Product review: Pyle PSTM60 Pure Clean Steam Floor Mop and Sweeper

After using this steam mop for close to 2 months once or twice a week I am very pleased with it. It is easy to work with (under 9 pounds in weight) and it does a nice job cleaning.

This floor mop combines a sweeper and steam mop. The bottom of the mop has two parts: the front is a roller brush which picks up particles and the back part has a pad which cleans. With a new England winter we drag in a lot of stand that used to cover up ice spots. The brush did a very effective job collecting this sand in to a container so the pad was not as dirty as I expected after the cleaning was done. The dust container just lifts up when you need to empty it. I found that it is easier to empty not right after you clean, but before you clean the next time. The dust compartment gets some steam coming up from the floor, this makes some of the sand and dust absorb wetness and stick to the sides of the pan, so it is easier to empty the dust pan completely when it dries out.

This map is designed for sealed hard wood floors, tile, and vinyl floors. It also comes with a glider that can be attached to the bottom to use on carpets. The cleaning pads attach to the mop by Velcro. The bottom of the mop has heavy duty built in Velcro strips that grab on to the Velcro on the bottom of the mop. I suppose with time they will pick up dirt and will not hold as well, but so far the hold is very secure, the pad did not come off during cleaning and took a strong pull to remove it. The mop came with two micro fiber pads.

The mop came disassembled and was very easy to put together. The instruction were very clear (words and pictures), and the pieces fit together easily without any fussing.

From the floor to the tip of the handle is 47". The handle is not adjustable. I am 5'2" and found that height just right for me. It comes with a nice long cord which is 95".

I thought the mop did a fine job cleaning. The steam is released by a button on the handle. Pushing the mop on the tiles floor were easy. The mop head is fairly large (10.5" inches across) and there were some places where I wanted to clean but could not fit in in.

The mop is not perfect, some of the minor nits I have are

1) The water container is difficult to remove. It is large, smooth, and fits tightly into the base. There is nothing to grab on to pull it out.
2) After the cleaning some water drains onto the floor, so don't leave it on wood leave it on a surface that does not mind being wet. I found a plastic container cover which is almost the exact size as the mop head and when I store it I put the mop on top of this cover so any small amount of drainage stay on the plastic and evaporates.

Overall, I thought the mop did a nice job. It was easy to use, it did a nice job cleaning, and I liked how it swept up the sand before mopping so the pad remained fairly clean. The Velcro pads are still sticking well.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: computer mouse pad by Lovedonna

Lovedonna mouse pads come in great variety of designs. You can even send in your own photo to be made into a mouse pad. I selected the Boundless Universe and the Earth and Space designs. I like dark mouse pads but they both look attractive while being dark overall. I tried both pads with both optical and laser mice and both mice tracked well.

The mouse pad is 9.5" and 7.75", it is fairly thin 0.10". The design goes edge to edge. The backing is made out of non slip neoprene. The design is sealed and it is machine washable. I tested the colorfastness of the mouse pad by washing one of the two mouse pads and the water remained clear (see video).

Both mouse pads had a bit of a chemical scent. I left one mouse to air out and I washed the second mouse to test how well it washes as well as to see if this would remove the scent. Washing removed most of the scent right away, the mouse that I left airing out also lost the scent but it took about a week.

Overall, these are very nice mouse pads - they look good and the mice track well on them.


You can find Lovedonna Customizations on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Bestlight Ultra High Power 160 LED Video Light Panel with Shoe Adapter

I have been using this light for the last two weeks for every photo and video I include in my reviews.  I am very pleased with it.  What I found most useful is the ability to change the amount of light it generates with a simple turn of the knob.  The light coves with two filters and one diffuser. I like the color I get with the yellow filter as it matches my other light very well.  This light is always on, it does not communicate with the camera.  You can mount it on the camera shoe, but I use it mounted on tripod so I have more control of where the lighting goes.

The photo light is 4.5" by 3" and has 160 LED lights.  This light is not as bright as my 800W studio lights, but it works very well for table top photography, fill in light, or a light that you might put behind a model to put highlights in the hair.  In my video you see how I use this light on a small tripod for the table top photography.

The light can run using several different types of batteries. The light has connections for several different battery types (it comes without batteries).  I am using it with six AA batteries. It can also run from Panasonic lithium batteries and Sony lithium batteries.  The pack cover has an open design, meaning that the battery door is a frame keeping the batteries exposed.

Color temperature of the lights: 3200-5600K
The light weighs 9.8 oz, its size is 5.25" * 3.75" * 1.75", the area with lights is 4.5" x 3"

Overall, I like this light very much. It is easy to set up and easy to change the amount of light I get to fit any situation.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Cotton Hypoallergenic Pillow Encasement by Deneve® - White, 27" x 21" Standard Size

This is very nice pillow protector. In my video I pour several tablespoons of water and you can see how the water pools and does not go through the material.

