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Proven Helpers Review of Shark Lift Away Professional Steam Pocket Mop model # S3901

2016-01-10T16:40:44-05:00

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In today’s post I’m going to give you the nitty gritty about the Shark Lift Away Professional Steam Pocket Mop model # S3901 and ones just like it.

Several years ago I bought my first Shark Steam Mop and fell in love with it, simply because I hated dealing with dirty mops and sponges to clean the floor. When I was a teenager, I worked at Au Bon Pain, and at night we had to mop the floor with a disgusting floor mop, that instantly tainted the hot water and floor cleaner in the mop bucket, because no one ever ran it through a washer.

Ever since then, I hated the thought of cleaning a floor with something that’s already dirty and stinky. That’s where my love affair with the Shark Steam Mop generated from.

Steam mops are very sanitary and you can wash the pads in your washing machine to ensure that you don’t spread flit all over your floor when you’re supposed to be cleaning it. You can also buy additional cleaning pads that you can dedicate for certain rooms, which is another fantastic idea. That way you can always have a clean pad to mop with on hand.

Our first Shark Steam Mop broke because in the 2 years I owned it, I never used distilled water like the manual instructed me to do. One day in year 2 the steam mop barely functioned, but I got it to work for a little while by using some CLR and pipe cleaners to clean the blockage. I made a YouTube video for my subscribers and that video has helped 230,416 people fix their Shark Steam Mops using my methods. My original Shark Steam Mop unfortunately developed another problem and broke soon after.

Well, there’s no doubt in my mind that my neglect for pure distilled water is what killed my original Shark Steam Mop. So I always wanted to replace it, but my wife didn’t like the idea of paying $100 or more for a floor mop. Then one day while we were in Bed Bath and Beyond, I noticed Shark made a new product, one that would seemingly make my life a lot better! Yes, I’m talking about the Shark Lift Away Professional Steam Pocket Mop model # S3901.

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Not Just A Steam Mop Anymore, It Can Steam Clothes and Steam Clean Anything

I love that the Shark Pocket Mop had a detachable garment steamer or steam cleaner depending on what attachments you fix to it. I instantly thought that I could steam out the wrinkles in my shirts and even steam clean my bathroom fixtures with it. The possibilities seemed endless, but at the time the Shark Lift Away Pocket Mop was going for more than $150.

Being the charming husband that I am, I convinced my wife Kawshi, that this steam mop is going to make cleaning fun, and I’ll even offer to steam clean the floors as long as she vacuums. Before long, I was on Amazon ordering my Shark Steam Mop for a measly $100 bucks! Why so cheap? Well Amazon has killer deals, you know that!

Well since I bought the New Shark Steam Pocket Mop months ago, I’ve had the chance to really experiment with it and decided to post my thoughts for those who are thinking of buying one.

Watch my latest video where I test the steam cleaning function of my brand new Shark Steam Pocket Mop in to steam clean my shower fixtures.

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Shark Steam Mop As A Mop

I’m a big fan of steam cleaning the floors in our house instead of using our leaky Rubbermaid Reveal Spray Mop. Yes that mop has pads you can wash but over time, they begin to leak and rust and we already threw one out because of it.

Anyways, the only thing you need to do prior to mopping is run the vacuum. This is especially important if you have pets that shed hair. Also I noticed that all the women in our family seem to shed hair when their working on their hair, so you may want to vacuum those areas too.

Please don't forget to use distilled water in your Shark Steam Mop and take a few minutes to read the instructions. I typically never read instructions either, but since I broke my last one, I made sure to do so this time around.

What Flooring Types I Steam Mopped Already?

Linoleum in The Kitchen

We have a cream colored linoleum floor in the kitchen that’s always the first to show signs of life LOL. Yeah it’s pretty hard to keep this floor clean, probably because it’s so light in color. Also we tend to wear our shoes in the house and our Russian Blue cat Lucky is the messiest eater ever. My wife jokes and says that he gets that trait from me, and I have to admit that I should probably wear a bib, anytime I’m eating something messy.

I once scrubbed the linoleum floor on my hands and knees using a scrubbing sponge and a razor blade. That was right after we moved in and finished completely remodeling our bathroom, as well as other areas of the house. You can say that I’m really handy, and that’s another reason why I have a YouTube Channel that’s focused on How-to Videos. But honestly I’m addicted to getting new subscribers and video likes so I make how-to videos on almost every project I do; and trust me, I do a lot of projects every year! Right now as of this posting I have a 1 terabyte hard drive completely filled with videos I recorded that still need to be edited.

