by Milcarsky's Staff | Nov 7, 2019 | Appliances, Uncategorized
The first time ammonia was used for refrigeration, it was 1876. America was celebrating her centennial, and Ulysses S. Grant was wrapping up his last term in office. Even though it has now been used for a little over 140 years a refrigerant in industrial applications, it still remains popular today. However, there is still some debate as to whether it works in all circumstances. Are you wondering if ammonia would work for you and your industrial refrigeration requirements? Here are some pros and cons to consider:
Pro: More Efficient
Ammonia is widely recognized as one of the efficient energy applications out there. First of all, Ammonia is 3–10% more efficient than the standard CFC refrigerants. Secondly, ammonia usually beats their DX R404A counterpart by a good 15–20%. Ammonia is even more efficient when it is paired with NH3 and CO2.
Pro: More Environmentally Friendly
An ammonia refrigerant is better for the environment. One of the reasons is that ammonia is classified as a natural refrigerant. Ammonia also has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) and an Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) that is equal to zero. Another great thing about ammonia is that it is a renewable resource. Ammonia consists of one nitrogen atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms. More and more individuals are recognizing ammonia as an effective green alternative fuel. Indeed, there are so many things you can do with it. You can burn ammonia, store it, ship it, or even convert it back into hydrogen and nitrogen. Additionally, although fuel cell cars seem to be a dying trend in the United States, Japan is still interested in this product and they continue to eye ammonia as a fuel choice for this efficient mode of transportation.
Con: Toxic
Unfortunately, ammonia is poisonous in high concentrations. It can be extremely hazardous to humans, and it definitely should be kept out of the reach of young children. Moreover, you should never mix ammonia and bleach. Even though ammonia will generally leave behind a foul odor, you shouldn’t take any chances if you are using this as a refrigerant. It’s always a good idea to label your pipes, but ammonia pipes, in particular, should always be marked.
Though figuring out which component is best to use as a refrigerant may be difficult, it’s important to figure out what will work best for you and your company. If you keep all of these factors in mind you will be better equipped to determine if ammonia is the right component for your industrial refrigeration system.
For all your refrigeration needs, Milcarsky’s Appliance Centre is here to help. Check out our selection of refrigerators!
by Milcarsky's Staff | Oct 16, 2019 | Design
There are lots of great reasons to update your kitchen. Walking into a newly refreshed room every morning is an incredible mood booster. A properly done upgrade increases the value of your home. No matter the reason for your update, there are a few tips to remember.
Your Appliances Need Love Too
Old cabinets, floors and countertops can definitely make a kitchen look dated. But remember to think about your appliances as well, as they can have good resale value. Appliance details, such as color and size, go in and out of style. Honestly assess whether your stove and fridge look outdated or even damaged. If your dishwasher always seems to need repairs, this may be a good time to replace it. Even if your older appliances are working well, they may use too much energy. Replacing them with more energy-efficient models will lower your utility bills and can increase the value of your home.
Make Room For Storage
It seems there’s never enough storage space, especially in the kitchen. As you’re replacing and updating items, make sure you have enough room for all your cookware and other items. Sometimes going for a sleeker, simpler look can cost storage space. If your new countertop or cabinets will take up less room than the old ones, think about using an island or moving cart for extra storage. Proper storage is particularly important if you have a small kitchen. Adding a shelf or two to unused corner spaces can help.
Don’t Overdo It
Putting too much work into a house can get in the way of a quick sale at a fair price. If you use a lot of high-end materials, you may have the nicest kitchen on the whole block, but you probably won’t get that money back when it’s time to sell. Making a home too upscale potentially increases the value of your home above the other homes in the neighborhood, which can make it hard to sell. Choose a more modest approach for your upgrade. Ask yourself if everything really needs to be replaced. It’s possible that you need only a few new touches to improve the look of the room.
Changing minor items, such as light fixtures or wall color, is a less expensive way to overhaul the look of your kitchen. Or, rather than replacing entire cabinets, you may decide to update just the cabinet doors and hardware. You can also change other smaller items, like rugs and curtains, for a seasonal pick-me-up.
