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Do IT this week: Layering
Swivel Sweeper, Open It are handy but forget Quick Dry Plus, SteamBuddy
By Mary Beth Breckenridge
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 10:16 a.m. EST, Nov 27, 2009
Some products on the market are true time-savers. Others are just money-wasters.
How do you tell the difference?
The Beacon Journal's Does It Work? team — consumer reporter Betty Lin-Fisher, food writer Lisa Abraham and me, the home writer — tested several items we've seen pitched on TV or promoted in stores. Here's what we thought about them.
Swivel Sweeper
In the ever-expanding universe of floor-cleaning apparatuses, the Swivel Sweeper had managed to escape my notice. I'm noticing now.
The Swivel Sweeper is a basic floor sweeper aided by electricity to rotate the bristles. It operates by means of a rechargeable battery that disconnects from the handle for charging.
Now, a little education is in order here: A floor sweeper isn't a vacuum cleaner. It's a light-duty cleaning tool meant only to sweep up crumbs, lint and other surface debris, not to suck up embedded dirt. It's for quick tidying, not deep cleaning.
We tried the Swivel Sweeper on a wood floor and on carpet, and on both surfaces it picked up the visible dirt efficiently. True to its name, it swiveled smoothly around corners, and it was effortless to push. There's also no cord to get in the way.
The dirt collects in a compartment that snaps open easily for emptying.
My only concern is that it's one more appliance sucking electricity from the power grid, but I do have to admit the addition of electricity makes it easier to use than a broom
''It's a great little touch-up cleaner,'' Lisa said. ''It's like an electronic Swiffer.''
Verdicts:
Betty: Snap it up
Lisa: Snap it up
Mary Beth: Snap it up
Quick Dry Plus
The Quick Dry Plus is a drying rack with stacked mesh tiers for drying items flat, plus a fan to keep air flowing around your clothes and dry them faster. The fan does seem to hasten the process, but only marginally.
We tested the Quick Dry Plus using a few items of clothing that were hand-washed and then squeezed in towels to remove the excess water. Two lightweight tops dried in about five hours, but when Betty turned off the fan after seven hours, a thick sweater and two towels were still quite damp. The heavier items needed to dry overnight and would have done so with or without the fan.
Like any tiered rack, the Quick Dry Plus would be useful for drying hand washables in a small space, even without the fan. And at $29.99, it's priced comparably to similar racks without fans.
However, it's fairly bulky and somewhat noisy. The tiers are supposed to nest for storage, but they don't fit together neatly or snugly. A smarter, collapsible design would be an improvement.
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: Skip it
Mary Beth: It depends
SteamBuddy
SteamBuddy bills itself as a convenient fabric steamer.
Steam? What steam?
We heated the appliance according to the instructions and managed to produce only a barely noticeable wisp of steam, nowhere near enough to budge a wrinkle. In fact, we were sure the product was defective and returned it, only to discover its replacement was equally ineffective.
The two SteamBuddy units we tested just didn't get hot enough to produce a useful amount of steam. They didn't even get hot enough to cause discomfort when I placed my hand over the steam vents.
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: Skip it
Mary Beth: Skip it
Open It
The Open It is a tool for opening a variety of packaging, such as CD wrappers and those hard-to-breach clamshells. It's a multifunction gadget that incorporates scissor-like cutting blades, a small utility knife and tiny Phillips and flat-head screwdrivers for opening battery compartments.
We used the Open It on a couple of clamshell packages. While it wasn't any easier than using a regular pair of scissors, it worked just fine.
As Betty put it, ''It's a decent multipurpose tool,'' especially for the money (we paid $9.99). It's something to keep on a desk or toss into a junk drawer so you'll have it handy when you need it.
Verdicts:
Betty: Snap it up
Lisa: Snap it up
Mary Beth: Snap it up
Smooth Away
It never occurred to me before to sand my legs, but that's essentially what the Smooth Away does.
It's a fine-grit pad designed to buff away unwanted hair, which it does, to an extent.
We all tried it on our legs, with mixed results. It didn't work for Betty, and Lisa and I found it removed some but not all of the hair. It also took longer than shaving, although in fairness, that might be due to our inexperience with the product.
I used the Smooth Away on my left leg and a razor on my right. Afterward, I could feel a stubble on the Smooth Away leg, as well as some missed spots wherever my leg wasn't flat.
