If you’ve ever wiped a sticky kitchen floor only to see grease reappear the next morning, you already know why the best steam cleaners have become a must-have in . A steam cleaner heats water to between 200°F and 275°F, then forces that pressurized steam through a nozzle, mop head, or brush. The result: dissolved … Read more
If you live anywhere cold and damp, you already know the morning routine: wipe the windows, wipe them again, and still see streaks. We tested the best window vacuums available right now to find the models that actually leave glass clear in one pass. A window vacuum is a cordless handheld cleaner that pairs a … Read more
I learned this the hard way: my grandmother’s oak floors went from honey-glow to dull haze after a year of “just adding vinegar to the water.” The finish wasn’t gone, it was etched. Replacing a single 200-square-foot room runs into four figures, so picking the best hardwood floor cleaners before damage starts is one of … Read more
Spilled coffee on the sectional. A toddler’s grape juice explosion on the dining chair. Dog paw prints ground into the cloth back seat of the minivan. We have all been there, scrubbing frantically with paper towels while the stain sinks deeper into the cushion. After two months of testing the most popular machines and sprays … Read more
Last month, my dog knocked an entire glass of red wine onto my cream-colored carpet. Thirty minutes later, the stain was gone, and the spot was nearly dry. That is the entire job of a spot carpet cleaner, and it is the reason I keep mine within arm’s reach of the living room. If you … Read more
I spent the last month talking to pool owners in Michigan, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest, comparing their real-world experiences with eight pool heaters that consistently top Amazon’s bestseller lists. The question of which is the best pool heater for your setup is really three questions stacked together: how big is your pool, how cold … Read more
After 60 days of watt-meter testing on eight different variable speed pool pumps in three inground pools ranging from 12,000 to 22,000 gallons, I can tell you with confidence: the right VS pump will cut your pool’s electricity bill by 50% to 80% and pay for itself in two to three swim seasons. Our team … Read more
Building a backyard pond used to mean a contractor, a weekend of digging, and a stack of mismatched parts from three different stores. Today, the best pond kits arrive with everything in one box: an EPDM liner, submersible pump, biological filter, plumbing, and often a waterfall spillway. I tested and compared ten of the most … Read more
I have spent the last three swim seasons putting eight of the most popular pool heat pumps through real-world testing on everything from a 5,000-gallon above-ground to a 33,000-gallon inground. After logging more than 1,200 hours of runtime, tracking energy use, and measuring how quickly each unit brought water up to a comfortable 82°F, I … Read more
I have spent the last three months testing pool filters with our team, running them through green-pool rescues, heavy leaf loads, and everyday chlorine maintenance. We measured water clarity, backwash intervals, noise, and how often each filter clogged under real backyard conditions. Below are the best pool filters our testers recommend in for above-ground and … Read more