The Shark Steam Pocket Mop on Oak and Bamboo Wood Flooring

We have light oak flooring in most of our house, and a rich cherry looking bamboo floor that I installed in the master bedroom. Both floors look amazing after we steam mop them with the new Shark Pocket Mop. After we’re done mopping, we admire how the shiny floors make our house look sparkling clean. Even though prior to cleaning the wood floors look good, there’s just something about steam cleaning them that makes the room pop right after.

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Steam Cleaning Tile Floors

We have semi gloss 1 foot porcelain tiles in our entry way that are out dated and on my to do list. Our entry way is tiny. So steam cleaning these tiles is a cinch, thanks to the extra-long cord on the Shark Pocket Mop and my super handy lithium powered Black & Decker Pivot vacuum that sucks up Luck’s hairballs and outside specs of dirt beforehand. No other portable vacuum can hang with this little sucker. If you thought about getting a portable vacuum like the old Dustbusters, consider your research done and just buy this one (http://bit.ly/mini-vac) . You’ll thank me later for sure!

Steam Cleaning Modern 12” x 24” Porcelain Tile

When we bought our house, we had a small half bath in the master bedroom, and a common bathroom in the hallway that had an outdated lime green tub, toilet, and sink. I gutted both bathrooms including the plumbing, walls, subfloor, ceiling, and electrical work. Once I was done you could gaze up from my garage right past where the bathrooms used to be and right into my attic!

I drafted the new plans in Chief Architect and slowly my wife and I found shower fixtures, tile, and everything else. The tile we chose for the bathroom floor is really nice, it looks like marble or travertine, but it’s actually porcelain. We spent days looking through different tile stores, when we had to pop over to Home Depot for some plumbing materials. We both noticed this gorgeous 12” x 24” tile that we thought was travertine, but it was porcelain instead! We bought 10 boxes or so right then and there and it cleans up wonderfully with the new Shark Steam Mop.

Shark Fabric Steam Thoughts

One I wanted to buy Shark’s most expensive steam mop was the portable handheld steamer function. I used the Garment Steamer with Brush on our black out curtain that we hang over our living rooms window and backdoor in the winter. This curtain is a wrinkly mess out of the dryer, so you have to iron it or use a fabric steamer to release the wrinkles.

So I tried using the fabric steaming ant it went fairly well but here’s my recommendations to anyone considering using this option themselves. I found that it helps to keep the fabric stretched out, because if you leave the fabric or garment loose, it takes a lot longer to remove wrinkles.

Also the steamer only seems to work when it’s upright, so if your steaming a curtain that hangs to the floor, the last foot and a half are going to remain wrinkled unless you have someone pull the curtain up so that you can get to that last foot. Also you can try putting the curtain or whatever your working on, on your mattress.

I will be posting several videos showing what this Shark Steam Pocket Mop can do on my YouTube Channel “ProvenHerlper”, subscribe to see them.

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Top 10 4k TVs under $1,300

2015-11-15T21:29:53-05:00

Brand	Model	Type	Refresh Rate	Overall	Movies	Sports	Games	Living Room	Sound	Store	Price	Rating	Reviews
Samsung	UN48JS8500	4k	120	8.3	8.4	8.5	8.7	7.9	6.8	BestBuy	$1,299	4.8	103
Samsung	UN50JU7100	4k	120	8.1	8.2	7.8	8.7	7.9	6.6	BestBuy	$1,299	4.7	56
Sony	XBR55X810C	4k	120	8.0	8	8.4	8.9	7.1	5.9	BestBuy	$1,099	3.7	27
Sony	XBR55X850C	4k, 3D	120	7.7	8.2	7.3	8.2	7.4	5.9	BestBuy	$1,299	4.5	555
Vizio	M55-C2	4k	60	7.7	8.4	6.9	7.8	7.5	6.4	BestBuy	$849	4.6	450
Samsung	UN55JS7000	4k	60	7.6	5.8	8.1	9.3	8.2	6.7	BestBuy	$999	4.7	158
Samsung	UN55JU6500	4k	60	7.5	7	7.5	8.4	7.4	6.6	BestBuy	$949	4.7	933
Samsung	UN55JU6700	4k, Curved	60	7.4	7.4	7.1	8.2	7.6	6.6	BestBuy	$1,099	4.7	492
Sharp	LC-55UB30U	4k	60	7.2	7.4	7.3	6.9	7.1	6	BestBuy	$799	4	142
LG	49UF7600	4k	60	7.0	6.1	7.3	7.9	7.4	6.2	BestBuy	$899	4.7	21

