© LG

Well steam seems to be the talking point of the moment in kitchen appliances. You’ll have seen my recent shopping blog about steam ovens, well how about a steam washing machine? Steam washing machines have been around for a couple of years now, but never really taken off.

Steam washing machines are a lot greener than normal ones, using about two thirds of the energy with blasts of steam replacing much of the water. And they spend the second half of the cycle taking the wrinkles out of your clothes, with the aim of avoiding ironing.

Treatment with steam is said to be much kinder to your clothes too, so there’s less wear and tear, less colour running and a better cleaner wash all round.

LG were the first to bring out the steam washing machine, but other manufacturers have since joined in and prices are starting to fall. Whirlpool for example do a steam washing machine for around £400, which is competitive with quite few normal models. So it’s now getting much more affordable to go green with your washing.

A steam washing machine isn’t something I’ve tried, but I certainly like the idea, and I’d love to hear just how good it is in practice from any shopping blog readers who have one. Well, how good is it?

Rob

Rated: from 2727 votes

© Bosch

I’m not sure about steam ovens. The theory is that by introducing water into the oven space during cooking, they prevent food form drying out and form crisper crusts on bread and pastry. Some have refillable water containers, while others are plumbed into the mains like ice-makers on the large American freezers. But I do just wonder if it’s worth all the trouble. And won’t all that steam condense inside the workings of the oven and cause rust?

To my way of thinking, if something is likely to dry out in the oven, then cover it with aluminium foil. And my bread and pastries always have great crusts (yes folks, as well as writing your shopping blog and being a gadgets aficionado, I’m a great cook!) But one thing I’ve never tried is a steam oven. And none of my mates has one either, so I can’t get feedback there.

I’d love to hear from any shopping blog readers who’ve got steam ovens on their “must have” lists. If steam ovens really are the things to have in the kitchen, then I’d hate to miss out!

Rated: from 2317 votes

© AEG

At this time of year, it’s easy to forget about your fridge freezer, what with the cold weather outside. But Christmas, with the non stop eating and entertaining is just the time when you need your fridge freezer to be at its best. You wouldn’t have much of a festive season without it, that’s for sure.

So now is the time to get out that fridge thermometer and just check that both your fridge and your freezer are keeping stuff as cold as they should. The fridge must be between +1 and +3 degrees C and your freezer no warmer than -15 degrees C to keep your food in safety.

Your white goods will get less efficient with age and it’s as well to find out now that they need replacing rather than on Christmas morning when the turkey and trifle have gone off after the fridge failed during the night!

If your fridge freezer is up to the job, well congratulations: have a good Christmas. But if not, then check out what AEG Electrolux have on offer and get one delivered in plenty of time to fill it with festive cheer. AEG Electrolux is one of the best value and most reliable manufacturers of fridge freezers and other white goods, and AEG Electrolux is always the first choice of this shopping blog writer when I need to replace any of my kitchen appliances.

Kitchen appliances may not come as high up your Christmas present list as the latest electronic gadgets, but if your fridge freezer isn’t up to the job, shopping for a new one now will do far more for your Christmas enjoyment.

Rob

Rated: from 1579 votes

© Dyson

One of the marvels of the 20^th century was the invention of the disposable bag for the vacuum cleaner. No mess, no fuss, just take out the old bag and pop in a new one. And then came the Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner.

The cleaning power of the Dyson’s “cyclone” technology was certainly something special, and Dyson vacuum cleaners don’t lose any suction as they fill up. But suddenly we’re plunged back to the bad old days of holding your vacuum cleaner over the bin, shaking it violently to empty it and getting covered with a cloud of dust and fluff. I’m not at all convinced that it’s a step in the right direction.

I’ve looked at product reviews, and there’s no getting away from the fact that the bagless vacuum cleaners clean better than the others. Even the bagless models brought out by Electrolux and Hoover clean better than the old models. But none of the product reviews I’ve read seem as upset as I am at the return to the messy days of emptying the cleaner. You’d think somebody would have invented the bagless vacuum cleaner with a bag to avoid all that.