On underarms, the product was worthless. Although we tried both sizes of hair-removal pads, none of us could get it to work there at all.
Betty ended up with irritated skin after using the Smooth Away, and Lisa was afraid of a similar fate. ''I felt if I rubbed any harder,'' Lisa said, ''I was going to rub a hole in my skin.''
Maybe it's useful for someone who doesn't like razor blades or can't use them for some reason, but otherwise, it's just not worth the effort.
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: It depends
Mary Beth: Skip it
Have you seen an advertised product and wondered if it really lives up to its claims? You can suggest items to be reviewed by Lisa Abraham, Mary Beth Breckenridge and Betty Lin-Fisher by sending e-mail to labraham@thebeaconjournal.com or calling 330-996-3737, mbreckenridge@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3756 or blinfisher @thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3724.
Product: Swivel Sweeper
Claims: Swivels and picks up like no other
What We Paid: $39.99
Available: Stores, TV, online
Verdicts:
Betty: Snap it up
Lisa: Snap it up
Mary Beth: Snap it up
Product: Quick Dry Plus
Claims: Dry it faster, wear it sooner.
What We Paid: $29.99
Available: Stores, online
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: Skip it
Mary Beth: It depends
Product: SteamBuddy
Claims: The world's most convenient multi-use steamer.
What We Paid: $19.99
Available: Stores, TV, online
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: Skip it
Mary Beth: Skip it
Product: Open It
Claims: Easily opens a variety of packaging.
What We Paid: $9.99
Available: Stores, TV, online
Verdicts:
Betty: Snap it up
Lisa: Snap it up
Mary Beth: Snap it up
Product: Smooth Away
Claims: Easy, safe and painless hair removal.
What We Paid: $9.99
Available: Stores, TV, online
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: It depends
Mary Beth: Skip it
Some products on the market are true time-savers. Others are just money-wasters.
How do you tell the difference?
The Beacon Journal's Does It Work? team — consumer reporter Betty Lin-Fisher, food writer Lisa Abraham and me, the home writer — tested several items we've seen pitched on TV or promoted in stores. Here's what we thought about them.
Swivel Sweeper
In the ever-expanding universe of floor-cleaning apparatuses, the Swivel Sweeper had managed to escape my notice. I'm noticing now.
The Swivel Sweeper is a basic floor sweeper aided by electricity to rotate the bristles. It operates by means of a rechargeable battery that disconnects from the handle for charging.
Now, a little education is in order here: A floor sweeper isn't a vacuum cleaner. It's a light-duty cleaning tool meant only to sweep up crumbs, lint and other surface debris, not to suck up embedded dirt. It's for quick tidying, not deep cleaning.
We tried the Swivel Sweeper on a wood floor and on carpet, and on both surfaces it picked up the visible dirt efficiently. True to its name, it swiveled smoothly around corners, and it was effortless to push. There's also no cord to get in the way.
The dirt collects in a compartment that snaps open easily for emptying.
My only concern is that it's one more appliance sucking electricity from the power grid, but I do have to admit the addition of electricity makes it easier to use than a broom
''It's a great little touch-up cleaner,'' Lisa said. ''It's like an electronic Swiffer.''
Verdicts:
Betty: Snap it up
Lisa: Snap it up
Mary Beth: Snap it up
Quick Dry Plus
The Quick Dry Plus is a drying rack with stacked mesh tiers for drying items flat, plus a fan to keep air flowing around your clothes and dry them faster. The fan does seem to hasten the process, but only marginally.
We tested the Quick Dry Plus using a few items of clothing that were hand-washed and then squeezed in towels to remove the excess water. Two lightweight tops dried in about five hours, but when Betty turned off the fan after seven hours, a thick sweater and two towels were still quite damp. The heavier items needed to dry overnight and would have done so with or without the fan.
Like any tiered rack, the Quick Dry Plus would be useful for drying hand washables in a small space, even without the fan. And at $29.99, it's priced comparably to similar racks without fans.
However, it's fairly bulky and somewhat noisy. The tiers are supposed to nest for storage, but they don't fit together neatly or snugly. A smarter, collapsible design would be an improvement.
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: Skip it
Mary Beth: It depends
SteamBuddy
SteamBuddy bills itself as a convenient fabric steamer.
Steam? What steam?