The pillow cover finish feels like terry cloth material on top, and has water proof liner on the reverse side. Waterproof liner does not crinkle and feels soft.

The pillow cover is 27" x 21", standard pillow size is 26" x 20" so it is a little loose. It has a zipper closure. The fact that it is a little larger than standard size is the only thing that reduced the score from perfect to good.

Cleaning recommendation is to wash it in cold or warm water and either air dry it or dry it on low heat to prolong the life of the liner. I have washed and dried the cover and repeated my "tablespoon of water" test and the cover remained waterproof.

This is a nice pillow cover. I like it! If you have a drooler in your family a waterproof pillow cover is a must. It will be the pillow clean and fluffy for a long time.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Waterproof Mattress Protector by Deneve® - Queen Size, White, 60"W x 80"L x 18"D

I own a Luna mattress protector which is very similar to this mattress at twice the price ($23 vs $40 at the time I write this review).  The SleepGuard mattress cover finish feels like a terry cloth material on top, and has water proof liner on the reverse side. Waterproof liner does not crinkle and feels soft. In my video I pour several tablespoons of water on the cover and you can see how the water pools and does not go through the material.

The sides of the mattress cover are thin almost sheer material and are 16" long. My mattress is 10" long thus 6" of the cover need to be folded under the mattress to get a tight fit on top.  The mattress cover is rated to fit any mattress from 6" to 18".  It size is 60"W x 80"L x 18"D (where  60"W x 80"L is a standard Queen size mattress).

One of the things I was worried about is that a waterproof liner might be reflecting the heat of the bodies back up rather than absorbing the heat into the mattress and it might make me too warm but this has not been the case.  The mattress cover did not make feel warmer than normal.

Cleaning recommendation is to dry it on low heat to prolong the life of the liner.  I have washed and dried the cover and repeated my "tablespoon of water" test and the cover remained waterproof.

This is a nice mattress cover at a good price.  I like it!
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Satechi ReadMate LED Desktop Magnifier

It has been a while since my vision has been 20/20. I can still read well lit things without my reading glasses, but the lack of bright light and small font are my biggest enemies when it comes to reading. Satechi ReadMate LED magnifier makes it easy to read tiny font labels and fine small details of any object. In attached video I show some examples, the difference is amazing.

The magnifier is 3.5" in diameter, with a magnifying glass diameter 2.75". Magnification is 5X. Inside the lens there are three bright LED lights which run on two CR2016 battries (3V lithium). When you insert the batteries they need to place with the writing facing outside. Inside the lens there is a switch that allows you to turn on the light. When the switch is in "ON" position pressing down on the silver ring turns on the lights.

IMPORTANT: When you are not using the magnifier change the switch to "OFF" position. I left the switch ON but even when the lights timed out they continued draining the battery and 24 hours later the LED light were very dim. A new pair of batteries made them very bright again.

The magnifier comes with a very nice hard case, which protects the glass and micro fiber cloth for cleaning the lens.

Excellent! Makes my eyes feel young again!


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: amzdeal Pixel Cube Portable Compact Bluetooth Speaker Mini Wireless Speaker

This speaker looks pretty cool - it looks like it is made out of small black cubes. It has a mat black finish. It works both with Bluetooth devices and comes with a 3.5mm audio jack cable for those devices that are not bluetooth enabled. The speaker weights 13.6 oz and is sized 3.5" x 3.5" x 3.5". It is not large, but not what I would consider to be travel size.

I am attaching a video which has a short snippet of music to demonstrate the speaker's sound. I like using Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor to test various speakers, because I noticed that some speakers cannot handle the deep base sections of this music, they begin to crackle or hiss. This gives me an easy way to compare different speakers - can they handle it or not.

Pixel Cube handled Bach's Toccata well, it sounded good through out. In the video you can see me switching between the Magic Cube and built-in speakers of the tablet. You can hear that the speaker produce the sound that is noticeably richer and louder than the sound the the built-in speaker. You cannot make it super loud to fill the room, but at this price range you would not expect that type of performance.

If you use the audio jack, the buttons on the front of the cube are disabled. If you want to control the volume of the speaker, you need to adjust the sound using the audio device it self. Note that if audio jack is connected you cannot enable or use bluetooth.

Pairing the bluetooth required holding down the multi-function power button for a few seconds, until female voice said "ready". If you let go of the button after the beep before the "ready" the connection is not established. The device appeared as "Pixel Cube" on my iPad Mini. The bluetooth connection is remembered when the speaker is powered off and does not need to be re-enabled. In the bluetooth mode the buttons on the front of the cube are operational.

Charging the speaker takes relatively short time, it took me 1.5 hours to fully charge the speaker. A full charged battery lasts 4 to 6 hours playing music. In the stand-by mode the battery lasts 100 hours according to documentation.

I received this speaker for testing and an honest review (whether positive or negative) from the manufacturer. I thought this speaker sounds good and has a unique look. It is a reasonable choice for a speaker in the $30 price range.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★