Chore savers put to the test | ABC30 Fresno

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By ABC30

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Who wouldn't want help cleaning gutters? It's a nasty job!

Now available on the internet, a gutter-cleaning robot.

"The irobot looj gutter-cleaning robot takes the work and stress out of gutter cleaning."

Sounds great! And it looks like a powerhouse. But when consumer reports' Eric Hado tested the $170-dollar looj, it kept getting stuck.

Cleaning a sink full of greasy pots and pans is another messy chore.

In its infomercial, the grease bullet promises an easy solution.

"Just fill your sink with hot water, drop in the grease bullet, and soak your toughest baked-on cookware. It does the work so you don't have to."

Consumer Reports' Chris Regan tested the grease bullet on a variety of filthy pots and pans. After the recommended half-hour soak with consumer reports' most challenging dirty dishes, they were cleaner but not exactly pristine. And the grease bullet costs $10 dollars for a pack of 12 tablets.

Chris Regan, Consumer Reports said:"Generally, you're gonna get the same effect by just soaking your dishes overnight. So you really don't need to spend the money on grease bullet."

And what about the tedious task of jacking up your car to change a flat?

The exhaust jack from titan is supposed to raise the car for you, using the exhaust from your car to inflate the bag.

The $100-dollar titan exhaust jack could be handy off road, but Consumer Reports found it can be tough to hook onto some tailpipes.

And for the cars consumer reports tested with dual exhausts, like this one, the air jack won't even inflate. So while these devices promise to save you time, they're likely not worth the money.