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.

Test It Tuesday – The Home Show

The David L. Lawrence Convention Center has become “Test It Tuesday” heaven. Every “As Seen On TV” product you can possibly imagine is on the floor. Along with each product is its very own pitch man, showing off an shilling at the same time. With so many “Test It Tuesday” possibilities at my disposal, how could I not go down to the floor and try them out.

However, this week’s “Test” is slightly different. You see,  in order to be on the floor at the Home and Garden Show, your product actually has to work. So instead of grading the four products we picked, I instead asked the product pitchman to let me try each one for myself …. to see if it really worked. Something the consumers in the crowd could not.

WATCH THE VIDEO

First up, the Amazing Tile and Glass Cutter.The premise is pretty simple, cut tile and glass in any shape or style you wish. The hard part is actually cutting through the tile and glass. What this product does is create a perforation, enough give that you can snap it with the grip device attached to it. Worked just as it said … even in my non-handy man hands.

Next, we walked over to the V-Blade Mandolin.Dave, the pitch man for this product, was more entertaining than the device itself. The V-Blade is just that, a V-Blade with which you can take any fruit, vegetable or item and slice and dice it into whatever you wish. So how did it work? Listen, I was able to slice tomatoes, cucumbers and make my own fries … and I am  completely inept in the kitchen.

How much Windex do you use to clean glass? Probably gets expensive and that’s the theory behind the Microfiber. Its a high end towel designed to clean anything off any surface with just the cloth … and water. The test allowed me to get grimy and wipe hair wax, hair spray and crayon on a bathroom mirror. It took the Microfiber a couple of passes, but it did pick up all the gunk off the mirror.

Finally, the product I really wanted to try was the Chamois Plus Guaranteed. As the pitch man there told me, its like the” popular  ShamWow”  without a fancy name … which is why they can sell it so cheaply. Sure it soaks up a lot of water, but I wanted to see how it would do on that test you see on TV:  the one where the pour coke all over a piece of carpeting.

Guess what? That worked as well … after a couple of passes, the carpet remnant and the table were bone dry.

Al these products did work, otherwise they would not be on the floor at the show and I was told if you did have some issues, you can get in touch with the product maker through the home show. There were other “miracle” products on display at the show. My advice, if you are curious about them and want to buy them, the Home and Garden show is the place to go … and your satisfaction will be guaranteed.

Otherwise, wait for us to put the product to our weekly test.

Keep sending those “Test It Tuesday” ideas coming.

Test It Tuesday – Pledge Fabric Sweeper

We love our dogs and cats.

We do not love the hair they leave behind.

Now I am one of those lucky pet owners who has a dog that does not shed. Wish I could say the same for Denise Donnelly Zomisky. This wonderful lady from Latrobe not only has two cats ( Domino and Cornelius ) who love to leave their hair on the sofa, her children Arianna and Nick also have long locks that wind up on the sofa.

She was the perfect person to give this week’s product a try – the Pledge Fabric Sweeper. It “pledges” ( pardon the pun ) to pick up pet hair quickly and easily on various forms of furniture. It says to simply slide it across the area with the hair and allow the sticky strips inside to work their magic and the hair should be gone.

WATCH THE VIDEO

 

Denise found the directions simple … and the process even easier. Even in the areas where there was very little hair, their Fabric Sweeper was able to get the offending hair off the sofa. Denise noticed the best part of the product was that there is a clear bubble in which you can see where the hair is being collected.

In fact, the hardest part of the story wound up being getting either cat to come out of hiding long enough for us to get some video of them. Both were extremely shy. However, Denise was not shy in her praise of the product – which goes for $4.99 right now at Walgreens – which she says is a winner and I agree. The only down side that I could see was that this Fabric Sweeper is not a one-time purchase. Once its filled with hair, it’s time to get a new one.

Disposable, but well worth the money if you want to keep the hair off your furniture and off of your clothes.

Test It Tuesday — Soft Claws

I must admit: I am dog person. That being said, I know very little about cats and the problems they can cause around the house. The biggest problem, according to my friend Maila Rible, is scratching up new furniture like she has in her home.

That’s why I was impressed with some Maila found that seems to do save your furniture and avoid the unpleasantness of declawing your cat ( ouch ). It’s called Soft Claws ( there is a similar product out there called “Soft Paws” ). The premise is simple enough: cover your kitty’s destructive claws with soft, plastic tips. As I said, the premise is simple. However, the execution can be difficult and sometimes downright impossible. Cat lovers, can you imagine doing anything that involves holding your cat still and putting something over its claws?

WATCH THE VIDEO

Maila Rible putting Soft Claws on her kitty, Ashley.

To use soft claws, you need to trim back the cat’s nails, just a wee bit. Then, using the adhesive enclosed in the kit, place a little in each soft claw and then attach it to the cat’s nail. Yeah, I told you it was easy.

