- Today we're gonna take a look
at As Seen on TV products
and attempt to create our own comparable solutions
using common household items.
So, whether you're looking to cook eggs on the go,
unclog that nasty drain,
or repel those pesky rodents,
we've got a solution for you.
(electronic music)
When you're pressed for time in the morning
and getting ready for work,
who wants to mess with cooking and cleaning
up afterwards?
The premise with the as-seen-on-TV Eggtastic
ceramic egg cooker is that it cooks fast,
flavorful, and fluffy eggs to perfection,
not to mention that it's advertised to instantly
heat and keep eggs to perfect cooking temperature
in three easy steps.
They say to just crack an egg or eggs
and whisk right inside the cooker,
then add their little ventilated lid
and place it inside the microwave.
And then, you know, cook according
to the provided instructions.
For our test, we decided to use two large eggs
and add extra ingredients, like the as seen on TV
commercial demonstrates.
After scrambling inside the vat, we decided to add
the Eggtastic cooker into the microwave
and cooked it for about one minute and ten seconds,
you know, as per the cooking guide.
The ceramic pot got very hot,
so pot holders are not only recommended
but required.
You can scramble the eggs afterwards,
but we kept them intact for a convenient egg sandwich.
Results were, yeah, pretty good.
Now let's see if we can duplicate those results.
Grab yourself a deep bowl or mug,
preferably ceramic, and then search around your kitchen
for a ventilated lid.
We got lucky in that one we found happened
to fit perfectly on our mug.
To make our comparison easier,
we experimented with the same controlled variables
of cracking two eggs into the mug
and then adding some additional ingredients.
After whisking the eggs directly into the mug
and adding our ventilated lid, we placed our ceramic dish
into the microwave and followed the same cooking
guide that was provided with the Eggtastic cooker.
After nuking it for a minute and ten seconds,
it should be noted that we were able to remove the mug
by its handle without potholders.
The results of our experiment were surprisingly
similar, if not better, than the Eggtastic.
With a side-by-side comparison,
it's hard to tell them apart.
Not only were their consistencies similar,
but the flavor was too.
So in conclusion, if you're on the go
or perhaps just feeling a little lazy,
you can use either cooking method with similar results.
You can buy the Eggtastic cooker online
for about ten bucks, or you could save yourself
some money and cook with a mug or a bowl.
You already have both.
When you're done, simply wash it
or put it in your dishwasher.
If we gained nothing else from buying
the Eggtastic, at least we now have a cooking guide
for future convenience.
Getting rid of rodents after they've already
invaded your property can feel like an uphill
battle, and trust me, I've been there.
There's a number of traditional pest control methods
that claim to solve the problem,
but they're typically unsafe and inhumane.
We found one that seemed pretty decent
called Rodent Sheriff.
It's made with all natural peppermint oil
and is safe to use around pets and children.
The product claims to discourage raccoons,
ants, roaches, mice, and more
by using harmless repellents that they hate.
It's advertised as safe to spray in your home
and around your garden, trash cans, vehicles, whatever.
Basically, Rodent Sheriff is supposed to quickly
drive rodents away by disturbing their noses
with a powerful peppermint scent.
But it can be extremely overpowering.
This product has mixed results
because although its potent scent
may discourage rodents to some extent,
it dissipates rather quickly.
It may hold them at bay for several days,
but they'll likely come back
if you're not consistent with applying it.
Based on the product ratings online,
there were as many one-star ratings
as five-star ratings.
Customers either felt it worked great
or was a total waste of money.
Or they were given the product for free
and they didn't care either way.
Each eight-ounce bottle costs about ten bucks
and it's advertised to contain 1,000 sprays.
And honestly, it sounds like you'll need
every single spray in that bottle in order
to get it to work effectively.
That being said, let's make our own.
Start with peppermint essential oil,
one cup of water, and liquid dish soap.
Oh yeah, and you need a spray bottle.
Add about 15 to 20 drops of peppermint
essential oil to the water and then add
several drops of liquid dish soap
to help the ingredients mix better.
You know, an emulsifier of sorts.
Pour the mix into a spray bottle,
fasten the spray nozzle tightly,
and shake it all together.
Just like with Rodent Sheriff, apply the mixture
to any place that you have or suspect
that you have rodents.
Reapply the spray as the scent fades,
usually after about a week.
Apart from making your home smell
like you've stepped into a tub of breath mints,
the biggest downside to both sprays
is that the scent is too strong
and it can be nauseating to everyone around you.
If you're gonna go this route,
perhaps the do-it-yourself method
is more cost-effective because you can
not only control the peppermint power
but make whatever size bottle you want.
As a side note, you could always plant
mint near entryways.
That'll probably deter rodents as well.
There's a number of products out there
that help reduce or prevent drainage issues
to save money and avoid having
to pay a plumber.
But today we're gonna focus
on the as-seen-on-TV Drain Wick.
It claims to prevent clogs
by catching hair that would normally
get stuck in your pipes.
It's basically just a stainless steel ball chain
with little rubber whiskers and a plastic cap.
According to the directions, you just insert
the chain through your drain cover
and then guide the rubber whiskers
through a hole.
The, quote, daisy cup should lie flush
on top of the drain.