What do you think? Is the mess worth it for the extra cleaning power, or not? It’s your shopping blog and your shopping blog wants to know your view.

Rob

Rated: from 1588 votes

© Kenwood

You remember the last series of Delia Smith? The one where she went a bit mad and started cooking frozen chips? Well a gadget from that programme has to be my kitchen gadget of the year.

The Kenwood CH180 mini chopper is marketed as a “Delia cheat gadget”, but it’s so much more. Until now, the only way to chop automatically was either a massive blender that took up a whole corner of your kitchen and could make the world’s biggest cake, or clunky miniature choppers that were more like children’s toys.

But the Kenwood mini chopper is small and powerful. It’s great for chopping herbs, onions, garlic, anything that’s too small for a large food processor. You need to chop up big veg before you put them in the bowl but a few pulses of the chopper and it’s perfectly shredded - and it chops really evenly and doesn’t pulp what’s at the bottom.

If you live on your own this kitchen gadget is great for chopping a portion of veg, or if you’ve got a bigger family you can use it for making dips, marinades, baby food - you name it, And it’s so titchy you can pop it away in the cupboard until the next time you need it.

For Christmas how about chopping stuffing, ingredients for gravy, herbs and marinade for the turkey, ice for slushies, nuts for the Christmas cake….

I have an admission though - I had one of these little kitchen gadgets well before Delia - you see not only is it great for chopping and pulping food, it’s perfect for chopping cucumbers for baby tortoise’s tiny mouths. Make sure you remember that tortoise fact - it might be important one day

Rob

Rated: from 1448 votes

© Kes

We all have coloured recycling bins outside, but how many of us make it easier by having recycling bins in the kitchen too? Most people I know just have the one kitchen bin which makes keeping paper, glass, cans etc separate quite tricky. Or your kitchen very messy!

Enter the Kes large capacity recycling kitchen bin, which has the novel idea of two bins in one. Two 26 litre bins, side by side, are fixed on runners to slide in and out of your kitchen cupboard. So recycling becomes a cinch, your kitchen stays immaculate, and you get to do your bit for the planet.

Kes also do a nice range of attractively designed kitchen bins if you prefer to have them on show. Stainless steel or plastic to complement your kitchen décor, they’re keenly priced so a couple of matching Kes kitchen bins would serve equally well to maintain your recycling credentials.

I know that kitchen bins don’t rank high on the all time list of Christmas gift ideas, but vital activities like recycling need to be kept up all through the year, and your shopping blog will be sure to keep you updated with all the best shopping news on green products.

Rob

Rated: from 1827 votes

© Brita

There’s quite a fad just now for filtering your tap water. It started off with filter jugs for cold water, and has now moved on to kettles with filter elements.

Electric kettles like the Brita filter kettle promise purer water by passing it through a replaceable filter, though studies by bodies such as the Foundation for Water Research indicate that there’s not much measurable benefit in this.

As with most new inventions, there are as many people passionately committed to the health qualities of filter kettles like the Brita as there are people who dismiss them as unproven.
I must admit I’m in the latter camp, and can see nothing to justify the higher price of filter kettles and the ongoing expense of replacement filters.

That said, the Brita filter kettle is a fine looking electric kettle with a stylish design; and when shopping for electrical gadgets and appliances, good design is always something I appreciate. So for pure design and eye appeal, I wouldn’t mind one of these in my kitchen. But the need to buy replacement filters – that to my mind don’t achieve much - means that the Brita filter kettle won’t be at the top of my list of Christmas gift ideas.

