HOUSTON – The prep work, the pot stirring and the clean-up. That is what the Pasta Boat claims to do. The risotto took about 24 minutes from start to finish. If she had made it on the stovetop, she would have had to babysit the pot. The Pasta Boat passed our tests.
And if you can make them in seconds from any drink in your fridge, that’s kind of cool too. That’s the sell for Slushy Magic. Product: Slushy MagicPrice: $13.98 from WalMart.comClaims: Make slushies in seconds, Slushify any drinkThe Slushy Magic box and the commercial both claim there are just three steps to making delicious slushies with the product: Add magic freezer cubes that come with the product to the cup, pour your favorite drink and then shake. In reality, you have to freeze the magic freezer cubes 2 to 3 hours before you want to make a slushy. Slushy Magic does work if you follow all of the steps, but it’s not great.
EZ Eggs claims it can peel up to three eggs in under 10 seconds. Product: EZ EggsPrice: $9.88 at WalmartClaim: “Peels up to three eggs in under 10 seconds”"The Miracle egg stripper that shakes the shells right off of them." Once the eggs were room temperatures, Amy filled the EZ Eggs pod with water to the marked water line and dropped all of the eggs inside. When she removed the top, she noticed the eggs were cracked, but all of the shells were still on the eggs. EZ Eggs says it works best with freshly boiled eggs.
If you dont know how to sew, you may have to change until you can get your pants fixed. But if youve had No Stitch, the product claims you could fix your hem on the spot-- no needle and thread required. Put the wax paper over the fabric and use the heat wand pressing it for 30 seconds over each section of the fabric you are fixing. Test: Litchie tested No Stitch by using it to take up a pair of her blue jeans and to fix the hem on another pair of pants. She threw the jeans in the washer and then dried them to make sure No Stitch would hold.
Alien Tape claims you won’t ever need screws or anchors again because it can lock anything in place on any surface without damaging it or leaving a sticky residue. Test: Viewer Caren Luckie used Alien Tape to hang three different objects: a dry erase board, a medium-sized picture frame and a plastic thermometer outside on a wooden pillar. To test that claim that it can hold 17.5 pounds, I used Alien Tape on a mirror that weighs 17 pounds. We covered the entire outside of the frame with Alien Tape, removed the backing and pressed it securely onto a wall. Verdict: Alien Tape’s claims that it can hold heavy items on a wall without damaging the wall are not true.
HOUSTON – Oil and grease can be difficult to remove from pots, pans and your driveway. "Grease Police" claims it can corral those messes and banish them from just about any surface in your home. Product: Grease PoliceClaims: “Works on nearly all stubborn messes, even ones that have been baked on for years.” “It’ll clean shower doors in seconds.”The bottle claims it works on all of these stains: Baked-on grease, baked-on food, dried latex paint, tile and grout stains, tape residue, glue and adhesive residue, fabric stains, stains on floors and walls, smoke stains, bicycle grease, hard-water stains, sun tan lotion, oil, marker, crayons, pet stains, blood stains, machinery, makeup stains, tar and wax, chewing gum, soap scum, mildew stains and fireplaces. It did not remove the baked-on grease inside her oven. It did not remove the hard water stains and soap scum on her glass shower door, and it did not remove spaghetti sauce, mustard and crayon from her son’s soccer jersey.
HOUSTON – When you need to sew something simple, you don't need a bulky sewing machine. Magic Stitch claims it is the perfect device for these situations. The handheld, battery-operated sewing machine fits in the palm of your hand. Gloria Quackenbush of Champions Forest had several projects she could use the Magic Stitch for. Unfortunately, she couldn't get the Magic Stitch to hold a stitch after more than half a dozen tries.
The Atomic Charge Wallet claims to double your battery capacity. Spencer's leather wallet is stuffed to about twice the size of the Atomic Charge Wallet. Once her phone battery was at 50 percent, Davis connected the Atomic Charge Wallet to her Samsung 7 with the mini USB cable that came with the product. You can find the Atomic Charge Wallet for about $20 online, but for that price you should probably just invest in a larger, more reliable portable battery that you can carry with you and charge your phone when needed. Either way, you will have to remember to charge the wallet or the portable battery because they will drain, too.
HOUSTON – If you've got a dog, you've probably found yourself searching for its leash, so you could take it for a walk. There's a product that claims to help with that dilemma -- a dog collar and leash that never come off. The Lucky Leash is a retractable leash built into the dog collar, so you can never lose it. When Rebel walked, the Lucky Leash was just fine. The Lucky Leash comes in small, medium and extra large, depending on the size of your pet.
We didn't have any groceries at KPRC, so we used a box of court documents to test the Climb Cart. That should be easy for the Climb Cart. And its cast aluminum construction easily handles oversized jobs up to 100 pounds," claims the announcer in the Climb Cart commercial. But for $29.99 the Climb Cart comes with a bag that you can fit groceries or other loose loads into. When you're not using it, the Climb Cart folds flat for easy storage.
The makers of the "Sleep Styler" product, which was a hit on the TV show "Shark Tank," claim that if you put the foam rollers on before you go to bed, you'll wake up looking like you just stepped out of a salon. KPRC 2 social media guru Amanda Cochran tried it out. "I hardly ever curl my hair," Cochran said. "I would say they're more comfortable than traditional rollers," she said as she laid down on her pillow with the the "Sleep Styler" in her hair. Davis thought Cochran just may have not liked the style, so she tried The "Sleep Styler" on herself.
The makers of the Tornado Bottle claim it can mix them all and leave you with less mess in the kitchen. So, consumer expert Amy Davis took it home and tried it out for As Seen on TV Tuesday. Davis bought a Tornado bottle for $11.99 at Fry's electronics. But the Tornado Bottle did the trick. Davis said the Tornado Bottle gets her stamp of approval.
Filling up your tires, inflatable toys, air mattresses and balls, air compressors can come in handy when you're on the go. The Air Dragon portable air compressor is $39.99. He took about 20 pounds of air out of a tire on his SUV and then unboxed the Air Dragon. The directions say you should not run the Air Dragon for more than 15 minutes at a time because it can overheat. "The powerful, hand held air compressor that fills up tires and everything else lightning fast," says the announcer in the commercial.
HOUSTON – Every Tuesday consumer expert Amy Davis features an "As Seen On TV" product. Seventeen worked and earned a nod from testers, 16 got a thumbs down and three were inconclusive. The glue that claims to form a strong bond couldn't even hold a broken plastic hanger together long enough for our test. Women everywhere wished you could spray on a perfect manicure with Spray Perfect, but the product left a hot mess on our producer's hands. The best of 2016Some of the best products included toys for kids.
WARNING: Do not shine laser lights into eyes or directly up into the sky. The Star Shower Laser Light promises to make putting up those lights super easy and fast all with the flick of a switch. The Star Shower Laser Light was faster. Star Shower Laser Lights said in an email statement, "Star Shower Laser Lights are compliant with FDA regulations governing lasers and with Consumer Product Safety standards. Star Shower should be pointed directly at your home, never directly into the sky.
We checked it out in this week's As Seen On TV Tuesday. In this case, the Toucan promises to be the world's easiest hands-free can opener. We gave it a few tries and realized we needed to re-read the directions and get an online tutorial. The Toucan opened up the tin can without using our hands. You can get the Toucan online for $20.00.