If you're looking to buy a 4k TV, you just saved yourself a lot of hours of research. These are the best 4K TVs on the market right now, and all of them are under $1300. In the chart there's prices from BestBuy as well as how much total customer reviews the LED TVs have there. The rating next to the BB price is the review average from BestBuy customers. The overall rating next to the refresh rate is from a site called Rtings.

Click the "Overall" number for each TV to open a another browser tab with details about the TV from Rtings.

Having problems seeing the entire chart on your smartphone?

Click the thumbnail to get a photo of the chart that you can re-size on your phone. My chart includes only the most important information you need to make an educated buying decision.

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Picking a Great Living Room TV

A 55" LED TV is a great size for a living room, but going bigger can be a lot better. Living rooms are usually bright, so I would go for a mid-range model (usually over $1,000) or better, because the cheaper models will look very dark on sunny days. We have a Samsung UN55F6400AF (was $1300) and it works great in our living room, which faces south and gets drenched with sunlight during the day. If your living room stays fairly dark, you might get away with less expensive models.

Knowing Which TV Specifications Are Important And Which Ones Are Marketing Gimmicks?

There's only a few specs to look for when buying a new LED TV, and marketing jargon makes comparing between models a lot more difficult these days intentionally. Don't worry, I'll show you what specifications you really need to know and also where you can get specs that the manufacturer doesn't want you to know.

Contrast Ratio: Contrast ratios used to be a valid spec to compare against, but lately manufacturers make up their own numbers, making this spec meaningless. You're best bet is to find data measured by companies who buy and test TVs with sophisticated measuring equipment. CNET and Rtings can help you dig deeper into the models you're considering.

Refresh Rate: This spec is important but unfortunately marketing people have gone crazy here again by adding loads of useless new terms like Motion Rate, Clear Motion Rate, and so on. LED TVs typically come in 60Hz, 120Hz, and 240Hz panels. But each brand calculates its own type of "motion blur rate" based on its own proprietary technology and provides some ridiculous number to go with it.

The bottom line is this, 60Hz is good fro most TV watching, but 120Hz is more versatile by allowing you to watch fast moving video without blurring the object that's moving; like a moving car. So a faster refresh rate is great for Sports, Gaming, and fast paced Action movies. However, some of these motion rate technologies can make movies look too quick and making high budget movies like Avatar, look so fake that it ruins the entire movie. I remember the first time I saw Avatar with this on, and it was so bazaar looking, that I would describe the scene like a public access show created by a couple of kids with some blue paint. Seriously, if you researched this phenomena you'll find that most people turn off motion rate enhancing technologies, thus reducing the panel to it's factory refresh rate, because they hate how fake everything looks with it on. That's why you need to find out the real refresh rate and forget about any type of motion rate all together.

Resolution: There's really just 2 resolutions worth carrying about 1080p and 4k, which translates to 1920x1080 and 3840 x 2160. Although 4K is truly breathtaking at times and "all that and a bag of cookies", it is also not mainstream yet. There's very little content, and most cable companies don't carry any 4K content!

I'm a computer geek in my free time when I'm not a car loving gearhead geek, or a tinkering do-it-yourselfer. My point is, I know just how hard it's going to be to get copper wire based cable companies to run fiber optic cable everywhere so that 4K content can actually be delivered to your home. You can't deliver 4K through the existing infrastructure because it's just too much data for copper wire to handle, especially if you consider if everyone had even 60 4K channels.

However, Amazon Prime, Netflix, YouTube, M-Go, UltraFlix, and a few other technologies are helping you get that 4K content before cable does! So it is possible to watch 4K today, although the real good stuff is coming in the near future.

Sound Watts in RMS: If you're not getting a sound-bar or surround sound, you need to considir TVs with good speakers builtin. Typically you want to look for the highest watts rated in RMS. Peak watts or watts without the RMS spec is not as meaningful for comparing against other TVs.

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Considering The Specs You Really Need For A Bedroom TV

Bedroom TV’s typically get little use when compared to living room sets, so I’m going to share with you some of the options you can go without to keep the cost down.

