Celebrity Test It Tuesday — Windshield Wonder

We’re back!

Test It Tuesday is back with a star-studded month. We are going to be doing “Celebrity Test It Tuesday”. Some of your favorite local celebs will be serving as our testers for products that you have been asking about.

This week, we asked one of my favorite childhood faces, Mr. McFeely, to come and see if the Windshield Wonder is the answer to our car windshield washing woes. You know what I am talking about. Bending in all sorts of directions the human body was not designed to bend in, especially when it comes to cleaning the inside of those windows …. and those tough to reach crevices.

Mr. McFeely told me he doesn’t like cleaning windshields, but for his job and for making sure he can ensure “Speedy Delivery”, a clean windshield is critical.

 

The product claims to do all this cleaning without any Windex or window washing fluid. Just a microfiber cloth and water. Mr. McFeely found it pretty easy to handle that part of the equation. What he found that made the product so easy to use was the handle which allows you use keep the pad flat on the surface without stressing and straining your arm and back.

Mr. McFeely found no downside with the Windshield Wonder …. and neither did we.  A perfect four stars for the product. It’s also relatively cheap. While I picked mine up at the local Altmeyer’s, you can buy it online for $10. It’s a nice tool to have in your car whether you are trying to clean your windows … or just keep them from fogging up.

VIDEO: Watch The Windshield Wonder Test With Andrew Stockey And Mr. McFeely

Test It Tuesday — Garden Groom

Thanks for visiting my “Test It Tuesday” blog. This week, we head to the backyard and try the Garden Groom. It’s a electric hedge trimmer but claims to be so much more. It says it not only cuts the hedges, it will also collect the clippings and turn them into mulch for your use later.

I had my co-anchor Michelle Wright give the Garden Groom ( $100 + $30 shipping and handling ) a try. She has a front yard that could use some work … and perhaps with the right tools, she will have a front yard worthy of  Home and Garden magazine. OK, that’s a little optimistic.

Some things about the Garden Groom. Its catch basin – which is attached to the product – doesn’t hold a whole lot. However, the Garden Groom does come with a larger bag for clippings which can easily attach to the product. Also, on the box, the Garden Groom says it will cut about 8/10 of an inch on any one pass so don’t expect this to start chomping down large amounts of lumber.

All that being said, the Garden Groom was pretty effective. It trimmed the hedges much better than Michelle’s Hedge Hog blade which looks more like a saw. Once the catch basin was filled, Michelle looked inside and found instant mulch.

We gave the Garden Groom four stars out of four. We felt the product mesured up on all its claims … to cut, collect and mulch. It looks a little strange and can get heavy as its close to being filled, but it left little if any clippings on the ground.

Sounds like the perfect Father’s Day gift … or maybe Michelle’s kids should get here one for Mother’s Day for next year.

Test It Tuesday – Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets

It’s got a complicated name … but a simple premise. Instead of having to buy detergent, fabric softener and static cling sheets separately … and adding them in at different times … this product allows you to use all three at once.

It’s called the Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheet ( told you the name was long ) but the sheets have concentrated detergent, fabric softener and anti-static formula on this one rather thick sheet. All you have to do is throw it in with your wash and then toss that same sheet into the dryer with your clothes.

We tested it at the home of Kathy Auron of Wexford. Well, it works. The clothes weer clean, soft and free of static cling. The whole thing was very simple. No measuring, no adding liquid and no mess. Sounds like the dream scenario for any man who has to do laundry.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Now the product is relatively new, but we did find it at local Giant Eagle stores. The other thing you may notice is the price. It goes for $6.99 and claims to do 20 loads. I had more than a few folks say that was a bit more than they would spend of detergent, fabric softener and anti-static cling sheets given the number of loads. I will let you do the math.

The one thing I did like is the convenience. Think about it: when you are one those family vacations and have to do laundry, its easier to carry around two of three of these sheets — rather than two or even three bottles of product.

To learn more about the Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry sheet from the maker of the product, go to their website … and Happy Laundry!!!

