Dryers that don’t dry, vacuum cleaners that don’t clean, and air conditioners that don’t cool may all be plagued by the same problem: a clogged or dirty filter. To keep many top-performing appliances in tip-top shape, you have to clean or replace a filter. In fact, that’s the first thing to check when something seems awry. When Consumer Reports tests vacuums, air conditioners, dishwashers, and other appliances, filter replacement is one of the things we consider as part of our ease-of-use score. [More]
filters
AT&T Launching New Tool To Let Some Wireless Customers Block Robocalls Some Of The Time
By 12.20.16
Spam robocalls suck and everyone hates them. They are a digitally-generated scourge on modern society, a small yet omnipresent annoyance met with universal derision. So AT&T’s wireless customers will likely be happy to see their carrier taking steps today to let customers block the unwanted calls — but there are a couple of big catches. [More]
Bottled Water Expected To Outsell Soda For The First Time Soon
By 8.2.16
It might not come as a surprise to hear that bottled water sales will soon outstrip those of soda for the first time ever. After all, companies have been pushing calorie-free drinks as alternatives to the sweet stuff for some time as consumer preferences have changed. But bottled water’s burgeoning popularity isn’t just about cutting calories. [More]
Facebook Buys Photo Filter App To Compete With Snapchat’s Puking Rainbow
By 3.10.16
Your friends’ posts on Facebook are about to get a bit more cartoon-like now that the social media company has acquired selfie-altering startup Masquerade Technologies. [More]
Jiffy Lube Tries To Scam Yet Another Customer
By 5.4.09
Seriously, Jiffy Lube? You haven’t received enough bad coverage about ripping off your customers? Fine, here’s another one: Daniel says they tried to add about $170 in extra “needed” repairs and replacements recently when his girlfriend dropped off her car to get the oil changed. Even after she turned them down, they still slapped an extra $6 “Peak Global Life Time 100%” charge on the bill. We don’t know what that means, but those are all good words, and anything that’s 100 percent has got to be quality. Apparently Jiffy Lube doesn’t know what it means either.
Hamilton Beach Insists The Broken Part On Your Coffee Maker Doesn't Exist
By 9.28.08
Jim needed to replace the gold-tone filter on his $70 Hamilton Beach coffee maker, but the filter recommended by Hamilton Beach’s website clearly didn’t fit. When Jim called to complain, a customer service representative insisted that Jim’s coffee maker didn’t come with a gold-tone filter, and that if Jim thought otherwise, he was entirely out of luck and would need to buy a new machine.
Consumerist = pr0n
By 1.9.07
If anyone ever doubted that we made consumerism sexy, here’s your comeuppance.
