Canux : Home Sweet Home

Archive for April, 2011

Taking steps to be more environmentally friendly has become important to more Americans in recent years, and the green movement has reached nearly every industry.

But when it comes to commercial kitchen exhaust hoods, more environmentally friendly options aren’t ideal for every commercial kitchen, and in some cases they aren’t yet cost effective.

When manufacturers of ultraviolet hood systems touted environmental friendliness, cost effectiveness and reduced cleaning costs, he decided to research the issue further.

UV hood systems have been used in Europe since 1998 and in the U.S. since 2000.

UV Systems- How They Work
Oils and greases used in restaurant cooking processes collect over time in traditional kitchen exhaust fans, hoods and ducts. When these parts of the hood system aren’t cleaned on a regular basis, these cooking materials pose a fire hazard.

UV hood system manufacturers claim that their systems provide a cost-effective, environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cleaning methods because they are equipped with a series of removable grease-particulate extractors, Carter stated in his article.

Other benefits of the UV hood systems:
o No special installation costs or requirements.
o Equipped with self-monitoring capability for fan operation and lamps.
o Does not require wash down.
o Uses less than 300 watts of light for every seven feet of hood.
o Identical maintenance requirements to standard baffle filter hoods, and the filters can be cleaned in a dishwasher when needed.
o Grease is prevented from collecting in ductwork, which helps keep the duct system and exhaust fan clean.
Myths Busted

But for some of these claims, the field realities are different. Commercial hood comapnies believe that routine maintenance costs are more expensive.

UV hood systems require less maintenance than traditional hood systems, according to manufacturers. Where traditional hood systems may need cleaning four times each year, UV systems can be cleaned twice a year. However, the cleaning and maintenance they require is more involved and technical than that of its traditional counterparts. UV systems require servicing by technicians who have been specially trained by the UV hood manufacturers. These technicians must possess specific knowledge on how to arm and disarm the system and how to dismantle and clean the extractors filtering system.

They also disagrees with manufacturer claims that maintenance of these systems is more economical.

They have spoken with manufacturer reps and to the best of their knowledge, the maintenance costs of these systems can be as much as four times the cost of maintaining traditional hood systems.

And although the manufacturers recommend UV hood systems for widespread applications, they aren’t for everyone.

Hood cleaning companies don’t think they would be recommending the right thing to their customer if they said that they were a viable option for everyone because of the costs involved after installation. In my opinion, the product is good, but people should do their homework prior to purchasing the system.

-end-

If you’ve been considering doing an HHO gas generator install, I’ll explain a rough overview of how it’s done. As you may be aware HHO gas systems are a relatively recent vehicle modification to cut down smog pollution while simultaneously increasing gas mileage. They’re one of the first truly economical steps towards cutting our dependency on oil.

The HHO gas generator consists of an electrode, an electrolyte, water, wiring, hoses, and some valves. The electrode pulls excess current from the vehicle’s alternator that would have otherwise been wasted and passes it through water containing an electrolyte. This process is known as electrolysis and will very rapidly cause water molecules to break down into their atomic components of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. This resulting gas is known as HHO or brown gas. When we direct this gas mixture into the engine it aids the combustion process, resulting in an increase in power output. By increasing our power without increasing gasoline consumption we will effectively DOUBLE the distance we can travel on the same amount of gas!

The best part about these HHO gas generators is the fact that you can purchase the parts for $50-$100 at any local hardware store. However before you run out and try to build one yourself from scratch I really advise that you purchase a kit. They’re cheap, they’ll save you a lot of headache, and they pay for themselves almost immediately! I used one when installing a kit in my Acura Integra and I’m really glad I did! There’s nothing to lose here except your gas bill.

For something we depend on so regularly, there is surprisingly little information available about effectively using a dishwasher! A little knowledge can make all the difference between having gorgeous stainless steel flatware and spending hours scrubbing intricate flatware patterns over the sink.

How many times have you broken a nail trying to scratch off that little “bit-o-mystery” sticking to that supposedly clean bowl or stainless steel flatware? How often have you needed to drag out your scrub brush to get debris out of intricate flatware patterns? How often have you rushed to set the table for guests’ timely arrival, only to find dark spots on your stainless steel flatware or a bit of this morning’s eggs decorating your intricate flatware patterns?

Your dishwasher may be responsible, but it’s likely the way you are loading it!

Convenient but Frustrating

Dishwashers are a great convenience. Intricate flatware patterns come out sparkling clean without effort and stainless steel flatware shines brighter than silver–but only if they are used correctly.

There are rules when loading the dishwasher that could mean the difference between no-hassle gorgeous table settings and a frustrating rush to get your intricate flatware patterns presentable before guests arrive.

Easy Rules for Perfect Results

Load all large items on the sides or in the back of the dishwasher. This allows water to flow freely and reach all dishes during each cycle. Be sure nothing hangs over your flatware tray, preventing water and soap from reaching stainless steel flatware and serving pieces.

Don’t overload the dishwasher. Crowding can leave soap embedded in intricate flatware patterns, creating more work for you than washing them by hand in the first place! Stainless steel flatware and intricate flatware patterns need room to dry to avoid those dreaded spots.

Pay Attention to Your Flatware

When loading knives, place them in the basket with the blades down. The rule with spoons and forks is to keep the handles down. To prevent spoons from “spooning,” mix utensils to ensure that the water flows around the pieces while washing and rinsing. If you have intricate flatware patterns load them loosely to encourage lots of water flow and mix them with simpler pieces.