One interesting thing worth noting: the makers suggest not using it  on flame-resistent fabric because it may lessen the garmen’t protecrion from flames. 

Test It Tuesday – Windex Outdoor All-In-One

I remember as a kid I hated doing the windows outside my house. However, every spring, that was one of the chores my brother and I had to do around the house. It involved grabbing Windex, spraying the window, using one towel to wipe off the soap and another to dry the window off. Let’s just say paper towels were in short supply at my house.

That’s why the Windex Outdoor All-In-One sounds like the answer for all the trees I’ve killed over the years by using paper towels. Essentially, you spray the window wet, take this pad at the end of a pole which has some sort of cleaning agent to wipe the window clean and then hose it down one more time. 25 minutes later, it promises a clean window — with no streaks.

I know what you are saying, Jeanine Shutok of Wexford said the same thing. She is a do-it-yourself person. Everything from the landscaping outside the house to the designs inside it, she’s all about taking care of things by herself … except cleaning windows. So she was more than psyched to give the product a try.

WATCH THE VIDEO

It was pretty easy to assemble, although she would up using more elbow grease to connect the segments of the pole. Then, she followed the directions – spray, wipe and rinse. Important note here: make sure you wet the pad  before using it. That’s the only way the cleaning agent will work.

Well, 25 minutes later, the results were pretty amazing. Crystal clean windows …. with no streaks. The windows just naturally dried on their own and left a perfect shine.  Jeanine wasn’t sure about the $15.99 price tag before using it, but now she tells me she maybe doing more outdoor windows on her own in the future.

As I said, it lists at $15.99 and you can buy your Windex Outdoor All-In-One at any local Walgreens or go to the product website and order it on-line. Replacement cleaning pads come in a two-pack and cost $4.99. The makers say one pad is good for 20 cleanings. I guess that depends on how big your  windows are.

Test It Tuesday — Blox

A shirt – impervious to stains?

It’s a young mother’s dream come true … or in this case, a young father. We tested the stain fighter Blox at the home of my co-anchor Wendy Bell, but we had her husband Joe handle the hard part.

Joe not only washed their kids clothes in Blox, but also tested it by serving mom’s spaghetti and meatballs to young Ryan and their twins, Christopher and Bobby.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Blox is an interesting product because the premise is that by washing your clothes with this — it creates many “little umbrellas” on your clothes, shielding them from anything from juice to sauce. In the infomercial, the kids pour sports drink right on their clothes and it seems to just roll off: the beading effect as they call it.

Well, we found that while everything from water to grape juice does bead up on the shirts treated with Blox, the grape juice also sets in … and would not come out. Spaghetti sauce? It didn’t even bead up. It just stayed there.

Blox was a bust …. but Joe found something interesting when he went to wash his children’s clothes after they ate. He washed them with Blox again … and the grape juice and spaghetti stains came out. Completely. Was it the Blox that did it? We really cannot be sure.

One thing that is certain: Blox may block stains on TV, but in practical use at Wendy and Joe’s house, it did little to stop stains. Maybe you will fare better with the product. Here’s a link to the Blox website.

Test It Tuesday – The Neosocket

Gas prices are on their way back up … just in time for Memorial Day. I’m sure we would all love to save money on all that gas we are going to spending over the holiday weekend.

To that end, we have tested a few items designed to increase gas mileage … and, so far, we have been disappointed. It seems whatever gas mileage your car has is what it’s going to be. At least that’s what we thought – until we tried the Neosocket.

It costs $50 on-line and it might be the easiest product to use that we have tested on Test It Tuesday. Just plug it into your car’s cigarette lighter and drive. It turns blue when you do this, meaning its  powered up … and it stays on even when the car is off. That was a concern of our tester, Noreen Haggerty of Mount Lebanon, but the makers of the device assured us there would be no damage from leaving it in your car unattended.

It claims everything from more power for your vehicle to running your car cleaner, but the question everyone wants answered pertains to its biggest claim: Can it actually improve your gas mileage?

