Your friends at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center (UAKC) want you to enjoy all your kitchen appliances – safely.

By far the most likely cause of a fire in the kitchen is from cooking. Flare ups, grease fires, accidental spills, clothing, and flammable material catching fire are all possible reasons for cooking fires. Here are some tips that will help you prevent cooking fires from occurring, followed by some tips that will help you put out a fire in your kitchen.

Fire Prevention

1. Check to make sure that you have an operating smoke detector in your kitchen. Change the battery annually as a matter of habit.

2. Stay in the kitchen while cooking. It may not be feasible to be in the kitchen for the entire time while your 21 pound turkey is cooking, but you shouldd to make it a practice not to leave the room while there is an open flame on your gas cooktop.

3. Whenever you step away from your cooktop, turn the pan handle away from the front of the cooktop. Brushing up against a handle can cause a pan to tip over resulting in a nasty burn.

4. Keep the cooktop surface and hood vent filters clean. Fires can easily occur where there is a buildup of grease.

5. Beware of loose fitting clothes near the flame. Also, dish towels, hot pads, and other cloth items are dangers near the cooktop. Keep lids on cooking oils, and don’t store them next to the cooking surface. Similarly, do not use flammable cleaning fluids near your rangetop while cooking.

Putting Out Fires

1. Call the Fire Department immediately. You’ll waste precious time if you try to put out the fire first and have to call for help later. Make the 911 phone call first.

2. Grease fires are among the most common of kitchen fires. Covering a grease fire is the easiest and quickest way to put it out. Reach for the nearest pan lid that will cover the flame. Don’t fuel the flame – turn off the burner. Have a fire extinguisher handy and use it.

3. Be careful that you don’t try to extinguish a flame by hastily dousing it with the nearest liquid. Instead, smother the fire with baking soda. It’s a good fire retardant.

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center (UAKC) is pleased to provide these tips for preventing and putting out fires in your kitchen. For help in selecting new appliances for your kitchen call or visit the experts at UAKC today.

NOW, two locations to serve you – Calabasas and Studio City:

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center

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If you are doing some kitchen remodeling in a pre-1950's house that has not been previously remodeled, you will most likely have Knob and Tube Wiring. This is an obsolete form of wiring. Though it is not inherently dangerous, it is often considered hazardous, and you should seriously consider replacing it. Local codes might even require it once you open up the walls. Of course, you should always have electrical work done by a licensed electrical contractor.

Knob and Tube (K&T) wiring is insulated copper wire which passes through holes drilled in studs. The wires are protected from chafing by porcelain tubes. Periodically, the wires are supported by and passed through porcelain knobs that are nailed down and keep the wire suspended. These are single copper wires so current passes through in one direction, the hot wire, and returns through a separate neutral wire. There is no ground wire.

Knob and Tube Wiring

During the first half of the twentieth century, homes were wired with electricity primarily for electric lights. The only appliances found in most homes consisted of small appliances such as tea kettles or toasters. Therefore as refrigerators, televisions, and other electrical devices came along with their increasing electrical amperage demands homes often received a patchwork of modifications to their K&T wiring as each new device was added. Many of these modifications were improperly done, resulting in shock and fire hazards caused by reverse polarity, crossed neutrals, and overloaded circuits.

Knob and tube wires are insulated with a rubberized cloth or fiber that can deteriorate over time. Even if your local code does not require replacement, it is a very good idea to do so because of the age of the system, the possibility of deterioration, and the fact that grounded appliances with 3 prong cords are not designed to operate on K&T wiring. There are also insurance companies that will refuse to provide insurance for a home with knob and tube wiring.

How can you tell if you have knob and tube wiring in your kitchen? If your wall switches are push button, that would be one indication of K&T wiring. If your receptacles do not accomodate a grounded plug, that is another indication. However, there have been modifications that have updated electrical receptacles, switches, and even junction boxes but left the K&T wiring in place inside the walls. Sometimes, the only way to know for sure is to open up a wall or check in the attic.

How much will all of this cost? It depends on whether just the kitchen needs to be rewired or the entire house. It also depends on what modifications might have already been done, and if they were done properly. An entire house could cost as much as $8-10 thousand dollars. If just the kitchen needs to be rewired you must consider that some wiring expense would be incurred in your kitchen remodel anyway, so an additional $2000 or so might not be out of line to replace some old K&T wiring.

The GOOD news is knowing that you have done what is necessary to protect your house for your safety and enjoyment, and preserve the resale value as well. As a reminder, make sure that your work complies with all applicable codes and is done by a licensed and bonded electrical contractor.

Now that you've got your wiring issues resolved, be sure to contact the professionals at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center to save money on your appliance purchases.

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center
12025 Ventura Blvd. Ste B-105
Studio City, CA 91604
PH 877 696-2987
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What is a French Door Refrigerator?