Some things to never wash in the dishwasher are hollow handled knives, or anything made of brass, bronze, copper, gold colored or pewter flatware in the dishwasher. And though both silver plate and stainless steel can be washed in the dishwasher, never mix them in the same load! The stainless steel flatware creates a chemical reaction that causes staining on the silver plate.

Rinsing and Drying

Consider rinsing extra dirty pieces before putting them in the dishwasher. Protein foods such as eggs and cheese sometimes need an extra rinse because the dishwasher’s heat ‘re-cooks’ them right onto dishes, stainless steel flatware, and glasses.

Don’t leave stainless steel flatware to dry in a hot humid dishwasher–either use the heat-dry cycle or remove them and dry them off before putting them away. Intricate flatware patterns of any type also look better when hand dried or heat-dried.

Out, Out Darn Spot!

Stains can occur on stainless steel flatware and other pieces as the result of deposits from the dishwasher. This is often the result of the composition of local water, food particles, or detergent that doesn’t dissolve. There may be iron in the water if you have older plumbing, which can cause staining on stainless steel flatware. These stains are easily removed from even intricate flatware patterns with a non-abrasive cream type kitchen cleanser and a damp sponge.

With these simple dishwasher tips, your stainless steel flatware and intricate flatware patterns will look great every time. Your dinner guests will secretly wonder how on earth you manage to so effortlessly present such a beautiful table setting, while cooking a great meal, and managing to seem calm and collected in the process. Share your tips or keep them guessing – but never again present a table with spotty gunky flatware!

The large accent pillows are one of the most in demand decorative pillows today. These pillows are best for your loveseat or sofa. These are large cushions for the seat and the back of the furniture. Why do you think large pillows are favorable in your living room?

These types of pillows offer greater comfort than small throw pillows. The designs and shapes available are also very exciting. It makes your living room more gorgeous and fascinating. The softness of these large pillows can add more interest in your living room. Placing them together with the small pillows creates more visual interest. You do not have to use more than two pillows in every couch. The size of the pillow is large enough to fit in the couch.

These pillows also have different fabrics like the suede, denim, cotton, and polyester. When it comes to the patterns and colors, there are limitless choices that are made available for you. When you decide to buy large accent pillows, you have to coordinate the colors of your couch and the colors that you will be using to decorate your whole place. Most of the time, the couches are decorated with embellishments. These embellishments are tassels, buttons, sequins, quilting, and fringe or embroidery.

Would you like to learn sewing your pillows so that you can design the embellishments personally? This would be very great for you especially if you will do it the first time. You do not have to spend excessively for the decorations alone because you can do it yourself. This is a new creation for you. Sometimes, it helps a lot that you learn how to decorate and accentuate your pillow covers on your own. You are able to save more money and you get to see your efforts of doing the embellishments.

These large accent pillows are not only used in couches. You can also use this as floor seats for your kids. You can use the same pillows to your beds to create a more aesthetic look. Just coordinate the color to the overall theme of the house to make it more pleasing and charming.

If you live in a home where the smoke detector serves as the dinner bell, perhaps it is time to choose one of the many available new range hoods.

There are times that cooking produces smoke. That smoke is often a mixture of burned food, grease, water vapor and other chemicals that should not be breathed. In order to quickly remove that smoke from the room, a range hood offers ventilation to the outside or through a filtering system.

When deep fat frying foods, there are often particles of previous batches of food left in the oil. When the oil is heated, these particles can burn and release smoke into the air. The range hood can effectively remove that smoke from the air.

If your recipe calls for searing meat, you know the problems with smoke the process can cause. If you turn on the fan before you begin cooking, that meat can be seared to perfection without filling the house with smoke.

Despite our best efforts, there are times when cooking that we have boil overs or spills. If those spills or boil overs hit the heating element on the range, they can create some very nasty smells as well as smoke. Turn on that trusty fan in the hood and the smells are taken care of immediately.

Have you ever had a spill in the oven? The spill may have happened last week without our realizing that it ever happened. Turn that oven on today however and the smoke will pour out the door. The range hood comes to the rescue once again.

Range hoods are made of sheet metal. They can be vented or unvented. The vented style is connected to a large duct that leads to the outside of the home. Smoke and cooking smells are drawn outside by a fan and dissipated in the air. These hoods require access to the outside from the kitchen.

An unvented range hood has a filtration system that removes smoke and odors from the air. The cleaned air is released back into the room.

Breathing smoke is not good for humans. There are chemicals in all smoke that can cause cancer and respiratory problems. A range hood is an effective way to remove the smoke from the air in your home. Be sure that you use your range hood anytime there is smoke in the kitchen. You will breathe better for it.

If this is your first time looking at a refrigerator model, you may be asking yourself what you need to know about how to buy a refrigerator. This is a major investment which is not cheap, you will want to make sure that you are spending your money on the best model possible. There are a number of factors that will go into buying the right refrigerator for your home and only through careful examination will you be able to find the best model for yourself.

What Do You Need to Consider?

There are a few important factors which will play into you finding the best refrigerator for your home. If you want to make sure that you are going to be happy with the purchase that you make, you will need to consider the following:

How many people are going to be using your refrigerator? What type of model will your perfect refrigerator come in? Are there any extra features that you want on your refrigerator? Is the model that you choose going to be energy efficient? How much room do you have to store your refrigerator in your kitchen? Once you take all of these factors into consideration, you should be able to start to determine what type of model of refrigerator you should be looking into. Make sure that you take your time and do all of your homework first, as the refrigerator that you buy is going to be a major investment. You should understand all aspects about how to buy a refrigerator before you actually do it.

What Types of Models Are Available?

You can generally find refrigerators in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. The models themselves can vary between a number of different styles, including: