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104 responses total.

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Dole raisins

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Oreo Cookies

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Well, generally if it says "vegetarian" I avoid it...  Oreos are one
of those things that other people try to duplicate, come *this*
close, but never make exactly as good as the real thing.  They are
too darn expensive, however.

Dole canned pineapple
Kraft macaroni & cheese
(comment on Q-tips:  for several years I have been buying Q-tips
 for Dave, who cares, & cheaper house brands for the rest of us,
 who don't.  But we ran out of the "real" stuff lately and before
 I got to the store to replace it, Dave tried one from the Pharm
 box & pronounced them acceptable.  This is the house brand of
 Food Town supermarkets)

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Annie's Shells and Real Wisconsin Cheddar

Open Pit BBQ Sauces (if you don't make your own, that is).
Vernors

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 re 10. I have always found Open Pit to be a little to bitter and 
not sweet enough. For my .02 it's KC Masterpiece,Bulls-eye, and 
Ribs King. 
 RK tends to be a bit on the vinegary side, but adding a little KC to it
fixes it right up. ;)

Maybe we need an item for good blends ;)

Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup and Bounty paper towels.

Oh, yeah, I love that Cream of Mushroom soup; I use it in a lot of
different casseroles.  

chubs stackables

Pardon my ignorance, but what's a chub stackable?

chubs diaper wipes that come in a big lego-like container.  You
can buy refills for them or use them like giant building blocks.

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Ah yes, Valerie.  I have also discovered those jeans.  Now I am looking for
a place to get jeans configured to my configurations.  Jerry said he once
heard that Levis has such jeans but we can't find where to order them?
Anyone know?
{:{.

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Their jeans sure do cover a lot of variety ;->

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Does anyone know what the best brand of washing machine is?

A good idea for that information is to go to the library and check Concumers
Reports (That's consumer's reports).  I have really never gone wrong following
their recommendations.  A few years ago I got a Maytag and have never had
a problem with it.  The wash basket is a bit smaller than some but it has
all the features I wanted and is really a reliable machine.  I would still
check consumers for the latest ratings before I bought.

Thanks a lot for the suggestion. I'll try it.

I'm really skeptical about Consumer Reports.  I used to read it and take
it seriously, but then they did a few reviews of things that I actually
knew about.  Now that I've found out that they don't know what they're
talking about when I know enough to be able to tell, I'm not nearly as
trustingof their advice on things I don't know anything about.

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I generally buy what they recommend, unless I know *more* about it (as
suggested by scg). Its not a matter of whether you fully trust them or
not. How can you do better, with no other information? My only problem
with Consumer Reports is that the manufacturers have gotten a one-up on
them: many change their model numbers faster than the CR publication
schedule, so what you can buy is seldom what CR has tested (except for
major appliances). 

We bought a set of Whirlpool about 6 years ago.  Both were large capacity.
No problems with the gas dryer to date.  The solinoid that delivers hot
and/or cold water to the washer started dripping last summer.  I took it
apart in hopes of finding a bit of something stuck in the valve.  Nothing.
I found a solinoid valve, that had come out of a 25 year old Maytag, in my
junk box and replaced the drippy one with that.  No more drip!
While doing this, I found that there was a good size bubble in the hot
water supply hose.  Not wanting to turn the basment into a pool, I wacked
the bad end off and replaced the fitting.
I don't know about CR.  A few years back, looking for a new vacuum, I
consulted a back issue of CR.  When I went to the vacuum shop, the sales
person told me that they had discontinued the model CR had given its
highest rating.  Why?  Because it had long term service problems.  I've
run into other discrepancies too.

        The article that got me to stop trusting Consumer REports was a
bike review they did a few years ago.  I could definately do better
because it was something I knew about, but I think the average person who
knows next to nothing about bikes would probably have been able to do
better by picking a bike at random.  Their article was full of statements
that were just not true, as well as several judgements about component
quality that didn't stand up to my experience riding bikes with those
components, and didn't agree with anything I had read in bike magazines,
where the writers do generally know what they are talking about.
        Then there was the matter of how they were conducting their tests.
 There was one bike that they insisted should be recalled due to what they
thought was a serious fault with the brakes.  They showed pictures of how
they were doing their braking tests, and their testers had been jamming on
the front brake while leaning forward way over the handle bars, putting
their centers of gravety almost over the front hub (the correct way to
stop a bike fast is to brake hard  while sliding way back).  One of the
bikes flipped during their braking test, which they described as a very
serious flaw.  I don't think I would want to have to do a fast stop on a
bike that didn't have brakes strong enough to flip it they way they
were trying to stop.
        One thing that I have found works very well when buying something,
assuming I can find the right store, is to ask the salespeople.  Since the
store generally hears about things that break, they are likely to know of
any reliability problems that something may have, and most sales people
I've dealt with are generally willing to steer customers away from
unreliable products.  Of course that doesn't apply to all salespeople, so
it helps to go to a store that people you know have had good experiences with.
        Another thing that often helps is to read Usenet groups discussing
the particular product.  There are generally enough people out there that
somebody will have had experience with what you're looking for.  Does
anybody know if there's a Usenet group dealing with washing machines?

The one thing I don't like about Consumer Report's testing procedures is
that they often test only one of each model of whatever it is that they're
reporting on.  If they happen to select the one lemon out of a batch of 
excellent products, that model could be rated low.  And if they happen to
select the one good product out of a batch of defective products, that
model could be rated high.

I do like their listings/explanations of a product's various features and
options however, and have found them most helpful when making purchases.
They have made me aware of several things I never would have thought to
inquire about had I not read Consumer Reports before going shopping.

I have had a Whirlpool washer and dryer for 6 years and nothing has broke
down on me yet.  I'm happy with them.  I've also heard Maytag has had a very
good reputation for years, though I've had no personal experience with
that particular brand.

r.e. #31  Too bad I missed the bike testing article!  I once saw two little
girls ride their bikes down a steep, paved, grade with a fence at the bottom.
Both of their Huffy (discount store) bikes had good brakes because neither
of them flipped over the handle bars.  Instead they piled into the chain
link fence between the bike path and the R.R. tracks.

Well, regardless of what the naysayers say about consumer's reports, except for
their ratings on vacum cleaners, I have never been steered wrong when I take
their recommendations into account.  I don't merely go out and buy whatever
they recommend highest, but I use that as a starting point for my additional
investigation.  Especially for high priced, supposedly long lasting items.
Anyway, you are in luck, gannon.  I just received this months' issue and
guess what they reviewed?? Not just washingmachines, but detergent to use
in your newly acquired washing machine.  The top three rated machines are:
(drum roll please) Sears 25821, Armana LW8203W2 and Asko 10504. They talk
about the pros and cons of top load vs. front load. Then they give the
repair history for machines:  Best:  Kitchen Aide, Whirlpool, Hotpoint, Sears
and then Maytag (in that order).  The top rated detergent for the machine is
Tide with Bleach alternative.

Hope this is a little helpful.  But I still think you should take a look at
the whole article and see what they say about capacity, gentleness, etc.

Sears brand washer and dryers are/were made by Whirlpool to Sears specs.
Asko is a Swiss made unit and are quite well made.  $$ too!

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Are you using the liquid or the powder?  I am interested in trying it (most
of the kids' t-shirts are disgusting), but have always had problems with
powdered detergents clogging my washing machine.

My family has been using Tide Free ever since I started doing laundry, and
I've always been surprized by the things people said they couldn't wash
out.  Maybe Tide has spoiled me.

Boy did #36 sound like a commercial!  Now I'm interested.  What form did you 
use?

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