There are four basic refrigerator/freezer categories. They are:

1. Top-mount. This unit has the freezer on the top and a refrigerator below the freezer compartment. Doors are hinged to side swing from either the right or left.
2. Bottom-mount. Bottom-mounts or bottom freezer configurations have the refrigerator on the top and a freezer below. The refrigerator door is hinged like the top mount, but the freezer may be either a side swing or a slide-out drawer.
3. Side-by-Side. Side-by-Side refrigerators are a very popular configuration that have the freezer compartment on the left and the refrigerator compartment on the right. The doors are hinged on either side.
4. French Door. These are bottom freezer refrigerators with a split-door in the refrigerator compartment that allows the refrigerator to be opened from the center. They have become increasingly popular in recent years.

History of French Door refrigerators

Some industry veterans may recall the short-lived appearance of a French Door model refrigerator from Whirlpool back in the '80s. It did not take with consumers, and was soon dropped.

The Amana brand is well-known for its refrigeration and has been a leader in bottom freezer refrigerators for many years. In the late '90s Amana launched the first successful French Door refrigerators. Amana was acquired by Maytag in 2000, and shortly thereafter Maytag's premier Jenn-Air brand introduced a counter-depth French Door model which was a big hit. Soon all the major U.S. manufacturers had French Door refrigerator models. Not surprisingly, the Korean brands were quick to chime in with their own copies.

Today, French Door refrigerators are available in nearly every conceivable configuration including dispenser and non-dispenser versions, built-in models, and others with a variety of doors and drawers, and with capacities over 30 cu.ft.

GE has opened a new facility in Louisville for French Door refrigerators and launched a new series of models with new features coming from this factory. There are now 3 factories in the U.S. manufacturing French Door models: The GE plant, Whirlpool's factory in Amana, Iowa and a new line of refrigerators from SubZero built in Arizona.

Dual Evaporator models. Several manufacturers have added dual evaporator systems to their line. Essentially, this provides consumers with separate airflow to the refrigerator and freezer, enhancing food preservation. Sub Zero has dual compressors as well.

Extra drawers. Maytag has added an extra refrigerator pantry drawer which provides a convenient pull out drawer for quick access. KitchenAid also has a French Door model with a pull out refrigerator drawer.

42″ Built-In. Jenn-Air has a 42″ built-in French Door refrigerator that can accomodate cabinet panels for a fully flush and fully integrated appearance. The unit can literally disapper as it looks just like the surrounding cabinets. This is the largest built-in French Door model in the industry.

For the best selection and lowest prices contact the experts at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center.

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center
12025 Ventura Blvd. Ste B-105
Studio City, CA 91604
PH 877 696-2987
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The five star rated Laurel Canyon News has a great selection of magazines and newspapers, and evidently has a way of getting them first. Don’t worry about the time of day – they always seem to be open. And if you’re in a hurry just pull up on the roadside of Ventura Blvd. and they’ll bring the paper or magazine to you!

Visit Universal Appliance first and you won’t need to worry about parking. If there isn’t space in the surface lot, you can use the underground garage.

Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center
12050 Ventura Blvd. Ste B-105
Studio City, CA. 91604
PH 877 696-2987

I recently heard a pundit comment that most major appliance purchases these days are “duress” purchases. That means that the old clunker quit working and you need to go get a new one NOW.

Of course, the old one only quits when you’re trying to scrape together the cash for junior’s tuition, you just found out you owe the IRS thousands in taxes, and your insurance company rejected the claim for your facelift. I hate it when that happens!

So here are three ways you can avoid appliance duress, and live the life that you’ve always wanted.

1. Don’t wait! Shoot your tired old refrigerator now and put it out its misery. Seriously, waiting for disaster to strike when you’re least able to handle it makes no sense.

2. Calculate how much you’ll save (versus how much you’ll spend) by acting now. You know that if your old washing machine is  more than just a few years old it’s gobbling up gas and/or electricity to heat the water and make all that noise. Don’t forget to consider the money you’re spending on clothes that are wearing out too soon because that rattle trap you call a washing machine is beating the heck out of your delicates. The point is that these savings are real and will help pay for your new appliance.

3.  Set up a Christmas Club for your new purchase. It’s a monthly deposit into a separate savings account to build a nest egg for your dream kitchen. Call it Martha’s Appliance Account. If your name’s not Martha….well, you can figure it out.  If you can’t put away the entire amount before duress or desire hit you on the head, you’ll at least have a good start.

I could go on, but most of you are already on your way to Universal Kitchen and Bath Center to escape Appliance Duress. For the rest of you…take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning.

Call or visit Universal Kitchen and Bath today for relief from Appliance Duress. 888-439-9795, 12050 Ventura Blvd. Suite B-105, Studio City, CA. 91604