Do you really need 4K in the bedroom?

First, you can most likely skip 4K sets all together, unless you’re packing greenbacks like Donald Trump. 4K televisions have to be large 50”or more to truly get the 4K benefit, and you should sit less than 8’ away as well. If you’re going to be positioned farther than 8’ and you’re thinking of going smaller than 50 inches, you should probably consider a 1080p TV like we did.

What’s the right screen brightness and contrast ratio for a bedroom TV?

Unless your bedroom is bright during the time you plan to do your bedroom TV viewing, you can opt for cheaper TV models from any of the big brands like Sony, Samsung, Vizio, & LG. Brightness counts in sun drenched living rooms, but no so much in bedrooms; especially if night viewing will be the primary viewing you do.

How fast should the refresh rate be for a typical bedroom TV?

A fast refresh rate is necessary for gaming, action movies, & watching sports. Most of the time you can stick with a 60hz set for the bedroom and never even notice what you’re missing. But if you do plan to hook up your XBOX or Sony Playstation to the TV, look for 120hz models. Also don’t bother caring too much about clear motion rates.

Do I take my own advice?

Hell yeah I do! I don’t write these articles just to kill time you know. My purpose is to help people buy what they need, because a lot of sales and marketing people use all types of tricks to fool you into thinking you need options when in reality you really don’t.

Since I became an entrepreneur in 2004, I became a voracious reader and that includes a lot of sales and marketing books. I probably read more than 20 of the best sales books ever written. And yes, even when it comes to books, I go OCD with my research and look for the best out there.

The Bedroom Television Was Meant To Be

We just bought a UN55J6200AFXZA for $560 on sale at BestBuy. The strange thing is that that model was supposed to be $650 on-sale from its $750 retail price. We are BestBuy ElitePlus members, so possibly we had a different sale price because of it. However, when the clerk was checking us out, he didn’t believe the price himself and redid the transaction twice just to cover his ass. I couldn’t blame him, but I was really happy about the ‘new’ unexpected sale price because originally my wife “Kawshi’, didn’t want me to spend more than the $550. Why $550? I convinced her we’re getting a VIZIO E55-C2 because the Samsung was out of my price range.

The Samsung J6200 TV is great for the bedroom, albeit a little on the large size at 55”. But being a business owner, I have to spend money each year to maximize my tax write-offs. By writing this article, I can officially write it off now.

The TV is not very bright when compared to my living room Samsung UN55F6400AF, and the Smart TV software is not as robust either. The new TV simply has a line of apps across the bottom of the screen, while the older Samsung has a full screen menu with several pages of apps and smart features. On top of all those lack luster features it’s also a slow 60Hz 1080p set! So yes, I do take my advice and you should too if you like getting your advice from a research-a-holic that won many awards from the Better Business Bureau for Consumer Education several years in a row!

More Awesome Shopping Guides You Can't Miss

Top 10 Gadgets for The House Everyone Needs

Affordable and Awesome Gifts for Men

Top 10 Home Automation Gadgets to Buy For Christmas & Birthday Gifts

Christmas Gift Guide for Men: Manly Gifts for the Guys in Your Life

How Am I Doing?

Hey this 4K TV Buying Guide is still being edited so keep checking back, because it's going to get a lot better! Send me your input on my Facebook Page.

Top 10 Gadgets That Every Savvy Homeowner Should Own

2015-10-30T14:23:33-04:00

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We are some of the luckiest people who have lived so far. I say that because we’re living in an age where most of us have the spare income to buy a gadget whenever we want. Whether we are upgrading our smartphones, buying something new to entertain us, or simply getting stuff to make life easier, most of us can’t live without the Amazon’s, BestBuy’s, or NewEgg’s of the world.

If you’re anything like me, I’m sure you also bought things that didn’t live up to their hype. We all been there before. Somewhere along my journey I got so fed up with misleading marketing, I became a full blown research-a-holic. And honestly, it has really paid off in terms of getting great products that just work.

Now I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I can do my research in a brisk 30 minutes and get on with my day, nope that is not how it works. Gone are the days of mostly pure honest reviews, so for the past several years I’ve been digging deep, real deep into customer reviews to uncover the average user experience.

So the secret to buying great stuff is really no secret, it is just lots of OCD research on the most popular websites selling the gadget you’re after. if you don't have the time, which most people don't these days, your best bet is to find an OCD researcher like myself who already did the agonizing work for you. Enjoy the list, and let me known what you think on my Facebook page.

