Consumerist
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product testing
Air Purifiers That Work, And Ones That Don't
Consumer Reports tested 40 air purifiers by locking them in a closed room and filling it with smoke and dust—in other words, they recreated this writer's childhood Christmases when Granny would visit with her angry poodle. Here are Consumer Reports' selection of the best and worst devices. More » -
complaints
Why I'm Never Shopping At Sears Again
Reader Chris writes the CEO of Sears to let him know why he'll never step foot inside Sears ever again.
Dear Mr. Lewis,
More »We are writing to you to document the abysmal experience we recently had with Sears following break-down of our Kenmore refrigerator/freezer.
The unit broke down on November 2nd, less than 1 year since we purchased it, and we called for repair service under the factory warranty. We were surprised to find that it would take a week before a technician could come to take a look, but we treated this as just 'bad luck' and resigned ourselves to throwing away 100's of dollars of frozen and refrigerated groceries.
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environment
Upgrade Or Repair Your Home With Eco-Friendly Products
Despite all the media attention, buying well-made, affordable products that are also environmentally sound is still a difficult task. Kiplinger's "Shopping Guide to Eco-Friendly Products" offers several suggestions to help you buy green and get a solid deal on major appliances, lawn care, building supplies, and home maintenance. More » -
followups
Reader Gets Lowe's To Replace Vibrating Washer
After a month of effort, Eric got Lowes to give him a washer that doesn't shake itself to pieces. His complaint letters and phone calls to corporate had the effect of water dashing against a rock, so he turned his attention to the store manager, where he found success. Domo arigato, Mr. Vibrato! More » -
ratings
5 Portable Air Conditioners Ranked
Portable air conditioners are good when you need to cool only a single room in your home, or when you live in a studio with a crummy wall unit and no central heating/ac, or when you go camping. They also free up the view out your window. On the downside, they recycle "inside air," require a drainage tube or a bucket, can be noisy, and make it look like you have a dorm fridge in your living room. Slate reviews five mid-range portable units (between 9,000 and 12,000 BTUs, or enough to cool between 350 and 550 square feet). More » -
above and beyond
Dyson Sends You A New Vacuum Because You Broke Yours
Reader Daniel is overjoyed. He broke his Dyson vacuum and when he called to see if he could buy a replacement part, he found that it was too expensive because you have to buy one whole half of the vacuum. So he said, "No Thanks." More » -
kitchen
10 Fancypants Kitchen Features You Don't Need
Consumer Reports lays the smack down on 10 kitchen features that aren't worth the money. "Overhyped" and overpriced items include multimedia appliances, professional-grade ranges, "appliance drawers," steam ovens, and "turbocharged" dishwashers. Thankfully, not even knowing what an "appliance drawer" is, we haven't wanted one yet. Whew. Consider this your opportunity to expand on CR's list: What kitchen appliances and features does no one really need? Or which ones suck? More » -
bad buy
Consumer Reports: GE Washers That Make Clothes Dirtier?
Consumer Reports tested some washers in June and found two that left stain-soaked swatches nearly as dirty as when they went in. Now further tests have revealed that the washing machines actually made the clothes dirtier! From Consumer Reports:Door seals in the GE WCVH6600H[WW], $900, and WBVH5100H[WW], $750, frequently trapped washcloths during the high-speed spin cycle. The seals were abraded and deposited ground-up rubber on the cloths. We tested one unit of each washer before they were sold at retail and one unit each bought at stores anonymously. Door seals in all four washers left the residue, and we couldn't completely remove the resulting stains with further washing.
Consumer Reports has downgraded the washers to "not recommended." More » -
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energy
Save On Utilities By Spending More On Your Home
Saving by spending is not as counterintuitive as it sounds when it comes to home improvements. Though energy-saving improvements can cost more upfront, savings are eventually realized as lower utility bills. Kiplinger put together a nifty list to help determine how long it takes to recoup the extra amount spent on energy-efficient improvements: More » -
small claims court
UPDATE: Sears.com Repeatedly Delivers Wrong Dryer, Doesn't Correct Website
We posted about how Ian started blogging his quest to get Sears to make up for delivering the wrong dryer, repeatedly. Now, the executive customer service types are ignoring his requests for a refund, despite their promises to do so in full. Ian has vowed to take Sears to small claims court-the last recourse for aggrieved customers. More » -
appliances
GE: "Your Broken Refrigerator Is Working Fine"
To say that Paul is upset about his refrigerator would be an understatement. More » -
the internet is hard
Sears.com Repeatedly Delivers Wrong Dryer, Doesn't Correct Website
All Ian wanted was a dryer. Ian tried ordering a GE DWSR463GGW dryer from Sears.com. The dryer that arrived at his door was labeled DWSR, but was in fact the smaller, less desirable DBXR463GGW. Ian called Sears.com and told them to fix their mistake. Sears.com delivered another DBXR labeled as a DWSR; when Ian pointed out the repeated error, they inexplicably offered him yet another DBXR. More » -
howto
Hack Your AC Adaptors To Power Low Voltage Electronics
Know that box of sad, unmarried, AC adaptors you've got lying around? Tim Matheson's quickie video video tutorial shows you how to hack 'em to power low voltage electronics. More » -
tools
Kill-A-Watt: Learn Which Appliances Are Costing You
J.D. at Get Rich Slowly has a review of a nifty little device that tells you how much electricity appliances draw. You can use it to calculate how much money you'd save by turning things off/unplugging them. Cool! More » -
appliances
Cook in the Kitchen, Cook in the Bedroom
That annoying Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus guy is taking money from Sears (yes, the department store) to study whether or not cooking more improves your sex life. More » -
complaints
Best Buy Repair Melts Meat, Not Hearts
There is some use crying over spilt ice cream, though Best Buy won't shed too many tears over it. That's just as well. The resulting mix would leave a bad taste in your mouth, just like their customer service, as Nikki found when trying to get her refrigerator repaired. More » -
whirlpool
Whirlpool Water Heaters Give Hundreds Cold Showers
We hope you don't own a Whirlpool Flame Lock Gas Water heater, because boy, do they totally suck. More » -
deals
Morning Deals Round Up
• Get the Rogue Hawaiian Soprano Ukulele for just $26 shipped at Musicians' Friend. Ukulele is the new Strat knock-off, hipsters. [via Dealnews] More »
appliances
New York, 10:16 AM
Mon Nov 23
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