WATCH THE VIDEO

We had Noreen fill her tank last week, then plug in the Neosocket, and drive like she normally does. For Noreen, a mother of three school-age kids, that means 200-400 miles a week for soccer games, practices and activities.

We caught up with her this week to test the results. Her 2005 Chevy Venture averages around 8 mpg. After driving 242 miles, she needed a little more than 12 gallons to fill up her tank. That means she averaged around 20 miles per gallon. Working at a CPA firm, Noreen did the math and that winds up being about extra two miles a gallon — or a 9 percent improvement.

 It works … and I know you are wondering how. Well, here’s how the product makers explained it to me in layman’s terms:

“When the Neosocket is plugged into you car’s cigarette lighter adapter, it begins to store energy. As your car demands electricity for accessories, radio,etc. the Neosocket releases the needed electricity thus preventing the increased demand from being taken from the cars overall electrical system namely the cars ignition system (spark plugs). This keeps the ignition system operating at its optimum by increasing and stabilizing the electrical spark in the spark plug. A hotter spark burns more of the fuel in the engine resulting in more power and MPG”

Of course, don’t take their word for it. Give it a try and let me know what results you get. The makers do tell me the mileage will be better the longer you use it .. perhaps as much as 10%, 15% or 20%, but we’ll let you figure that out. All I know is that Noreen is looking forward to saving a few bucks at the pump. She figures she could get an extra 1300 miles out of her van.

For more information about Neosockets, or to purchase one of your oww, here is the website address: www.neosocketusa.com .

Test It Tuesday: Nano-UV Disinfection Light Scanner

No doubt the threat of the H1N1 flu has scared a lot of people. It’s frightening to know there is a flu out there that can actually kill you in its worst form.

It’s also got many of us thinking about ways to protect our families. While the H1N1 flu is complicated, protection is easy. Washing your hands, staying home when you are sick and even covering your mouth.

There’s also the desire to keep the objects we use as clean and free of bacteria as possible. To that end, our news director found a product in a magazine called the Nano-UV Disinfection Light Scanner. It has a big name, but its a pretty simple idea: the ability to kill bacteria and viruses on items before you use them. We’re talking about everything from a baby bottle to a computer keyboard.

We tested the product at the home of Kim Harshman of Greensburg. She keeps a pretty clean home, but she also has two very young children who bring germs into the home every day … and given the latest medical

So we had Kim assemble and use the Nano-UV on items around the house: the phone, one of her children’s toys, the TV remote, the counter top and the doorknob. All areas that come into contact with human hands and can easy have germs.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Kim Harshman of Greensburg running the Nano-UV Disinfection Light Scanner over the counter top in her kitchen. In the background, Herb Layman from U.S. Micro Solutions.

To assist on this Test It Tuesday, we asked for the assistance of Herb Layman of U.S. Micro Solutions. Also based in Greensburg, his company actually has the capability to measure bacteria on a given item. So for our purposes, we had Herb test all our items for bacteria both before and after Kim used the Nano-UV.

According to the instructions, two or three passes of the device over the item in question will kill 99.9 % of bacteria and viruses. Well, we found that was true only once … with the toy in the house. However, we did find that the Nano-UV killed more than 78% of bacteria in all cases – a significant amount.

The device retails for about $55 dollars and its older brother, the Nano-UV wand, claims to work on fruits and vegetables in much the same way for $154. Now remember, we are dealing with UV rays here and long-term exposure to those rays can be harmful. However, unless you plan on holding the UV ray to your face for an extended period of time, you should be OK.

The other nice thing with this product is that it has a child proof lock  on the side so the kids won’t be able to use it … and the light does shut off after each pass to reduce exposure. Overall, I think its a good product if you have items in your house, in your office or maybe while you are out of town that you want to quickly disinfect. While it likely won’t get rid of all the bacteria, it does destroy a majority of it.

Test It Tuesday — Scratch B Gone

They call it Stainless steel — not scratchless.

Nothing ruins the perfect stainless steel kitchen than a nice scratch on the surface of the stove top, the refrigerator or the grill. So when I heard about a product that could not just cover up the scratches, but remove them entirely, I got a little excited. So did Judy Lalama of the South Hills – our Test It Tuesday tester.