Top 10 Gadgets You Won't Be Able To Live Without After Using Them

1. Super Powerful Dustbuster

2. Worlds Easiest Can Opener

3. Nice & Simple Rice Cooker

4. Beautiful Multi-tasking Tablet

5. Super Zoom Camera

6. A Dyson Vac Fit for Tyson

7. Steam Mop, Iron, Cleaner

8. Electric Tea

9. Car Smartphone Holder

10. Amazon Fire with Kodi TV

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Black + Decker BDH2000PL Max Lithium Pivot Vacuum / Dustbuster

I purchased mine in December of 2014 and used this bad boy a lot! I used to own an old school Black & Decker Dustbuster which was great but the battery sucked and that made the product just okay.

This model features a very powerful fade free 20 volt lithium ion battery that just lasts and lasts. But the reason that battery is awesome is not just because of how long it lasts, but how long the vacuum provides full power suction with zero fade in performance until the very last minute. I believe I timed it at around 12 minutes of running non stop.

What To Love: Easy clean up after pets, kitty litter, dust bunnies, fur, dry spills in the kitchen, car vacuuming between seats thanks to the pivoting slender head, and any time you need a quick touch up vacuum. We also own a Dyson Ball which is fantastic, but I hate pulling it out and unraveling the 20’ cord. This Black + Decker portable vacuum is one of my favorite gadgets around the house and most people that see it in action, end up buying one of their own. That’s why I put it on my list of must have gadgets for the house.

Hamilton Beach 76607 Smooth Touch Can Opener

I bought mine in November of 2014, so the verdict is in. My wife and I love this thing! First of all, I’ve used many other brands and types and none of them are as easy, as clean, and as safe. This can opener cuts the can from the side, basically delaminating the top of the can from the can body. You can then put the top back on and put the canned good back in the fridge if you wanted to.

Before this can opener, our previous electric can opener would chew up the label on our tuna fish cans and create a very sharp jagged edged top. But it also was a pain in the ass to get started in the first place. I always hated it and couldn’t believe there wasn’t something better, until I found this one.

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What To Love: Guaranteed you’ll throw your other can openers into the garbage after opening your first can of anything. You’ll be amazed the first time you use it because it won’t even look like it opened the can, until you try lifting off the lid. That’s the moment you’ll realize the other electric can openers are horribly engineered, even the manual ones. You’ll probably show it off to family and friends and again, they will jump on the band wagon and buy on too!

Aroma 20 Cup Rice Cooker and Food Steamer

An electric rice cooker makes cooking rice easy and dummy proof. Basically your non cooking man (like I am) can wash some Basmatti Rice, throw it into the rice cooker with a table spoon of olive oil and in no time, you’ll have some delicious rice, ready to eat, and cooked to pure perfection.

It’s true, several times I prepped and cooked some white rice for before I went to pickup my wife from work. When she came home, she just stirred fried some vegetables, threw the rice into the stir fry pan and baked a few pieces of breaded tilapia. In less than an hour total, we were eating good nutritious food.

What To Love: A rice cooker is basically a major time saver. Once you use it to cook diner, you will never want to cook rice without it. No more trying to figure out how much water to add, or how long to cook it, just wash the rice, add water according to the quantity of rice and a tablespoon of olive oil, and soon you’ll have delicious rice, ready to eat as is, or used in any of your favorite rice dishes.

First my mom witnessed the power of the Aroma rice cooker, so she bought one, then my sister bought one, and before you know it, everyone in my family that likes to eat rice owned a rice cooker. It all happened the same year I got married. Of course Asians swear by rice cookers, but since we’re not Asian, we had no idea what we were missing in the kitchen until Kawshi (my wife) made cooking rice something even your grumpy old dad can do.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro - 10.1" - 16GB

I got this baby in July of 2015, a few days prior to my birthday. I actually didn’t want to get another tablet because several years ago, my wife bought me a brand new iPad 2 16GB. But unfortunately when iOS 8 came out, it pretty much rendered the iPad 2 useless. To my surprise even my wife agreed that we needed a new tablet, even though she paid $600 just a few short years ago.

So I used to be an Apple lover, until Apple made my iPad 2 unbearingly unusable. I felt betrayed by Apple so me wife knew that I was doing lot so research on a new tablet and I settled on the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro. Well, from day one, I fell in love with tablet technology all over again. The screen is amazing with a resolution of 2560x1600. And the reason I love the Samsung more than the iPad is a laundry list.

