Product review: Mobility aid Long Reach Comfort Wipe

After a serious back surgery twisting became practically impossible.  Luckily there are various tools that aid personal hygiene for people who have this mobility limitation. When I was in rehabilitation facility they recommended Self-Wipe Bathroom Toilet Aid which I purchased.
That tool worked but it was not ideal.  Then I decided to get a second aid so I would have one in each bathroom and purchased this product.

Long Reach Comfort Wipe works much better! It grips the paper better the other one, the rubbery head (rather than smooth plastic) gives you a better wipe, it uses less toilet paper, you never get your hands dirty because of how the ejection button works.

This is a simpler, cheaper option, that is engineered better!

Almost a year later this tool still works well. I even take it with me when I travel.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Organize It All Metro Towel Rack Bathroom

This a simple modern looking towel rack which is sized 11.6" depth x 24.4" width x 29.5" height.

I am attaching several photos showing an empty rack as well as a rack with a bath towel. The stock photo has a small towel which might make it appear larger than it is. I am also attaching a photo of a unpackaged box, as the box surprised me by its small size. The box shows the weight of the box and that the product was made in Taiwan.

The rack is chrome colored, some parts of it are plastic (like end caps) silver in color. The rack is very light, lighter than other chrome items I have in my bathroom. The parts do make metal noise when they clank so it is not all plastic, but rather very thin tubing of chrome. Never the less when it was put together it felt reasonably sturdy. I could make it flex if I pushed on one corner, but it did not warble in regular use.

The rack went together amazingly easy. I needed no tools. I just twisted all the parts together as shown on instructions and everything fit easily and perfectly. It took me less than 10 minutes. I am attaching a photo of instruction page as it gives a good idea of what is involved.

I liked

1) I liked the style
2) I liked the depth and the fact that the bars are even (I can use it as a "shelve" when I need a flat surface in the bathroom)
3) I was very impressed with how easy it was put to together and how well everything fit together

I did not like

1) Nothing really, other than I cannot speak to longevity of materials as I only had it for a few days.

Overall, good looking towel rack that makes my bathroom look better than the old one. I recommend it.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: simplehuman Slim Sink Caddy, Stainless Steel

It has been over a year since the purchase. I am still very pleased with it. Though this entire year I had to re-stick it only once. The suction cups hold really well. 

This sink caddy is very well designed. It is roomy (I am attaching a photo showing that it holds 4 of my cleaning "instruments" - two pads and two brushes) yet slim enough not to be in the way. It has holes in the bottom of the caddy so the cleaning pads drain into sink. The hanging mechanism is very good. The hanger rests on the lip of the sink, and the suction caps on the back get stuck to the side of the sink. The instruction say that the hanger is adjustable and can be squeezed to change its height, but I did not have to do it (it was perfect with height it arrived). The caddy is made out of rust-proof material, but of course, I have not had a chance to verify that since I only had it for a few weeks.

Dimensions:
6.5" width x 2" depth x 3.25" height
The caddy extends away from the side of the sink depth+suction cups, which is 2.5 inches.
The lip of the hanger is 2". The height of the hanger is adjustable, set to 2" on arrival.

The caddy is convenient, my kitchen sink is more organized, and it has not been in my way once. I placed it at the far right corner (I am right-handed) as shown on the attached photo. This is a nice little gadget and I recommend it.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Book review: Prescriptive Stretching by Kristian Berg

I recently had a serious back surgery and after 4 months of physical therapy was looking for a book that would help me to continue with a stretching protocol on my own. Unfortunately this book was not as helpful to me as I hoped.

What I liked:
1) The book has nice diagrams
2) Does not require special equipment

What I did not like:
1) I found some diagrams and explanations hard to follow, even when I read them many times
2) I would have liked to see more options for each exercise
3) There were not a lot exercises specificity for the back

To help you make the decision about the book here are a bit more details about the content of the book:
* The first 24 pages go over the basics of why you need to stretch, muscular system, joints, general principles of stretching.
* Pages 25 to 39 cover neck stretches
* Pages 40 to 67 cover upper body stretches
* Pages 49 to 77 cover lower body stretches
* Pages 78 to 82 cover obliques
* Pages 83 to 107 more lower body stretches
* Pages 108 to 117 more upper body stretches
* Pages 119-132 diagnosis of pain and symptoms that require professional help

Bottom line: By reading other reviews it feels that this books fits a professional in the field of physical therapy best. But as a beginner with a back problem I did not find this book to be a good fit. I do my best to follow it for the general stretches, but had to get another book for the lower back.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: GE 50 Pint ADER50LN Basement Dehumidifer

I have been using a dehumidifier in the basement to get rid of the "basement" smell. When my old model stopped working I purchased GE ADER50LN based on Consumer Reports recommendation as their Best Buy. Consumer Reports indicated that models that remove 60 to 70 pints of moisture per day (i.e. the larger models) usually remove the moisture faster and thus use less energy than the smaller ones. I just received my first electric bill and I can see that it is lower than with the old model.