If you can get your cat to be patient and understanding, and if you can share that same patience, then it works surprisingly well. We used a laser pointer on Maila’s sofa after we put Soft Claws on her cat Ashley’s paws … and she didn’t scratch up the furniture.

While this product does work, be warned of a couple of things. You will have to do it monthly as cats to shed a portion of their claws. Also, be patient with your cat. There is a real learning curve involved here. That being said, they do come in great colors including black and gold ( although, depending on your cat, it may tae until next football season to get them comfortable with the soft claws ). 

Here’s the link to Soft Claws … and the link to Soft Paws. Either way, I think you will be impressed with how well they work. Now, you just have to get your cat to buy into it.

Test It Tuesday – Snow Joe Plus

Finally, a solution to the pain of shoveling snow!

The Snow Joe Plus says its not only easier on your back, but its also environmentally-friendly because it requires no gas. Just plug it in, turn the key and watch it work through four inches of snow.

I had my friend Maila Rible give the Snow Joe Plus a push. It was easy to assemble and easy to switch on. She plowed the driveway and then the walkway.

WATCH THE VIDEO

So how did it fair?

Maila liked its ability to push the snow away without her having to bend over … and it was great not having the fumes from the gas and smoke billowing above her.  However, Maila also found the electrical cord attached to the snow thrower cumbersome and awkward … and she did not like the fact that while the Snow Joe Plus did get rid of most of the snow, much of the compacted snow beneath remained. That meant she was going to have to pull out the shovel to get those areas which can get slick if you are not careful.

Overall, we’re giving the Snow Joe Plus two stars out of four: an environmentally safe way to get rid of most of the snow, but you can’t toss away your shovel. You are still going to need it to get the walk or driveway completely clean … and avoid someone slipping.

Test It Tuesday – The Smooth Away

How much of  a pain is removing hair from those unwanted places. Ask just about any woman you bump into and the agreement is almost universal. Just like shaving for men, hair removal from those sensative areas in one of those things you just have to do.

WATCH THE VIDEO

No wonder there was so much excitement in the newsroom over this week’s Test It Tuesday product: The Smooth Away. It’s a pad covered with very fine crystals which says it will remove those hairs while exfoliating at the same time, meaning the hair won’t come back as fast.

For our test, we visited the women at Shear Beuaty Salon in Forest Hills. Among the services they offer, waxing is among the most popular. Still, there are many women who just try to shave it away but even then you have razor stubble to deal with.

For our test, we tried the area just under the lip, a woman’s forearm and my hairy right leg. The process was pretty simple: just move in a circular motion for three strokes then move in a counter clockwise motion for three strokes.

The results — were amazing! The ladies loved it. They said it was smoother than anything they had tried before and got rid of more hair without pain. Even my hairy right leg is baby smooth as of this blog entry – and we did the test on Friday.

Ladies, there is no pain and no chemicals involved. As far as I have been able to tell, no rash has developed from the product. One of the women that tested it for us said she would definitely use this for the areas around her bikini.

Folks, I have been doing Test It Tuesday for an entire year and I have never seen a product perform so well and never seen people rave about it so much.

So now the question is where can you get one. You can click the following link and order the Smooth Away on the web, but with shipping and handling it can cost you as much as $28. Then again, you can stop by Walgreen’s which carries it locally for $13.95. Wherever you get it, know that it does work.

I just wish it worked on beards. The instructions are pretty clear on that. Guys, we’ll just have to keep searching for an easier way.

Test It Tuesday – Woolite Rug Stick

I will be the first to tell you that I would rather spend the money and get my carpets steam cleaned than do them myself. I feel this way because I hate cleaning anything and I often feel the carpet cleaners do a superior job to anything I could do at home. That being said, I know there are plenty of people looking for a cheap answer to cleaning the carpet.

On the suggestion of Wendy Bell, we gave the Woolite Rug Stick a try. It comes in a small box and for about $15, it says it can give your high traffic areas a “deep cleaning”.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Colleen Murphy says her carpet on her stairs are definitely in need of a deep cleaning. She has three little girls, all under the age of ten, and when they run up and down the stairs they bring the dirt with them, You can see the stains and the dirt the minute you enter the house and look at the steps.

We visited Colleen’s home in Moon and let her give the Woolite Rug Stick a try. It came without assembly instructions, but she was able to put it together with ease. The application was easy as well: pull it backwards to apply the cleaning foam and brush forward to work it into the carpet. She also brushed in many different directions on the first three steps which we tested. Once done, Colleen allowed the steps to dry and then vacuumed.