Scratch B Gone was a product that got a lot of exposure in industrial circles, but we were curious to see if it would be just as successful on the consumer side. According to Bethel Park’s Joe Spinnenweber, the local distributor, if you can follow a straight line you can use this product.

So we used Scratch B Gone on the scratches left by Judy’s husband, who decided to use some sort of wool pad to fix the surface of the family’s stainless steel range. As you might imagine, he was in Judy’s doghouse.

As you will see from the video, the product is relatively easy to use. It took not even ten minutes from start to finish to eliminate the scratches — and then a few more minutes of buffing and polishing to get the surface to look like new. Judy also found a few more scratches on the stove surface and used Scratch B Gone there …. and found the results to be remarkable. Worthy of four stars out of four on my Test It Tuesday scale.

Here’s the link to the Scratch B Gone website. It comes with both written instructions and a brief video to take you through the process. It lists for $54.99 and you can order your own kit online.

Test It Tuesday — EZ Combs

It’s not a problem I will ever have, but I do feel for ladies with long hair. While it looks great, it rarely stays out of your face. My friend Julie Schell often has to push it back when she’s on the phone.I can just imagine what it would be like if she was a TV reporter on a windy day.

Now a headband, scrunci or even a rubber band would solve the problem, but how plain it looks. Isn’t there something out there with just a little bit of style that women can wear and put up their hair at the same time?

Yes, or at least that;s what the folks who make EZ Combs would have us believe. Its a stretch material with teeth that acts like looks to get caught in your hair. The product allows you to create all sorts of patterns and designs for your hair … and they say its as easy as watching their instrutional video on line and reading the enclosed manual.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Well, I’m here to say that is not the case. Julie tried three different styles and could not get EZ Combs to stay in her hair. She also had trouble with the directions on two styles. She felt that with a little bit of  practice, she might become proficient, but for our test the only one she could duplicate was the ponytail.

I have to agree with her. Its far from easy, but with practice perhaps you can master some of the styles. However, if it fails to stay in your hair, it doesn’t matter how proficient you are with the product. If you want to give it a try, you can pick one up at any local drug store for $10 … or order it through the EZ Combs website.

Test It Tuesday — The Lens CPR

I must admit I do wear contact lenses, because they are easier to wear and there is less chance of getting the lens of my contacts scratched up. You should see my glasses. Smudges, scratches, etc. I admit I do not take care of them.

That’s why the Lens CPR was so appealing to me as a product. Imagine getting rid of surface scratches on sunglasses, prescription glasses and watch crystals – instantly! If it works, I may not have to buy another pair of glasses again … until my vision gets worse.

To put the Lens CPR to the test, I asked Mal and Ann Powell of Squirrel Hill to help me out. Mal has worn glasses for years, but this is something new for Ann who tells me she is 49 ( even though she claims to have a 50-year-old son ). She’s not thrilled about wearing glasses, but she hates when she spends money on them and they get scratched up.

WATCH AS WE PUT IT TO THE TEST

 For our test, we tried a scratched up pair of glasses, a scratched up pair of clip on sunglasses and a watch face which had a nice big mark between the 12 and the 1.

The Lens CPR most involved part is the cleaning of the lens. A special spray and cloth are used … and then, its followed by a washing with clear water. Once that is done, the actual scratch remover is applied like a balm over the area in question. Then, the product is allowed to dry. They suggest 30 minutes ( hardly instant ) and a blow dryer can be used to speed up the process.

We did all that and found no difference in any of the scratched surfaces. Even worse, at the end of the instructions it says to allow for 8-10 hours for the glasses to settle. I’m not sure what that means but we all agree that there is nothing instant about the Lens CPR. It does little to remove scratches. Still, you can find it at any local drug store. I picked up my kit for a little over $10 at Rite-Aid.

Test It Tuesday – Point N Paint

Anybody out there really like to paint?

Children, put your hands down. Adults …. I thought so.