When you turn the water on, the chain will
flow into place and catch hair.
During testing, we removed the Drain Wick
after a week without much success.
However, the package advertises to remove
and replace every two to four months.
That means the longer you give it,
the more success you'll allegedly have.
Over time, the hair builds up
and can easily be removed
and disposed of.
It also suggests to clean your pipes
beforehand in order for the Drain Wick
to work properly,
so we'll do just that.
Inspired by the basic premise of the Drain Snake,
flexible barbed one that effectively removes clogs,
we made our own out of plastic zip ties.
We used a pair of scissors to cut
angled slits and slivers about an inch apart
up the sides of both zip ties.
We staggered the cuts from one end to the other.
But you don't necessarily have to do it
for it to work.
Now feed a second zip tie through the cable head,
cut off the excess strip, and you should
be left with a pretty durable handle.
Although the Drain Snake is 18 inches,
our do it yourself prototype is 12.
You can use various zip tie lengths
and thicknesses to get similar results,
depending on your drain covers or pipe size.
Now it's time to put it to the test.
We started with the sink by inserting
the makeshift clog remover and then twisted it
around a few times, slowly pulling it back
out of the drain.
Since it worked pretty well, we moved onto the shower.
Just feed the tool into the drain cover,
rotate the handle at least one full rotation
to allow the barbs to grab any obstructions,
then slowly pull out the zip tie.
On our very first attempt, we found huge success.
You may be disgusted right now,
but we were really impressed.
This tool may not serve the same purpose
as the Drain Wick by catching hair in the drain,
but it certainly removes hair clogs,
even ones unbeknownst to us.
Although we think the Drain Wick can be used
over and over again, much longer than the two
to four month advertised amount,
our do it yourself snake should be disposed
of immediately.
So in conclusion, you could pay about ten bucks
every six months for two Drain Wicks
or grab some zip ties from your garage
and make your own for basically free.
If you've ever stripped a screw,
you know how incredibly frustrating it can be.
The as-seen-on-TV Speedout extractor kit
advertises that it'll easily remove stripped
or damaged screws in about ten seconds.
The secret lies in the heavy-duty hardened
high-speed steel construction of the extractor bits.
The product claims to extract the stripped
or damaged screw in as easy as two steps.
While following the operating instructions,
you'll notice right away that it takes
more than two steps.
It also says not to use with impact drivers.
Side A of the bit is first used to drill out
the damaged area, and side B is used for extracting.
Ensure that your drill is on slow speed
and in reverse, and then give it a test.
In our first try, we surprisingly removed the screw
with only side A of the bit.
Perhaps the screw wasn't really stripped enough.
We shoulda worked harder on that.
We decided to try it again anyway
and got the same result.
Interesting.
Let's follow the instructions this time.
Insert the bit into a three-eighth of an inch
variable speed drill so that side A is facing out.
Ensure that your drill is in reverse
and then drill out the damaged area with side A.
This should make a cone-shaped indention
in the screw or bolt.
Next, flip the tool around to side B
and lock it in.
Once again, ensure that your drill is in reverse
and then firmly press down so that the extracting
slots into the hole and grips the damaged screw
or bolt firmly.
And just like that, the biting action of the extractor
allows the power of the drill
to torque out stubborn screws.
Pretty impressive.
Now how about the DIY version?
There's a handful of alternative solutions
that can be used with what you already have at home.
We'll start with one we've covered before,
the rubber band method.
Find yourself a thick, wide rubber band
and place it over the stripped screw.
We recommend bumping up one size
from the screw head which caused the strip.
Now apply hard but slow force
as you turn the screwdriver.
If you're fortunate, the rubber band will fill
the gaps caused by the strip and allow extraction.
Now, there are other solutions, such as pounding
the screwdriver into the screw head with a hammer
hoping to create enough traction to remove it.
On raised screws, try clamping down
with a pair of pliers, slowly spinning it around
until it comes out.
For simply jobs, you can just apply some duct tape
on top of the screw and tap it in to fill in the gaps.
That makes for easy removal.
Tougher screws obviously call for more power.
If you have a seriously stripped screw
like this one, it might be time for a rotary tool.
Cut your own new slit right into the screw
and remove it with a standard flat head screwdriver.
No rotary tool?
No problem.
Grab a small drill bit and bore deeper
into the screw to allow that screwdriver
to get in deep.
Apply pressure and extract that sucker
like a bad tooth.
Let's review.
The upside of the Speedout kit is
that it's so simply, anyone can use it.
The only downsides we noticed is that although
it says it works with any size screw or bolt,
it struggled to grip harder metal screws.
The bit can also get warm to the touch
and even get stuck to the screw.
Because there are so many DIY solutions
for removing stripped screws,
the Speedout is probably best for really
broken screw heads, but it's certainly
not a bad idea to have it
as part of your tool kit, you know,
just laying around in the garage
for whenever you need it.
If you've ever tried any of these tricks
or have your own favorite methods,
let's hear about them in the comments.
We hope you enjoyed our first experiment
into testing As Seen on TV products
and creating our own solutions from home.
Thanks for watching.
You can find a link to all the products
we used in the description if you're interested.
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and hit that thumbs-up button to let us know
you enjoyed it.
We'll see you next time.