(BTW: I'm not just Apple bashing, see for yourself by Googling "IOS update made my iPad useless.")

It’s an Android device, so if an update screws it up in the future, I can always download dozens of custom versions and enjoy a whole new experience on the device. Apple actually limits which version of iOS they’ll make available to their customers, which is why I couldn’t downgrade my iPad 2 to iOS 7.
I’m not forced to run Apps that Apple has to approve of, meaning I can install software like Kodi which lets me watch Live TV, Movies, and pay channels instead of the paid services like Netflix, and Hulu. Basically, I bought an expensive portable computer and I can do with it what I please without having to answer to Apple or anyone else, and that’s how I like my technology.
The camera on this badboy is amazing, although it is weird recording or taking photos on a tablet but what I found to happen is that something happens while I’m using the device, which makes it easy to capture on video or photo. For instance my cat pushing my wife because he’s hungry.
Using more than 1 app at a time. Yes folks you can shop on Amazon and have your calculator app nearby to sum up your shopping spree. Or you can have Home Depot on one side of the screen and Lowes on the other to compare prices or products side by side. There’s no limit to what you can do with this feature.

Bottom Line: When my wife bought me my first iPad 2 I was in love with the technology, but that was some expensive short lived love affair! I can’t believe Apple screwed the millions of people who bought that device, hell it was $599! Now it just sits in the bottom of my media cabinet collecting dust.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro got amazing reviews, but most importantly, it’s fast, bright, has great battery life, and there’s a huge community out there that will create software for the device long after Samsung gives up support. I like that a lot, especially after getting screwed by Apple.

Nikon Coolpix P900 Super Zoom Digital Camera

The other day I shot the super rare blood moon with my Canon Rebel T3i DSLR camera and was pretty proud of myself because the video did really well in a short period of time. I spent over $1,000 on the camera and accessories but didn’t expect to get the results I did. Anyways a few days after I was research what types of lens I could buy for my Rebel and accidentally came up on a video of the Nikon Coolpix P900.

Well, let’s just say that I was blown away how a point and shoot camera can out zoom my fancy shmancy DSLR and even worse, take better photos and videos of the moon, passing by planes, and basically anything really far away. I would have to spend thousands of dollars on a camera lens just to compete with this $599 camera.

What To Love: This camera is super impressive for just about anyone. It really doesn’t matter what you’re into: bird watching, paparazzi, spying on your neighbors, capturing sporting events, and shooting celestial objects. This camera is something even the biggest DSLR snobs secretly want, even if they can’t get themselves to admit it to anyone. If you need a camera, do yourself a favor and check out the linked video below, then check out the amazing photos from customer reviews on Amazon. Trust me, it’s worth looking at the video and pictures, even if you have absolutely no interest in cameras. It’s just that impressive!

YouTube Video of Nikon P900 using 83x optical zoom

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Dyson Ball Multi-Floor Vacuum

When my wife told me she wanted to buy a Dyson vacuum I protested and found several much cheaper variants instead. But my wife is persistent and managed to buy our DC25 Ball either on Black Friday or a Christmas sale and honestly I’m so glad she did!

I’ve used pretty much all types of vacuums, and most of them exhaust a disgusting dusty smell into the air during the process. Surprisingly the Dyson vacuum doesn’t have this problem at all, and better yet, there’s no expensive HEPA filter to replace or clumsy bags to change. It has two washable HEPA filters that do an excellent job of blocking out that nasty smell. Also I’ve seen a guy use a Laser Particle Scanner and he measured ZERO dust coming from the exhaust which is amazing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd2G5sNSmSM

We bought our Dyson DC25 five years ago and the dam thing is just as powerful as day one. At first I thought this thing was going to break because of all the fancy mechanisms on the device, but 5 years of regular use has done nothing to its age. I have to admit, it’s the best vacuum I have ever used and nothing really compares to it. I know that other companies are trying to copy the technology, but again, if you can try the Dyson in your house during the return period and test it out, chances are that you will not want to give it back to the store.

What To Love: Well it’s a vacuum and boy does it suck. This thing has the perfect amount of suction, in upright mode or when you’re using the hose attachment. Love it or hate it, you cannot dispute the raw power of this machine or how cleanly it does its job. It’s a very well-engineered piece of technology that stands the test of time and changes the hearts of skeptics. All it takes is a few uses to get even the biggest skeptic (me) over the sticker shock. BY the way the ball technology makes vacuuming fun and easy.