What I like:
1) More efficient, lower electricity cost
2) There is a light that tells you when the filter needs changing
3) It has a timer
4) It has a digital display
5) It has frost control

 

To evacuate water directly into the drain (so I don't have to empty the bucket manually), I purchased a pump. A small tube empties the water from the dehumidifier into the pump (rather than into the internal bucket). The pump pumps the water into a longer tube which drains into the the same drain where the water from the washing machine does. All I had to do is to purchased a PVC drain splitter in a home improvement store and attach it to the drain I had for washing machine.

I am attaching the photo to illustrate my explanation. The white PVC pipe in the photo is the piece I attached, the beige PVS pipe is the original pipe. I cut down the original pipe so the new pipe would be at a similar height after I attached it.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: White Dutch Clover Seed

 Early last spring I purchased 5 pound bag of White Dutch Clover on Amazon.  I have been very pleased with it. The germination rate of the clover I received was excellent during the fist some.  I had a little bit of it left over and replanted the left over seed this spring and they came in beautifully as well.

I took pictures (posted at the end of the review)  with the progress of my clover lawn.
Photo #1: clover lawn after 5 days
Photo #2: clover lawn after 15 days
Photo #3 & #4: clover after 23 days, clover after 23 days close-up
Photo #5 clover after 30 days
Photo #6 clover after 45 days -> appearance of flowers, this is my final photo

I have a lot of lawn and due to back problems limited ability to care for it as well as I should to keep it nice and green. Following a construction project late last fall a large area of my lawn became a patch of clay. After reading about eco lawns I decided to try to reseed the bold patch with clover rather than grass. I selected white Dutch clover because it is low growing (it reaches 4 inches when it matures) and was rated well for the North East region where I live.

I liked that Clover is a perennial and will propagate on its own. I like that Clover helps grass grow. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria that form nodules on the roots of the clover fix nitrogen from the air and increases the nitrogen in the lawn helping the grass to grow. What was important to me that clover grows vigorously even in poor soil, which is exactly what I have.

I read that the ideal time to plant is mid-April before grass starts growing quickly and provides competition for water. It can be planted later in the season as well, by then watering frequently becomes crucial for clover lawn establishment. I planted my clover in the third week of April, seeding some over the new grass that just started growing, some in the clay left by the construction, and some over patches that had dead grass.

Some information I found indicates that you need both clover AND grass to make a "clover lawn" as they are complementary in their ecological functioning and one supports the other. By planting my clover in several ways I will be able to see if I also need to add grass seed to the clover lawn.

The instructions said not to spread them by hand, so I came up with the following solution. I used a large spice bottle (the kind you get at Costco) and opened the side with the round holes and used it as a shaker to spread the seeds.

I watered daily (if there was no rain). The instructions said you only need to do it for 7 to 10 days, but I am watering to insure good growth.

One section of my lawn which included clover is mowed regularly once a week. The clover did not survive many weeks of mowing. It came back a couple of times, but eventually died out completely. A section that has not been mowed still has healthy looking clover.

In the fall the regular mowing ended and I am happy to report that the clover came back in the section which was regularly mowed and where it stopped growing during the summer!

The clover wintered fairly well and I saw plenty of re-growth this spring.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product Review: Suncast Rust Resistant Metal Garden Hose Guide

I own several sets of Suncast rust resistant metal garden hose guides.  The oldest set is 4 years old and it still looks good, no rust.  In attached photo the image in the garden shows the oldest guide and you see that it still looks like new despite being outside for 4 years.

I use the garden guides not only for regular water hoses (for example when I wash my car and want to guide the hose between the flowers to avoid damaging my flower beds) but also to guide my drip irrigation drip tubes.  These guides are sturdier and more attractive than the typical plastic stakes that are used with the drip irrigation system. I use these metal guides on the drip irrigation lines that don't end with emitters and thus have the water come out with more force.  The small plastic stakes can't always handle the initial force of the water and move a bit from where I want them to deposit water, but these metal guides work great.

PHOTOS:

1. Photo #1 shows the set of two guides in this order, placed on grid mat for size reference (detailed size info below)
2. Photo #2 shows one of the guides on a digital scale, it comes in as 12.6 oz
3. Photo #3 shows the 4 year old guide holding my drip irrigation line, you can see how I threaded the small holes to place the drip irrigation tubing exactly where I wanted

SIZE:

1. The length of the spike is 11"
2. The width between the two legs of the spike is 3"
3. The big opening for the regular size house is 2"
4. The entire width of the top part is 6.5"
5. The two small openings at the top which I use for the drop line are a bit under 1"

Overall, very pleased the guide and multiple uses I get out of it.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★