Hot Air! Date of Purchase: 10 September, 2010
Price: $19.99/set of two
Flop
What is it about TV infomercials that makes us feel as if all of our troubles will melt away as soon as we buy this new and wonderful product? Whether it be the true usefulness of "innovative" products or simply the clever pitches and gimmicks offered by the advertisers, a good many millions of us find ourselves picking up the phone to find out. Before you pick up the phone for this nonsense, there are a few things that you should know...
After hearing these two facts, many would decide that it probably isn't worth the $19.99 for the pack of two (don't try to buy just one, they give you one "free" when you buy the first). If you're one of those in this group, we're with you.
Perhaps the first fact by itself would be enough for the Mister Steamy to receive a failing grade. The fact that this dryer ball requires a high heat cycle is a huge problem. For most of us, the types of clothing most in need of de-wrinkling also happen to be the types of clothing that are the most sensitive to high heat wash/dry cycles. Once we toss all of our most delicate clothing from the high heat cycle, (depending on our level of laundry strictness) we're left with basically three articles: socks, towels, and sheets. This might explain why the Mister Steamy marketing team chose to feature something like the picture below (more on this little demonstration later in the week).
The second unfortunate fact will mostly have a negative effect on your sanity and may cause some sort of harm to your dryer. We're not sure if placing a hard plastic ball in your dryer will void the warranty, but it certainly feels like some form of abuse that may not be covered. Even if your dryer can take the abuse, the thundering sound will drive you mad. If you're having trouble imagining the sound of this widget tumbling around in your dryer, just toss some steel-toe work boots into your dryer and try to have a conversation.
- The Mister Steamy needs high heat dryer cycle to work properly.
- The Mister Steamy is made of hard plastic and produces thundering noise in your dryer.
After hearing these two facts, many would decide that it probably isn't worth the $19.99 for the pack of two (don't try to buy just one, they give you one "free" when you buy the first). If you're one of those in this group, we're with you.
Perhaps the first fact by itself would be enough for the Mister Steamy to receive a failing grade. The fact that this dryer ball requires a high heat cycle is a huge problem. For most of us, the types of clothing most in need of de-wrinkling also happen to be the types of clothing that are the most sensitive to high heat wash/dry cycles. Once we toss all of our most delicate clothing from the high heat cycle, (depending on our level of laundry strictness) we're left with basically three articles: socks, towels, and sheets. This might explain why the Mister Steamy marketing team chose to feature something like the picture below (more on this little demonstration later in the week).
The second unfortunate fact will mostly have a negative effect on your sanity and may cause some sort of harm to your dryer. We're not sure if placing a hard plastic ball in your dryer will void the warranty, but it certainly feels like some form of abuse that may not be covered. Even if your dryer can take the abuse, the thundering sound will drive you mad. If you're having trouble imagining the sound of this widget tumbling around in your dryer, just toss some steel-toe work boots into your dryer and try to have a conversation.
Although we have two more posts dedicated to this failure, we'll give you the pleasure of a verdict now. Rather than lead you on and let you think that we might be recommending this product, we would like to make it perfectly clear that we are not. Our next two posts will be a brief exploration of towel fluffing techniques followed by a short brainstorm on alternative uses (just in case you're one of the millions who have already spent your money on this gimmick). For now, though, here's the verdict...
FAIL!
FAIL!
3 comments:
Yuck! I've thought about using these, but now I won't be!
Thanks for the info. I had considered buying this product after not forking over the money for a steam washer and dryer. Obviously even for only $20 this wasn't worth it, so thanks for saving me the money!!
Thanks for the comments. You're now entered to win the MP3 player!
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