The result? The stains were not lifted and there was very little difference in the carpet from before she cleaned it. Yes, the instructions say multiple applications might be necessary for some stains but you should see some noticeable difference on the first pass … and these were not the dirtiest carpets I had even seen.

The Woolite Rug Stick, which I picked up at Ace Hardware fro $15, did not make the cut and got one star out of four. A bit of suprise since it carries the name “Woolite” which is one of the premier makers of cleaning products.  While Colleen and I were both disappointed, it was nothing compared to Wendy’s disappointment. She had seen the ads and was hoping it would work so she could try it on her carpets. Of course, in the commercial, the carpets tested were almost pristine and if you keep your carpets that way daily, then maybe you should give it a try.

Otherwise, save the money and save up for a steam cleaner or a visit from the carpet cleaner.

Test It Tuesday – The Mighty Mendit

Billy Mays is at it again. The modern day master pitchman is hawking the Mighty Mendit. The product sounds pretty simple. It’s not glue, but a flexible bonding agent which can repair leather, upholstery and fabrics without having to sew them.

Watch the video: http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/video/18384692/index.html

For this week’s test, I visited the home of Yvonne Cannon, she is the wife of local sports talks how host Ellis Cannon. She is a full-time mom with three kids at that age where they are full of energy and clothes don’t remain pristine for very long.

Yvonne had a number of items that needed mending, everything from a leather purse strap to the hem of one of the boys’ pants to a sofa which had been torn by a cat. She followed the directions, but found the Mighty Mendit mixture more than sticky. While it holds and seals whatever it’s placed upon, it is an unforgiving product. More than once, some of the Mighty Mendit mix wound up on Yvonne’s nails. While it seems to come off skin with relative ease, it ruined her nail job.

Overall, it works quite well on fabrics and cloth, but it hinders the flexibility of leather once applied. The makers of Mighty Mendit also remind you that once the product is applied, you cannot dry clean the product or wash in hot water. They suggest clod water washing and cleaning. Keep that in mind if you are trying to repair white or light colors.

I bought my kit at Target for $9.95 and several local stores sell it as well. Just remember: while it may indeed do the job, it does have it drawbacks. It will mend … but at a price.

Test It Tuesday – The Shark Steam Bottle

If the name sounds familiar, it should. The Shark Steam Bottle is the “cousin” of the Shark Steam Mop which we test a few months ago. The premise is pretty simple: steam away the stains in your kitchen.

WATCH THE VIDEO

For this week’s test, we visited the kitchen of Chrisie Parry of Mount Lebanon. Their kitchen was renovated four years ago and it’s amazing what they have done. From the Zodiac counter tops to the hardwood cabinets, it’s a kitchen to die for. However, as hard as it was to build it has proven to be even harder to clean.

Chrisie says she uses multiple cleaners on multiple surfaces in her kitchen – and that can get expensive. The Shark Steam Cleaner says it can replace them all. For the most part, it did. It took care of the stove top stains and did a great job on the beveled textured refrigerator door. It did take some extra work to clean the zodiac counter tops and it was OK with the tough stains inside the microwave.

It’s not cheap for the Shark Steam Bottle ( $39.99 at Target )but when you think about what you spend every week on household cleaners, it’s probably a bargain. Chrisie says she would buy it …. and we would recommend it as well.

Test It Tuesday — Slipper Genie

Too tired to break out the broom to clean the hardwood floors or tile in your house. Then take a look at the Slipper Genie. It’s a pair of  slippers with a mmicrofiber bottom designed to sweep up dust and dirt off your floor.  At least that is the premise.

Channel 4 Action News reporter Shannon Perrine wasn’t buying the premise. However, after a visit to her house where her young children have been known to spill a thing or two on the floor, Shannon was impressed. She found the slippers allowed her to get into corners and get to areas which before she had to get down on her knees to reach and clean.

WATCH THE VIDEO

The Slipper Genie retails for $9.95 and you can order it on-line … or pick it up like I did at Sur La Table in the South Side Works. It comes in two less-than-subtle colors ( fuscia and lime green ) , but Shannon tells me they are actually comfortable. Now that I’m done with the condensed version of this week’s Test It Tuesday blog, let me tell you about the newsroom conversation that this product generated.

More than one of the people in our newsroom were less than impressed with the Slipper Genie, believing that it’s no better than wearing socks to clean the floors of your home. Others were saying it was just for those too lazy to grab a broom.

As for your truly, I probably wouldn’t go out and buy a pair and use them to clean the floor in my house. Then again, can you imagine me actually cleaning the floors of my house ( I know my wife Sharon can’t ). Still, it does everything you need a cleaning product like this to do except pick up the trash you have swept up. You still need a dust pan.

