makes them susceptible to infections from a variety of fungi or microbes that would normally present no problem at all. 

Naturally, we want to make you aware that if you have a pre-existing condition and are not sure if it makes you vulnerable to fungal infections, speak to your GP who will be able to advise you further. 

It’s also nice to see that not everyone is getting swept up in the mania. The Cystic Fibrosis Trust released a statement on their website.

“We do not really have to worry that danger lurks in our domestic appliances.”
-Cystic Fibrosis Trust

To summarise the research that the news articles were based on, they said “Although it is of interest to see that the conditions in dishwashers favour the growth of these fungi, we do not really have to worry that danger lurks in our domestic appliances.”

Thankfully the general consensus seems to be that despite what the papers have implied, this research certainly does not suggest that our dishwashers are going to harm us any time soon.

Image by Phil Roader

Right, time to paint a familiar picture in the style only I can get away with. You stroll casually into the kitchen one evening to get yourself something to drink. Perhaps a cup of tea, or it might be a Friday night and you’re thinking a glass of wine or whiskey might be in order (maybe you could combine the two to make winesky, I don’t know).

Much to your horror you notice that the sink is stacked up to the ceiling with plates encrusted with the remnants of the day’s meals, which included bolognaise and chicken with sticky hard drying sauce that although tasty at the time now looks so attached to your wonderful plates that it might require a knife and a good bit of leverage to remove it.

Cancel the drink then. Get those uncomfortable washing-up gloves on. Run the tap for five minutes before it reaches a decent temperature. Fumble around at the back of the sink or worse, beneath the mountain of dishes, to find the scourer or some other cloth-like implement. It’s like a game of Jenga but in this case the pieces don’t just fall down they break into thousands of pieces too.

Eventually you’ll get the bowl full of hot, soapy water. How inviting. Apart from the fact that every dish that takes more than 3 seconds to remove the dirt from, in this case most of them, results in your hands being scolded. And you haven’t even started trying to clean the burnt on pasta from that pot you conveniently forgot to clean last night.

You soon forget about the drink you came into the kitchen for and turn your attention towards how best to stack the newly washed dishes in a way that prevents them from being a health hazard. Whilst fashioning this new mountain of sparkling clean dishes you realise that a few of the ones you’ve managed to wedge into the middle of what might be described in some circles as a sculpture are not quite as clean as you thought. Cue a sudden outburst of rage and a room full of broken plates. Or is that just me?

If what I’ve just described sums up your never ending battle with the sink and the ever-growing pile of dirty dishes then I think you’ll agree that you need to seriously consider investing in a dishwasher. I would recommend the Indesit IDF125 in white. Then you can finally have that glass of winesky.

As unpredictable as the weather has been lately, I found last Saturday a great opportunity to hang my washing out on the line for the first time in a while. However, when Sunday rolled around and the sky erupted in showers and thunderstorms, I began to wish I owned a tumble dryer.

You see, when the sun shines and the sky that lovely light blue tint, it is fantastically quick to get my just washed clothes dried and back in the cupboard where they belong. But this is the UK, so we see rain far more than we do the sun, and that means I spend most of my time at home surrounded by towels, T-shirts, work shirts and trousers hung from doors and drooped over the landing. And nothing dries very quickly this way. By the time I’ve managed to get one batch dry I’m hanging up another, doomed for my house to resemble a poorly laid out charity shop for eternity.

The solution is simple. Buy a Beko DRCS76W. Why this model? It’s cheap, cheerful, and large enough to fit the washing I’d need in. It has a delay timer too, meaning I can throw my clothes in before work and have them freshly dry for when I get home. Finally, it’s a condenser tumble dryer too, which means I don’t have to place the thing near a vent, which can make installation a bit of a chore.

In the meantime I’m just going to hope that the weather gets better. After all, hope is all we have.

You may have noticed that a lot of our products are labelled with energy ratings. In fact, Beko have just released the WMB81445L washing machine that has an A+++++ energy rating.  This post will help explain what these ratings really mean for your wallet.

On the 20th of June this year, energy ratings are going to change slightly. In order to help demonstrate that some appliances are much more efficient than the current A energy rating, the scale will now show A++ and A+. This is intended to make it much easier for you to make an informed choice about the appliance you wish to buy.

What is the Energy Rating

Simply put, the energy rating of an appliance is a very easy way to find out how efficient it is. It is easiest to understand if you compare energy ratings with each other. For example, if I have a washing machine with an energy rating of A, it uses less power than a washing machine with an energy rating of B.

Different appliances give different reasons for awarding an energy rating. This is where it can become quite complicated for the consumer. However, if you remember that A is always more efficient than B, it can help to navigate this tricky minefield.

The video below explains the changes happening to the rating system.

Energy Ratings and Savings

Simply put, the higher the energy rating, the more the appliance will save you on your energy bills. While it can be difficult to quantify the exact savings you will make because energy suppliers vary, the energy saving trust states that, for an A+ rated fridge-freezer, assuming that you are replacing one bought as new in 1998, can be up to £38 a year.

The saving on its own may seem modest, but if you were to fill your house with A+ rated appliances and combine that with other energy saving methods like insulation and changing your energy supplier for the best deal, you could save many hundreds of pounds over the life of the appliances.

Energy ratings are just one of the things to consider when buying a new appliance, and though they will save you money on your bills, it is important to consider the other features of the product too. For a comprehensive guide of what to consider when buying a new appliance, check out our buying guides.

I’m here today to talk about the Lec T5039W, a fridge that I’ve recently added to my list of things I might have bought back when I was at University.

This little gem is a compact fridge freezer. It is literally tiny. But that’s great. If you are struggling for space then this will be a massive help.

If you’ve ever had to share a house with several people, the following complaint might well ring true. You feel peckish, perhaps for a late lunch or early dinner, so you head over to your fridge only to discover that the eggs you bought last week are gone, the milk is half drunk and the cheese has either grown legs and walked away on its own volition or has been scoffed down by a housemate. You question those you live with but no one is prepared to talk. Passive aggressive post-its on your milk cartoon that say “Mine – don’t touch” aren’t getting through.

If you’ve been in this situation you might consider drastic action. A house meeting perhaps, where you will systematically cross examine every housemate in turn in the hope one of them reveals cracks in their story. You become a paranoid wreck, constantly running to the fridge in the hope of catching someone out. On the rare occasions you are able to leave it unattended you hope that the motion sensing webcam uplinked to your laptop might reveal the culprit. All the while you are spending more time worrying about stolen food than enjoying your life as a carefree student. Or is it that just me?

Regardless, in that situation, this fridge offers the perfect solution. To break the mould, if you will. To stick it to the man. To say, “hey housemates, steal someone else’s milk, I’ve got a cheap but brilliant compact fridge freezer in my room!”. Oh my it would have felt good to say that smugly to a housemate that accuses you of taking their brie.

So, if you are a student, I recommend this fridge. If not, then I still think that this fridge is by far the best space saver you can get without sacrificing a massive amount of storage. The fridge has 90 litres of capacity and the freezer 45. That’s more than enough to fit a few eggs and a carton of milk in.

Plus it has an A+ energy rating so not only is it compact and great for a couple or person living alone but it will save you money too.