Shark Lift Away Professional Steam Pocket Mop (S3901)

Since I was talking about Dyson competitors I remember that Shark makes a decent vacuum but what it does really well are steam mops. I originally bought the old school Shark Steam Mop and broke it because like many others, I never put a drop of distilled water into the thing. And unfortunately our water is not as clean as it should be, which causes buildup and corrosion of all types to eventually clog these magnificent machines.

Anyways, ever since I broke my original steam mop, I always wanted to get another one, and treat it the right way. So we just bought the Shark Lift Away Professional Steam Pocket Mop (dam that’s a mouthful). What I love most about it is that Shark thought about all the ways people wanted to use steam technology to clean and gave us 3 specific settings and most impressively a detachable steam cleaner that you can use to clean countertops, ovens, sinks, toilets, showers, and even release wrinkles from clothes and curtains.

What To Love: No more wet nasty mops, harsh chemicals, or mop buckets. Simply fill the resivor with water, set your desired steam output and easily steam clean the dirt and grime from your wood, laminate, tile, or linoleum floors. Right now we have a kitchen that’s scheduled for a full blown remodel, and the cream colored linoleum floor is constantly getting dirty. My wife and I for some reason avoided using the spray mop we have but for some strange reason, we both enjoy whipping out the Shark Pocket Mop and steaming off the grime and Lucky’s food residue from the kitchen floor. If you never used any Shark Steam Mop, you really don’t know how awesome it is. Again, try it out from your favorite retailer, even Amazon has a great return policy with free shipping back.

Cuisinart CPK-17 PerfecTemp 1.7-Liter Stainless Steel Cordless Electric Kettle

My wife and I love to drink some nice Lipton Tea with lemon with our dinner, but what we didn’t like was waiting for our old school tea kettle to boil water on the stove. Well I don’t know if you had the pleasure of using an electric tea kettle yet, but let me tell you, it is all that and a bag of chips.

The new electric kettles are very fast, so if you tend to wake up late for work, this thing can be a real time saver. But I have to warn you, when it comes to electric kettles, you get what you pay for. My mom is the perfect example of someone that rather buy cheap if there’s no one there to stop her. I think she’s on her 4^th kettle now, they somehow don’t last her a year. Hopefully she never reads this post J

I can vouch for the Cuisinart PerfecTemp Kettle myself, we have been using it multiple times a day for more than 1 year and it just works. Plus with it’s very attractive stainless steel body, sexy blue light, and fancy array of buttons, it will also make a nice addition to your kitchen. My kitchen on the other hand is old and outdated, it’s the only room we still have to update, besides my basement.

What To Love: This kettle was Oprah's favorite things for 2013. It has 6 temperature presets because the right temperature makes a huge difference for different types of teas. I used to think green teas were bitter, until I used the 175 degree setting on my Cuisinart Kettle, now I’m drinking this antioxidant rich brew more often.

Scosche Magnetic Window Mount for Smartphones, it really is good!

I have tried several cell phone holders in the past few year and they all had the same thing in common, they sucked! Finally, I found the Scosche Magnetic Window Mount and at first I thought I bought another dud.

First let me tell you how it works. It comes with an adjustable arm that mounts to something non porous like a window, moonroof, and maybe the woodgrain paneling in your car as long as it has a gloss y non porous surface. The other end has a 1.5” little surface with an “S” on it that’s actually magnetic. Some of the new phones have metal cases, which will work perfectly with this. But for the rest of us, you have to use the provided thin metal plate that sticks on to either your cell phone body, or your cell phone case. I stuck the metal plate to the TPU portion on my Spigen Slim Armor Case for my Samsung Galaxy S4. Basically my case is two pieces, a soft rubber like material (that’s what I stuck it to.) and a hard plastic shell.

At first I didn’t think that the adhesive on the metal plate would be strong enough to bond with the thermoplastic urethane (TPU), but to my surprise it bonded really well. So, the day I got my smartphone holder I decided to mount it to my windshield and went to pickup my wife from work. During the drive I hit a bump and the mount fell off the window. That’s about when my short lived disappointment set it, but I gave it another try and stuck it back on. You know what happened? Absolutely nothing! Because the Scosche Magnetic Smart Phone Holder has been working everyday, through all types of driving conditions for the past 1 1 ½ months. I am so happy that I found this holder, because it’s so easy to use and it works fantastic. I guess the first time, my window was not clean enough, so the suction broke when I hit the pothole. Buy this thing if you need one, trust me, you’re going to love it!