Test It Tuesday – The GPS Snitch

Editor’ s note: A big thanks to all of you who sent in e-mails regarding our testing of the Grip Wrench Pro … and the fact we were using it the wrong way. We will have another review of the product, unfortunately time does not allow us to take that test this week. We will have one of you, who e-mailed us about the mistake, give it a try and then re-grade the product – a “Re-Test It Tuesday” as it were. Now to this week’s “Test It Tuesday”.

We all know about GPS systems. Many of us have one in our car or as a portable unit. It’s designed to let us know where we are and how to get somewhere.

Now comes something new: the GPS Snitch. Instead of tracking your movements for your information, it can follow the movements of someone else and provide you all the details.

In its simplest purpose, it can follow your kids when they have the car out for the evening and let you know exactly where they are. It can also help as your parents age and go on road trips, giving you peace of mind as to their whereabouts and helping you to locate them if they are in trouble.

Then, there is another use that doesn’t require a whole lot of imagination. Let’s say you are suspicious of the activities of your significant other. You can place this device in their car and follow them. How you use the device is up to you, but what I can tell you is that it works.

I tried it with the Caruso family of Murrysville. Mike put the device in Mary’s car and she drove off. It was Mike’s job to track her down using the GSP Snitch.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Mike says it was relatively easy. He simply pressed a button to arm the device, placed it in Mary’s car and then went back to the GPS Snitch website. From the site, he was able to not only monitor where she was going – following a detailed map provided by the site – but also how fast she was going ( wow )!  Instead of giving real time movements, it would take snapshots of her position and speed every few seconds.

Mike found her with little problem, noting the GPS system was so accurate, he was able to pinpoint her location down to the street number.

As you might imagine, this technology does not come cheap. It retails for $299, then there is a one-time activation fee ( $29 ) and then a monthly fee ( $14.99 ). If you buy the yearly package ( $169.99 ), there is no activation fee. Check the Snitch website for details.

Still, if keeping an eye on where you vehicles are and, more important, where the passengers in those cars are going, the GPS Snitch gets the job done

Test It Tuesday – Grip Wrench Pro

This week, we tested the Grip Wrench Pro … a product that claims to do everything your wrench does only better and cheaper. It claims to get to those hard-to-reach areas and be able to clamp down on anything.

We put it to the test at Demetrius Ivory’s house and let him try to loosen a couple of pipes in his bathroom … as well as his shower head. Following the directions on the box, he found the product failed to work … and we gave it a rating of zero out of four stars.

However, shortly after the story aired, we received e-mails from a few viewers who have used the product successfully and told me they felt the product would have worked had we used it in the reverse direction.

So many of you contacted me that we felt it only fair to revisit the product and try it again in the manner described to see if the Grip Wrench Pro does work. Until then, we’ll officially withhold judgement on the product.

Please look for a follow up test next week with the product … and, if it works, a revised grade for the Grip Wrench Pro.

Thanks to all who pointed out the error and we’ll give it a go next week.

Test It Tuesday – Automatic Shower Cleaner

Anybody out there like to clean the shower? Anyone?

I didn’t think so.

It’s by far the most miserable job when it comes to house cleaning, next to scrubbing the toilet. If only there was a way to clean the shower and not have to work at it.

Well, there is a way. At least according to the folks that make “Scrubbing Bubbles”. Their new product is the automatic shower cleaner: just push, spray and walk away. It requires no wiping and no scrubbing. Just let those tiny bubbles go to work.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Sounds interesting and — at the same time – hard to believe so I asked Roberta Anderson of Mount Lebanon to help us out. She keeps her shower spotless andwhat better way to test the power of the automatic shower cleaner than allowing her to use it for the weekend … and not allow her to clean her shower.

The instructions for assembly were pretty easy … but she did make one mistake. Roberta inserted the cleaning formula bottle in the wrong way: Look what happened when she went to turn it around: 

WATCH THE OUTTAKE

 You will be happy to know she did not experience any permanent eye damage.

As for the Automatic Shower Cleaner, it has some drawbacks. While it does smell good and does clean the walls of your shower without effort, it does not clean them well. We found soap spots and residue on the walls and on the floor. Also, it does not spray to the top of the walls so anything above a certain height will not be cleaned.

Finally, the makers of this product need to do a better job of saying where you should not use the product. They say to avoid marble and finished wood showers. However, this information can be found at the bottom of the box. That’s not the first place I would look … and neither would you.

Overall, its good for basically cleaning off the walls of your shower, but it doesn’t really clean your shower. At least not the way you would want it cleaned and over time I can’t see the residue washing away. I think in conjunction with regular wiping down of the shower it works well, but on its own the results are less than spectacular.

The cost is not prohibitive, only $19.95 and you can either buy it on-line or at a local Target, but in this case you do get what you pay for … and if you paying to do less work in keeping your shower clean, its going to cost you a lot more for that luxury.