We heated the appliance according to the instructions and managed to produce only a barely noticeable wisp of steam, nowhere near enough to budge a wrinkle. In fact, we were sure the product was defective and returned it, only to discover its replacement was equally ineffective.
The two SteamBuddy units we tested just didn't get hot enough to produce a useful amount of steam. They didn't even get hot enough to cause discomfort when I placed my hand over the steam vents.
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: Skip it
Mary Beth: Skip it
Open It
The Open It is a tool for opening a variety of packaging, such as CD wrappers and those hard-to-breach clamshells. It's a multifunction gadget that incorporates scissor-like cutting blades, a small utility knife and tiny Phillips and flat-head screwdrivers for opening battery compartments.
We used the Open It on a couple of clamshell packages. While it wasn't any easier than using a regular pair of scissors, it worked just fine.
As Betty put it, ''It's a decent multipurpose tool,'' especially for the money (we paid $9.99). It's something to keep on a desk or toss into a junk drawer so you'll have it handy when you need it.
Verdicts:
Betty: Snap it up
Lisa: Snap it up
Mary Beth: Snap it up
Smooth Away
It never occurred to me before to sand my legs, but that's essentially what the Smooth Away does.
It's a fine-grit pad designed to buff away unwanted hair, which it does, to an extent.
We all tried it on our legs, with mixed results. It didn't work for Betty, and Lisa and I found it removed some but not all of the hair. It also took longer than shaving, although in fairness, that might be due to our inexperience with the product.
I used the Smooth Away on my left leg and a razor on my right. Afterward, I could feel a stubble on the Smooth Away leg, as well as some missed spots wherever my leg wasn't flat.
On underarms, the product was worthless. Although we tried both sizes of hair-removal pads, none of us could get it to work there at all.
Betty ended up with irritated skin after using the Smooth Away, and Lisa was afraid of a similar fate. ''I felt if I rubbed any harder,'' Lisa said, ''I was going to rub a hole in my skin.''
Maybe it's useful for someone who doesn't like razor blades or can't use them for some reason, but otherwise, it's just not worth the effort.
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: It depends
Mary Beth: Skip it
Have you seen an advertised product and wondered if it really lives up to its claims? You can suggest items to be reviewed by Lisa Abraham, Mary Beth Breckenridge and Betty Lin-Fisher by sending e-mail to labraham@thebeaconjournal.com or calling 330-996-3737, mbreckenridge@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3756 or blinfisher @thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3724.
Product: Swivel Sweeper
Claims: Swivels and picks up like no other
What We Paid: $39.99
Available: Stores, TV, online
Verdicts:
Betty: Snap it up
Lisa: Snap it up
Mary Beth: Snap it up
Product: Quick Dry Plus
Claims: Dry it faster, wear it sooner.
What We Paid: $29.99
Available: Stores, online
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: Skip it
Mary Beth: It depends
Product: SteamBuddy
Claims: The world's most convenient multi-use steamer.
What We Paid: $19.99
Available: Stores, TV, online
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: Skip it
Mary Beth: Skip it
Product: Open It
Claims: Easily opens a variety of packaging.
What We Paid: $9.99
Available: Stores, TV, online
Verdicts:
Betty: Snap it up
Lisa: Snap it up
Mary Beth: Snap it up
Product: Smooth Away
Claims: Easy, safe and painless hair removal.
What We Paid: $9.99
Available: Stores, TV, online
Verdicts:
Betty: Skip it
Lisa: It depends
Mary Beth: Skip it
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Akron, OH
Posted 11:44 AM, 11/27/2009
Question -- Does the swivel sweeper work at picking up pet hair? If yes, then I will look for it!
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Posted 12:54 PM, 11/27/2009
Yes it does pick up pet hair & very well too.
Akron, Oh
Posted 03:57 PM, 11/27/2009
The Smooth Away product made my legs itch so badly, that I thought I had fleas in the house. I passed it on to my daughter who actually likes it, but I will NEVER use the thing again - I have never been so miserable!!
Canton, OH
Posted 12:15 PM, 11/28/2009
I bought a swivel sweeper and thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. The problem is they are cheaply made and mine stripped a gear after about 2 months of daily use. Many commenters on the web complained about early battery failure. A replacement battery costs almost as much as the sweeper. I'm guessing that this was caused by overcharging. Be careful here. Maybe mine was a lemon. It worked so well that I'll buy another and see if I have better luck.