Painting is one of those things that you really would rather have a professional handle, if he wasn’t so expensive. However, the prospect of doing it yourself is no fun either. That’s where the Point ‘N Paint  comes in ( $19.95 locally at Altmeyer’s Stores ).

The latest “As Seen on TV” item promises the improbable: Being able to paint an entire room in less than one hour without having to tape the edges of the wall and without having to go to the tray for more paint after every stroke.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Joel Lakus, the owner of Lakus Painting, tested the Point ‘N Paint for us. He works in Bridgeville and has more than 18 years of experience painting homes — and one year he did my deck. Joel is known as a very particular painter, especially when it comes to the corners and edges.

Joel thought from the start the product would work better with a consumer than a professional. He liked the premise of the two applicators: one for the edges and one for the broader stroke areas. In his words, one is used to draw the lines and the other is used to color it in.

However, it was quickly apparent that it was difficult to stay along the edges with this smaller applicator. He found the paint would drip and that the applicator was not good for getting to the hard-to-reach areas. Joel said he would have to use his brush to finish up the corners.

The larger applicator screws onto a pole, allowing you to go up and down walls. That’s fine, but the applicator kept spinning and Joel found that hard to control and not good for applying the high-end latex paint he used made by Sherman Williams.

After all this, he got about an eighth of the room done in 20 minutes. Joel senses it would take more than one hour to do the entire room. He does believe it would a better job on smaller projects likes foyers and small bathrooms. He also thought it would work well for people who don’t want to make a mess like they might with a roller.

Overall, its not going to replace the roller and brush. There are many things that have improved thanks to technology. Painting is not one of them. Face it, you just going to have to do it the old fashioned way … or have a pro do it.

Test It Tuesday — Wireless Key Tracker

I have found the best way not to lose your keys is to have someplace near the door to the garage. That way, the keys are always there. However, some of us just can’t do what makes sense … and we have to make life hard on ourselves by bringing out keys into the house and then, subsequently, losing them.

That’s where the SmartFind Wireless Key Tracker comes in. Sold by Brookstone, its a magnetic wireless remote device which maintains contact with two key fobs that go on your key ring. The premise is that your keys can be found up 60 feet away … through walls, windows, floors.

Sounds simple … and our test family this week was ready to give it a try. Bill and Jen Brandenstein live in Mount Lebanon with their two young children, Holden and Bryce, and their dogs Trinity and Teton. With so many people in the house, its easy to lose a set of keys. Jen says Bill loses his keys often – at work and at home. However, while we were there, even Jen had a hard time finding the keys for our test.

WATCH AS WE PUT IT TO THE TEST

With the Bradenstein family: ( clockwise ) Bill, Jen, Bryce and Holden. Can you believe I closed eyes closed.

Upon assembling the Wireless Key Tracker, Bill and Jen found there were many small parts … batteries that had to go inside the fob that were open and closed with a quarter. It’s not something meant for someone with big fingers. Even worse, we found that one of the two key fobs did not work. It’s hardly the best introduction to the Wireless Key Tracker.

We had the sons hide the keys … one set outside and one set inside. While Jen and Bill were able to find the keys, we found the sixty foot distance did not hold up. Whether it was walls, windows or just plain distance, both Bill and jen had to be within 20 feet before the key fobs started beeping.

I think this device does have its merits. It’s magnetic which means you can stick it to the refrigerator ( and thus not lose it ) and when Bill was in the dining room, the beeper was loud and clear, not muffled. Still, you have to wonder if its worth the $49.95 price tag. You can pick it up at Brookstone. The people at the store in South Hills Village say it made a great gift during the holidays … and maybe that’s what it is:  a novelty gift for the holidays and not a working tool to find keys hidden in far away places in your house.

Do yourself a favor. Get a piece of wood, stain it and then screw hooks into it. Then hang it on the wall next to the door. Finally, remember to put your keys on it when you get home. It’s cheaper and it works.

Test It Tuesday — FlipFold

Even in this day of ever-increasing technology and new devices premiering daily to make our life easier, one product I figured I would never see if something that would make folding clothes easier and better.

