LESLIE: Al in Utah is doing one of the most popular home improvement projects: remodeling the kitchen. What can we help you with?
AL: Well, I need help with my appliances. I’m putting in a gas stove and a new dishwasher and a microwave. And I know you can go very high-end on these appliances. What I’m looking for is the biggest bang for my buck and what I should watch out for on purchasing these appliances. I wonder if you could help me with that.
TOM: The very first thing that you should be looking for; your basic level of qualification for whether or not you want to buy the appliance or not is whether it’s Energy Star rated. Because that’s going to have a terrific return on investment. It’s going to make sure that the appliance is running as efficiently as possible. Beyond that, it becomes very much a personal choice in terms of what you’re looking for.
LESLIE: Consumer Reports has an issue. It’s on stands now, I believe, and it talks about all of the types of appliances and what you should be looking for and brands that are attention-starved or should I say ones that need repairs a lot.
AL: OK.
LESLIE: And they go over, specifically, you know, if you’re looking at a range these are the things you should look for; this is a great brand and this is why; and these are ones, you know, that have all the bells and whistles but really aren’t worth it because maybe it needs repairs more often. It’s very helpful because the folks at Consumer Reports, you know, are independent. They test everything. They completely are unbiased and they’re doing this for you. You know, they really give you the lowdown on what’s what with each brand; especially when it comes to a specific appliance. And when you’re looking to, I guess, look for a suite of appliances – you know, maybe you want everything to be stainless so you’re thinking, “Oh, I’m going to buy all the same brand,” you know, one brand may do an oven really well but not a dishwasher.
AL: Right.
LESLIE: And because all of the major brands are – you know, they kind of copy from one another so you’re going to get similar looks across the board from many of the manufacturers. You know, buy the manufacturer that makes the best product that they can; you know, regardless of if it’s one for the dishwasher and something else for the oven. As long as they’re the best at what they do for that specific job you just want to get it.
AL: Right. Absolutely. Well, I was surprised like on gas stoves, what – you know, on the stoves, how expensive a stove will be. I just nearly cried (chuckling) when I saw some of these prices.
LESLIE: There’s a lot of good models under 1,000 bucks. In fact, GE Profile, they have an excellent pro-looking range and oven combo. The whole thing is fantastic. It’s under 1,000 bucks. There’s convection. There’s a lot of different options. And that’s a wonderful product.
AL: Have you guys heard anything – my wife is wanting to go with white and I want to go with black. She says the white shows up less dirt. Have you guys heard either way on that or is that just a preference as well?
TOM: Well, it is a preference but I think black does probably show more dirt than white.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. Black shows fingerprints like the second after you clean it.
TOM: Yeah, we’ve got white everything and three young kids and I’ve got to tell you, I’m glad we do have white.
AL: OK. Well, that’s helped out immensely because I sort of like the black look of it. So, sounds to me like I’m going to be going white on the appliances then.
Good deal. Thank you very much for your help.
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