Amazon Fire TV Stick with Kodi

I’m sure most of you have heard of the Amazon Fire Stick which is the size of a typical USB stick but plugs into the HDMI pot on the back of your TV instead. I have a 55” Samsung Smart TV but honestly, the Fire Stick is a lot faster and easier to use than what Samsung came up with. I would bet that the processor on the Fire Stick is faster, which is why I side loaded a very awesome app called KODI onto mine.

So What So Special About Kodi?

Think of Kodi (formerly known as XBMX) as a cord cutting media player for / from the future. It allows you to watch movies, TV shows, play music, Karaoke, podcasts, and so much more. It’s even capable of giving you access to TV and movies for FREE! Yes, I did say free. This is not a gimmick either, because I just received my Amazon Fire Stick loaded with Kodi and I can honestly say that I’ve watched plenty of movies and TV shows on the device and didn’t have to pay one red cent.

Sounds Great, But Also Like It Might Be Complicated

Well, I thought so too, but if you go on Youtube and type in free TV using Kodi, you’ll find all the help you could ever want in setting up your Kodi on an Amazon Fire TV Stick.

I am writing a complete how-to guide right now, so follow me on Twitter to get an update when I’m done with it.

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Here are a few other gadgets that didn't make the list, but still really great gift ideas for birthdays, holidays, graduation gifts,

FitBit Wireless Activity Tracker

Okay we all know most smartphone these days can track our walking and heartbeat but let’s face it, do we really want to devote our precious smartphone battery time to tracking our fitness? I know I don’t! That’s where the FitBit Wireless Activity Tracker comes in.

My Most Annoying Shopping Returns

A $1000 16’ Garage Door from Lowes that was special ordered. Why? Ugly in real life.

A $800 Whirlpool Bathtub from Home Depot. Why? I decided against in favor of a better model.

Almost $980 of Plumbing Parts from Home Depot. Why? As an amateur plumber I bought a lot more than needed, so I wouldn't run out of fittings or pipes in the middle of a job.

A $500 Entry Door from Home Depot. Why? It was warped and impossible to install correctly. Luckily my uncle put a level against the slab, which revealed a 1.5" bow! That was something I didn't expect.

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Drones

Drones are hot right now, but flying one outside of your yard can get you in trouble. Did you know you that you won't be able to take full advanaage of the altitude or range, unless you're willing to break the law?

Rigid ShopVac

They come in many sizes and trust me, everyone sooner or later wishes they had one. I love mine and even use it to blow the dirt from my garage like a leaf blower.

GoPro Hero 3+

My wife bought me a GoPro recently because I like to tackle remodeling projects around the house. I practically rebuilt half of my house with my bare hands in my free time. From changing windows, doors, gutting and renovating a bathroom, and everything in between, I could have captured it on my GoPro. Howeverr, some people who will remain nameless, rushed me to finish my house so rapidly, that I only recorded half the footage I could have. Anyways, a GoPro allows you to record really good video while your hands are doing something completely different.

Favoring Returns Over Owning Mistakes: The Lesser Evil

I’m sure we’re all guilty of buying cheap gadgets or knockoffs at least once in our life. I remember when I bought a Blackberry Storm when the iPhone 3GS was out, just because I didn’t want to join the pop culture bandwagon. Well, you know what happened? After weeks of struggling with the butt dialing, poor excuse for a smartphone with the worst app store ever, I returned it back to AT&T and bought the iPhone instead; and boy was I happy!

That my friends is the best case scenario when you immediately find out that you just bought something really regretful. You simply throw it into the product packaging the best you can and get your money back before the return policy expires. And by the way, feel free to practice this tradition with any of the products below, if for some reason you don’t think like I do that God commissioned the creation himself.

Shopping - Simply Additions

Proven Helpers Review of Shark Lift Away Professional Steam Pocket Mop model # S3901

{loadposition content300x250} In today’s post I’m going to give you the nitty gritty about the Shark Lift Away Professional Steam Pocket Mop model # S3901 and ones just like it.

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In today’s post I’m going to give you the nitty gritty about the Shark Lift Away Professional Steam Pocket Mop model # S3901 and ones just like it.