Rob

Rated: from 1761 votes

© Home Office

For all those of you who have a desktop PC rig, complete with printer, scanner, keyboard, speakers and a dozen other little accessories cluttering up your desk, but don’t want it to be on show all the time, then a computer hideaway is just what you’re looking for. It has a desktop for your PC, your keyboard, printer, speakers, and everything else your computer needs, and closes up to shut it all away just like a cupboard when you’ve finished.

If you’re a fan of desktop PCs and have a great state of the art quad core PC rig like mine, complete with ultra sleek black case and flashing blue lights, then the last thing you want to do is hide it away. What are your mates going to go ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ at when they come round?

But if you’ve got an ancient PC from the days of Noah’s Ark – say 2007 – then I quite understand why you want to cover it up! Cabinets for hiding computers start around the £50 mark; but the sky’s the limit and keeping your old PC and gadgets hidden from view could end up costing more than a shiny new PC if you’re really particular. Computer hideaways come in all shapes and sizes, and every wood finish imaginable. So whether it’s shame at the state of your ancient PC rig, or simply that your other half has had enough of seeing your PC and printer lying around all the time, there’s sure to be something to suit you.

And a useful tip is that even though it’s your PC, a computer hideaway could make a great Christmas gift idea for your other half if you can find one to match the wall units you’ve already got.

Rob

Rated: from 1593 votes

© Nighthawk

A fantastic 10 million candlepower torch! Brighter than a car’s headlights. Be seen 2 miles away! Rechargeable and only £49.99. Which red-blooded do it yourselfer hasn’t drooled over a torch like this?

I know I have, and even gone so far as to buy one, so now Rob’s shopping blog needs to announce the truth about torches.

1 - Ordinary people don’t use a torch all the time
That’s the problem. You need a torch when the car breaks down in the dark, when there’s a power cut at night or when you want to look deep inside a broken washing machine for the screw you just dropped.

2 - Forget the candle power
The vital thing about a torch is not how bright it is, but whether you’ve got it with you and whether it works. Go shopping for a common or garden basic torch with ordinary batteries. And buy some spare batteries too. I’ll guarantee a rechargeable torch will be flat when you need it, and you can’t recharge it in a power cut.

3 – The more torches, the better
What you really need is a torch where you want it, when you want it, and one that works. So while you’re out shopping, get yourself another basic torch and spare batteries and keep them in the car.

Now I know we all like the product reviews of the super torch, and we’re all impressed by gadgets with lots of power, but a couple of basic torches plus batteries would be the ideal Christmas gift idea for the gadget lover in your life. Not as glamorous a Christmas present as a digital camera perhaps, but far more use in the dark.

Rob

Rated: from 1127 votes

istockphoto © brigitte smith

Winter is well on its way now, so sitting out on your garden furniture will be strictly out of bounds till spring peeps round the corner. And that means this is the ideal time to get out and protect your garden furniture.

If you’ve got wooden furniture (and I love wood for the comfort and feel), then go shopping for teak oil. You’ll find teak oil at any of the DIY outlets, or online, and it will take no more than half an hour on a fine dry day to protect your furniture. Apply liberally with a cloth and leave to dry – though I often use a paintbrush myself for more even coverage.

Wooden furniture protected like this is fine to leave outside all winter, though if you put in your garden store or shed it will mean less washing down in the spring.

Plastic furniture will survive quite well if just left outside, though again the garden store or a set of furniture covers would keep it cleaner. Modern plastic (or PVC to be accurate) stands up well to the sun and elements just as do PVC window frames.

Metal furniture is a bit more problematic. Chips in the enamelling need to be overpainted or they will deteriorate. And whether steel or aluminium, metal garden furniture needs covering or putting in the garden shed to keep it looking good.

Furniture covers are widely available and last for many seasons, so they might be a good addition to your Christmas present list. An early Christmas gift of garden furniture covers – or teak oil if you’ve furniture like mine - could save you the expense of shopping for new garden furniture next year. It’s not only greener, but with the credit crunch, we’ve got to save every penny we can.

Rob

Rated: from 1757 votes