Product Review: Dirt Devil Red Versa Powerstick

This is probably the BEST $18.00 I've spent in a long time! With a baby who is learning to eat finger foods, it's a must to clean up the floor after every meal and this little vacuum is perfect for those quick touch-ups in the kitchen and dining room (all tile floors.) The Red Versa is lightweight so I have been carrying it upstairs to vacuum the wood floors in the bedrooms. The head is small so it fits under cabinets, the edge of the stove, and around baseboards quite well and detaches quickly and easy to convert to a hand-held vacuum. My only real complaint is the placement of the power switch. It is located far enough down on the vacuum to get caught and switched off while vacuuming under some of the furniture. While it isn't strong enough to vacuum up the deep-down dirt out of the carpet for weekly cleaning, it does pick up the random little pieces of "unwanteds" on the rug in our living room quite well. However, I do use the hand-held portion on the carpeted stairs because it's so quick and easy to use; it does a good job getting the obvious pieces of fuzz and other things tracked down the stairs. It also worked pretty well for cleaning up the car; the crevice tool was very helpful for that job. I most definitely recommend this little Red Devil.

Product Review: Libman Freedom Mop

Pleased

In the past, I had used a Swiffer Wet Jet and while I liked it and felt that it did a good job, it was also a rather expensive mop to use between the costs of the replacement cleaning pads and refill containers of the solution. I also felt bad about having to throw away the cleaning pads after each cleaning. Since I had already started using a microfiber cloths on the regular Swiffer, I had tried to do the same with the Wet Jet, but it didn't work. That's about the time I first saw the Libman Freedom Mop advertised. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for! There are NO batteries and the cleaning pads are reusable up to 50 washes. The container detaches easily so that I can fill it with whatever cleaning solution I want (I use 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar) and the microfiber cloth has little scrubbies on it to help break up stubborn spots. I just toss the dirty pad in with my cleaning cloths and pop on the extra one I purchased so that the mop is always ready to use. It's durable and well-made yet light weight so it's easy to carry around the house. I still use our surface steamer for "deep" cleaning, but the Libman Freedom Mop is the answer for quick daily touch-ups while still being environmentally and fiscally responsible. I would definitely recommend this product.

Product Review: Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium Kneeling Pad

Pleased

This pad is perfect for mommy or daddy knees while bathing baby. It has an anti-skid backing so that there's no slipping and sliding across the bathroom floor. It's just the right size and doesn't take up a lot of room. It's light weight enough to use the velcro strap on the back to hang from a towel bar or shower curtain rod in between uses.

Product Review: First Years Sure Comfort Bath Tub

Pleased

This tub is very practical. It is designed to sit on counter tops or straddle the kitchen sink. It doesn't fit our sink but that's not really a big deal to me. Now that Baby Bee is a bit older, I just set her tub in the bottom of our tub and kneel down on our kneeling pad. There is a compartment at the end of the tub large enough to keep shampoo/body wash bottles in during bath time.


This tub has a newborn sling that suspends baby above the tub making it easy to keep both hands free to bathe baby. The sling is netted so that water drips right through for rinsing purposes. After baby can balance a bit better, she promotes to the infant side (the taller back at the top of the picture). The angle of the hump in the middle of the tub elevates her legs slightly in order to help keep her leaning back. It would be nice if there were an anti-skid piece for under her bottom but I suppose one wasn't placed there in order to prevent any scratching on her delicate bum. The opposite end of the tub is for toddler use when baby can sit up on her own. We've yet to use that end but when we do, I'll update this review.


There are a couple of design elements I would change about this tub. First, where the legs are located, there are deep crevices on the inside floor of the tub but only on one end. Mildew loves those crevices from the trapped water after the tub is drained; they're narrow and difficult to clean. I don't understand why all four of the leg locations couldn't be flush to the inside bottom of the tub, or at least close to it, since two of them are. Secondly, the drain hole and plug sit a bit higher than the bottom of the tub making it difficult for all the water to drain out. I always have to flip the tub over to finish draining. Thirdly, I've not been able to hang this tub in between uses. With limited storage space, I had planned on hanging this on the wall in our laundry room alongside our laundry basket. The curved shape combined with the deep bottom makes it stand out away from the wall too far from the grasp of hooks.


Overall, this tub functions well and the couple of complaints I have are minor. Baby Bee is comfortable in it and really enjoys her bath time; I would recommend this tub to other moms.

Product Review: Prince Lionheart Warmies Cloth Wipes

Disappointed

I wanted to use cloth wipes since I was using cloth diapers anyway. It made sense to limit what we were throwing away and really, what was a few more things in the wash? I wish I had read the reviews on these first. I'm very glad that we only received one set instead of the two for which I had registered.

The first thing I noticed was that their care tag says to wash them on delicate. What? They're made to wipe up pee and poop and they're not sturdy enough for a regular wash cycle? I had planned to throw them in with the diapers so where's the convenience in having to do a separate load? These bamboo rayon wipes are very soft and seem to get softer with each wash. Unfortunately with each wash, they also seem to fall apart. Yep, even on the gentle cycle. So far, 3 of the 9 have come unraveled at the edges.

I found that the downside to them being so soft is that the fibers don't grab and trap the poop but rather just smear it around Baby Bee's bum. I quit using them on her bum and now just use them on her face for clean-ups between baths. I definitely would not recommend these wipes. See this blog entry for wipes we found that work well for us and our routine.