Food is central to life, which means that a good portion of your life is spent in and around the kitchen. Whether you’re moving soon or staying put, updating your kitchen with a new look can be an invigorating way to refresh your environment.
by Milcarsky's Staff | Oct 1, 2019 | Uncategorized
Your laundry room needs to work for your household. However, with a little thought and some flair, you can make the room a fun spot to be. From colorful sorting bins to clever storage tools, you can make your laundry room more than just a spot for dirty clothes.
Make it One-of-a-Kind
Do you have space for some unique modifications? What if you added a laundry chute or even a slide? Even if a chute won’t work, consider setting up fun multi-colored bins that you can use to sort items quickly and efficiently. Finally, don’t use this space just for laundry. You may find a spot along the wall where you can add a craft table or a desk for handling household bills.
Hang Art
In addition to adding a fresh coat of paint, try incorporating themed art into your laundry room. Crafty folks might even enjoy creating dryer lint art for the room. Another option is to create a corkboard for lonely socks to hang out while looking for a mate.
Change the Lighting
Because you may be working over your head folding sheets and towels, consider adding recessed lighting to your laundry room. If you’ve got a folding counter, task lighting fixtures or pendants close to the wall would also be a great addition. Finally, consider adding motion detector lighting to the area so that you can leave the laundry room confident that the light will turn off on its own if your hands are full of clean clothes.
Add Storage
If your laundry room is very small, it can be hard to find a spot to store things. Try adding a rolling or pull-out rack that can fit beside your washer or dryer. It’s also critically important that you consider your safety when setting up storage shelves because products like bleach and large bottles of soap can be difficult to handle if stored on high shelves. For lighter objects such as boxes of dryer sheets, try an over-the-door shoe holder. If you’ve got space for a large shelf unit, you can set up an overflow pantry. This would be a great place to store extra toilet paper, paper towels, and other nonperishable products that you can stock up on when on sale.
A well-organized and well-decorated laundry room can make this chore easier to manage and more pleasant. By putting the storage options in this space to use, you can stretch your budget and save yourself some time.
When it comes to quality laundry appliances, we’ve got you covered. Take a look at our selection!
by Milcarsky's Staff | Oct 1, 2019 | Appliances
No longer merely a utilitarian space where food is prepared, the kitchen countertop has become an important part of the overall decor of the room. For some homeowners, the countertop is so important that they design the rest of the kitchen around it. Here are three common kitchen countertop materials that make any kitchen look amazing.
Granite
While granite is often chosen for its beauty, it is as hard and durable as it is attractive. Though it comes in the familiar salt-and-pepper design, granite also comes in many colors, shades, and patterns. Granite is easy to maintain and needs to be dusted once or twice every week and wiped down with a damp cloth at the end of the day. One con of granite is that it is hard on dishware, and it can crack. As it’s a natural stone, a chip or crack can be hard to repair. Granite also needs to be sealed every other year or so because it’s porous.
Quartz
When people refer to a quartz countertop, they’re most often thinking of engineered stone. This material is made from powdered quartz that’s mixed with resin and a pigment. The great thing about these countertops is that they do not need to be sealed, and they’re easier to repair if they are chipped as long as the homeowner knows the batch number. Quartz countertops require less maintenance than granite countertops, needing little aside from wiping the surface of spills to keep it clean. As for the drawbacks, some homeowners don’t think that engineered quartz countertops look as raw and organic as natural stone.
Marble
Marble is unsurpassed in its beauty. White marble seems to sparkle and reflect light, and the stone often features beautiful veins and clouds. Marble is cool to the touch, which makes it a great choice for making pastries. Marble is extremely durable, but at the same time, it’s also softer than granite or quartz and it needs to be sealed every so often to protect it from stains. People should be aware that marble can be expensive, and it’s so soft that it etches and scratches more readily than other types of stone.
Granite, quartz, and marble are only three of the materials that can add beauty to any kitchen countertop. Not only are they beautiful, but they are also long-lasting and easy to care for. A homeowner can’t go wrong choosing any of them.
by Milcarsky's Staff | Oct 1, 2019 | Appliances
In a home, the kitchen is a very popular place to congregate. This is where you gather with family for dinner each day, you host your extended family during the holidays, and you have friends over for a fun time. A kitchen is a happy place, but the kitchen is a much better gathering spot when it’s clean. You’ve likely invested a lot of money in your appliances. That’s why you should learn how you can properly maintain these items and keep them clean. When it comes to your oven, this is an area that can get dirty quickly. All it takes is one messy meal to spill over and you’ll be stuck with a pretty stubborn mess. So let’s talk more about ways to keep your oven clean.
