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Skip the Stain Removers. This Laundry Detergent Is All You Need.

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One of the best things about working at Wirecutter is having access to exceptionally discerning experts on a wide range of topics. Have a mold problem in your house? Liam McCabe is just a Slack message away. Want to revive a pilly sweater ? Zoe Vanderweide ’s got you. And when it comes to laundry, Andrea Barnes is the preeminent expert on getting things clean. Even as someone who has been knee-deep in cleaning for years now, I’m always learning something new from Andrea about the chemistry of laundry detergents and how the ingredients in each formula work together to get stains and odors out of clothing. She explained to me, for example, that instead of adding borax to weaker laundry detergent for better odor removal, I could save time and money by using one of our laundry detergent picks instead. And since I’m sensitive to scent and artificial fragrance, Andrea suggested Tide Free & Gentle. In our testing, Tide Free & Gentle's formula proved to be excellent at odor...

A Heat Pump Might Be Right for Your Home. Here’s Everything to Know.

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Sign up for Wirecutter’s newsletters  to get independent reviews, expert advice, and the very best deals sent straight to your inbox. Heat pumps are good for the world—and, in many cases, for your wallet, too. They’re the most energy-efficient way to handle both heating and cooling in your home; they may also be the most affordable choice in the long term, once you factor in the decreased utility bills and the potential tax credits and incentives , depending on the state you live in. Heat pumps are usually better for the environment , too, and are generally considered to be one of the best ways for homeowners to reduce their carbon footprint without sacrificing comfort. They also happen to rank among the quietest and most comfortable options available for home heating and cooling. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/nQRwCrd via IFTTT

The Best Spot Cleaner, According to Wirecutter’s Laundry Expert

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In this edition of Clean Everything, we’re talking about one of the most versatile and gentle spot cleaners we’ve ever tested. Most stain removers work best to target one specific type of stain: pizza dribbles, foundation makeup, grass. But this spray-on stain remover (one of this year’s 71 Best New Picks ) is the rare jack-of-all-trades. In our resident laundry expert Andrea Barnes’ tests, it worked just as well at eradicating blood as it did coffee and grease. And its fast- and clear-drying formula is gentle on all sorts of fabrics — it even brightened up the grimy old carpet in our office. “We were instantly impressed,” Andrea writes, adding that it’s far more effective than many TikTok-famous stain-removal products claim to be. And the pros swear by it: Everyone from Broadway costumers eradicating stains backstage to the dry cleaners hired by the Royal Opera House in London have name-checked this spray. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/PwGWog7 v...

The 45 Best Gifts for Grandparents

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The greatest gift for most grandparents may be spending time with their grandkids, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t also appreciate a little something. After all, they do have interests beyond their immediate family. We’ve scoured our guides and polled our colleagues to find the very best things to delight grandparents, including a deluxe bird-watching station for nature lovers, master classes for the eternally curious, comfort for gardeners , and snacks for the gourmands. And if the grandkids really are their favorite thing, we have gifts for that, too. Check out dozens of other gift possibilities for your grandma and grandpa in our many gift guides, including the best retirement gifts , gifts for frequent travelers , gifts under $50 , the best gifts for Mom , and the best gifts for Dad . from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/Apsi6oL via IFTTT

The Best Bike Helmet for Commuters

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No one ever plans on crashing their bike. But if you ride long enough, even the most casual commuter will take a tumble, which is why you should always wear a helmet. (Case in point: I crashed six times while working on this guide.) Over the past 12 years, we’ve tested more than 30 helmets to determine that the Met Downtown Mips is the best bike helmet for most commuters. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/MAHB81G via IFTTT

This Cleaning Powder Was Invented in the 1880s. It Still Keeps My Kitchen Gear Looking New.

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In a time-honored tradition, marriage gave me a life partner and my first good kitchen gear — including two shiny All-Clad skillets . During that first year of marriage, between hosting dinner parties and cooking extravagant meals for two, I’d admire the glimmering skillets, which seemed to symbolize, in a small way, adulthood. Sure, I was hitched. But heck yeah, I’d finally gotten heirloom-quality cookware! Inevitably, though, the gleam faded. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/qfJCWuR via IFTTT

The Best Hybrid Bike

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If you’re seeking a bike for your daily commute and your weekend exercise, a fitness hybrid — that is, a road bike with flat handlebars — may be the right choice. Over the past nine years, we’ve spent 60 hours sifting through nearly 75 options, test-ridden more than a dozen bikes, and concluded that the Marin Fairfax 1 is the best hybrid for most people. It provides a stable, comfortable ride on city streets, and it’s a better value now than when we first tested it. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/Gnzob08 via IFTTT