Well some  has tried to do just that.

It’s called the FlipFold. It’s just a board that folds over on itself, but when you follow the directions it folds a shirt perfectly. I tried it with Mary Shannon Brady of  Ross Township. She has two sons and is quickly running out of closet space for her kids ever-growing wardrobe.  She needs to be able to maximize space and a perfectly folded shirt would help.

She found the directions on the FlipFold easy to follow … and after a few tries she found she could fold her shirt in much the same way you see new shirts folded at the Gap or some other store. Even her 9-year-old son Ben got the hang of this thing. Over time, she could see herself become much more proficient and much faster using the product.

WATCH THE VIDEO

OK, here’s the down side. While the product does what it says and I’m sure it would be faster over time, is it worth the $18.99 price tag? In the final analysis, its just just a board and I’m sure you could take a box at home and create something similiar.

I did take it home and try it on my own as I swapped out my winter stuff with my spring stuff. It did indeed fold my golf shirts so nice and tight that I was able to fit four rows of shirts in my drawer. It was also easy and faster than when I normally fold clothes … and the shirts had a much more professional fold.

I guess its up to the person whether they think its worth the price. However I do promise one thing: once you have it, you will use it … a lot. You can order the FlipFold and learn much more about the product on their website.

Test It Tuesday – V-Bot Robotic Vacuum

It goes by all sorts of names, Roomba being the best known but not the only one to describe the concept of a robotic vacuum. The premise is pretty simple but basically it’s a vacuum that can work its way around the room and pick up dirt, lint and the like using not so much a sensor as pre-programmed moves to cover the area of a living room, kitchen, etc.

This item lists for about $99, and here’s the link to buy it online, but its selling point isn’t so much how much money it will save you as how much time it will save. Let’s face it, if you didn’t have to vacuum and sweep, you could save a couple of hours a week and perhaps that time could be used with more important things. Things that might impact your family’s bottom line.

We headed to the North Hills and to the home of Vicki and Jason Hewitt. These are people who don’t have a whole lot of time to clean. They both at home and they have three very small children: Hunter, Krysha and Amelie.

WATCH THE VIDEO

We used the vacuum on the tile in the bathroom, the hardwood floors of their home and on the family room carpet. What we found was that it did a decent job picking up lint and dust and dirt, but it did not do a good job in the corners and that’s where all the real dirt accumulates. It also was not very impressive on the carpeting. There was a piece of thread right in the middle of the room and it went over it several times … and failed to pick it up.

The V-Bot Robotic Vacuum is fine if you just want to give a room a cursory cleaning, but to really “clean” your home, you are better off with a vacuum cleaner and that means a couple of hours of your time. So much for saving hours and putting that toward something more important.

FYI — it’s also available at KMart online as well and it’s a little cheaper at $80.

Test It Tuesday — Kill A Watt Power Strip

It would sound like the easiest way to save money in these difficult economic times: your energy bill. But its more than just turning off a couple of lights. There are appliances in your house that raise your bill by running inefficiently and wasting energy … and thereby wasting you money.

The Kill a Watt Power strip is a product designed to find out which products and appliances are the biggest wastes on energy in your home. Its pretty simple to use: just plug the item into the power strip and check the reading over a period of time. By referring to the appliance manual, you can see how much energy its using as compared to what the product says it should be consuming.

WATCH THE VIDEO

The down side of this device is that its only going to work in one room at a time … and you are going to have to do some math on your own. You will have to figure out how much its costing you ( multiply kilowatt hours by the cost per kilowatt ). Of course, none of these meters are perfect. There’s a device called The Energy Detective which, by plugging it into the circuitry of your house, can give you the total output of every appliance in your house – even your stove. However, it can not break it down by product.

Keep an eye on our testers this week. Carnegie Mellon graduate students Mario Berges and Ethan Goldman are working on a device that will be able to measure each home’s energy output for each individual device. They say their early work has been promising so don’t be surprised to see their invention on the market someday.

The Kill a Watt PS sells for $99.95 and you can order it through the website Cyberguys.com.