Why You Need to Clean Your Oven
When you have an extremely messy oven, this can end up being a danger for your home. About 1 in 10 homes is estimated to have a kitchen fire, so it’s important to regularly clean your oven to avoid causing a fire. Not to mention, you could be affecting the flavor and quality of your food when you have too big of a mess going on in there. You’ll be protecting your investment by keeping your oven clean.
Cleaning Your Oven
There are several products that you can purchase in a grocery store or other retail store, that are designed for cleaning a very messy oven. Once you have heated up your oven with food residue in the bottom, you’re essentially baking on that mess. You’ll need some heavy-duty products to cut that grease and grime. Some ovens have a self-cleaning function. You set the function to start. It will heat the oven up to a very high temperature, which should loosen up and clear off some of the mess in the oven. You must be careful with this process. It can produce quite a smell, so make sure you have all your windows open while your oven is being cleaned.
However, if you have exotic pets like birds, it’s best not to use the self-cleaning function at all, as the fumes will kill them!
Keeping Your Oven Clean
You can keep your oven clean in the future by using a few simple tips. Regardless of what you’re cooking, you’ll want to place a cookie sheet underneath the baking dish that you’re using. If you have any kind of spill-over occur, you can simply clean off the cookie sheet. This will be much easier than trying to clean out the bottom of your oven.
Look for a stove that has a steam clean function. You pour a small glass of water into the bottom of your stove. Set the steam clean cycle. The oven will heat up, causing the water to turn to steam. The concept revolves around the oven cleaning itself.
Also, if you’re looking for new appliances for your kitchen, pay attention to the type of oven that you’re selecting. Some oven interiors are designed to be easier to clean. There are also a variety of cleaning functions you may or may not get with your choice. Remember, it’s easier to keep an oven clean than it is to clean an already messy one.
Looking to buy a new oven? Check out our selection here!
by Milcarsky's Staff | Sep 30, 2019 | How To's
The use of natural sunlight has become a popular design concept used by top interior design artists. Many homeowners wonder if they should incorporate natural light into their culinary space. There are some pros and cons regarding this design strategy that all everyone should consider before making the change.
The Pros
According to House Logic, letting more natural sunlight into a kitchen or other interior area can help ward off the wintertime blues brought on by that season’s reduced sun and dreary days. Light from outdoors can foster feelings of well-being, and this kind of illumination is usually better for the eyes than the artificial light emitted from indoor lighting fixtures. Natural light offers better visual acuity. That could be a benefit for older individuals whose vision has begun to dim. Since it will automatically showcase certain focal points in a room, the use of natural light is also a great aid when decorating.
The Cons
Even with all the advantages of bringing more natural light into a kitchen, there are still some cons that need to be considered before proceeding. According to JC Wiley & Sons, the UV radiation from the sun can damage countertop surfaces. There may also be other materials in your kitchen that are prone to fading or warping when overexposed to bright sunlight. Homeowners can easily protect their vulnerable countertops, wooden cabinets, wallcoverings, and curtain fabrics through careful placement of windows, applying UV-resistant coatings to them or utilizing light-filtering window blinds.
An Alternative: Brighten with Color
As Coldwell Banker suggests, another simple way to lighten your normally dark and dreary kitchen area is by using bright colors to redecorate. Choose lighter shades like pale lemon, creamy ivory or other airy hues for walls, and select a lighter wood such as ash, birch or oak for hardwood floors instead of the typically darker alternatives. Paint kitchen cabinets a seafoam green or bright blue for an instant burst of expression that raises the spirits immediately. Choose metals in lighter tones for fixtures and accents. Add pops of vibrant colors on dining room chair cushions or tablecloths. Opt for breezy and airy window curtain fabrics in shades that better reflect light. These include tans, whitewashed blues and lighter hues of grays or purples.
To lighten up your kitchen naturally, select windows that contain protective finishes to keep the sun’s UV rays at bay while allowing plenty of light inside. Consider utilizing skylights, innovative window shapes, adjustable blinds, or shade awnings. Any of these things will help you to make your kitchen brighter when remodeling it so that you can feel cheerful whenever you walk inside of it.
