- Today we're gonna take a look at As Seen on TV products and attempt to create our
own comparable solutions using common household items. So, whether you're looking
to cook eggs on the go, unclog that nasty drain, or repel those pesky rodents, we've got a solution for you. (electronic music) When you're pressed
for time in the morning and getting ready for work, who wants to mess with
cooking and cleaning up afterwards? The premise with the
as-seen-on-TV Eggtastic ceramic egg cooker is that it cooks fast, flavorful, and fluffy eggs to perfection, not to mention that it's
advertised to instantly heat and keep eggs to
perfect cooking temperature in three easy steps. They say to just crack an egg or eggs and whisk right inside the cooker, then add their little ventilated lid and place it inside the microwave. And then, you know, cook according to the provided instructions. For our test, we decided
to use two large eggs and add extra ingredients,
like the as seen on TV commercial demonstrates. After scrambling inside
the vat, we decided to add the Eggtastic cooker into the microwave and cooked it for about
one minute and ten seconds, you know, as per the cooking guide. The ceramic pot got very hot, so pot holders are not only recommended but required. You can scramble the eggs afterwards, but we kept them intact for
a convenient egg sandwich. Results were, yeah, pretty good. Now let's see if we can
duplicate those results. Grab yourself a deep bowl or mug, preferably ceramic, and then
search around your kitchen for a ventilated lid. We got lucky in that one we found happened to fit perfectly on our mug. To make our comparison easier, we experimented with the
same controlled variables of cracking two eggs into the mug and then adding some
additional ingredients. After whisking the eggs
directly into the mug and adding our ventilated lid,
we placed our ceramic dish into the microwave and
followed the same cooking guide that was provided
with the Eggtastic cooker. After nuking it for a
minute and ten seconds, it should be noted that we
were able to remove the mug by its handle without potholders. The results of our
experiment were surprisingly similar, if not better,
than the Eggtastic. With a side-by-side comparison, it's hard to tell them apart. Not only were their consistencies similar, but the flavor was too. So in conclusion, if you're on the go or perhaps just feeling a little lazy, you can use either cooking
method with similar results. You can buy the Eggtastic cooker online for about ten bucks, or
you could save yourself some money and cook with a mug or a bowl. You already have both. When you're done, simply wash it or put it in your dishwasher. If we gained nothing else from buying the Eggtastic, at least we
now have a cooking guide for future convenience. Getting rid of rodents
after they've already invaded your property
can feel like an uphill battle, and trust me, I've been there. There's a number of traditional
pest control methods that claim to solve the problem, but they're typically unsafe and inhumane. We found one that seemed pretty decent called Rodent Sheriff. It's made with all natural peppermint oil and is safe to use
around pets and children. The product claims to discourage raccoons, ants, roaches, mice, and more by using harmless
repellents that they hate. It's advertised as safe
to spray in your home and around your garden, trash
cans, vehicles, whatever. Basically, Rodent Sheriff
is supposed to quickly drive rodents away by
disturbing their noses with a powerful peppermint scent. But it can be extremely overpowering. This product has mixed results because although its potent scent may discourage rodents to some extent, it dissipates rather quickly. It may hold them at bay for several days, but they'll likely come back if you're not consistent with applying it. Based on the product ratings online, there were as many one-star ratings as five-star ratings. Customers either felt it worked great or was a total waste of money. Or they were given the product for free and they didn't care either way. Each eight-ounce bottle
costs about ten bucks and it's advertised to
contain 1,000 sprays. And honestly, it sounds like you'll need every single spray in that bottle in order to get it to work effectively. That being said, let's make our own. Start with peppermint essential oil, one cup of water, and liquid dish soap. Oh yeah, and you need a spray bottle. Add about 15 to 20 drops of peppermint essential oil to the water and then add several drops of liquid dish soap to help the ingredients mix better. You know, an emulsifier of sorts. Pour the mix into a spray bottle, fasten the spray nozzle tightly, and shake it all together. Just like with Rodent
Sheriff, apply the mixture to any place that you have or suspect that you have rodents. Reapply the spray as the scent fades, usually after about a week. Apart from making your home smell like you've stepped into
a tub of breath mints, the biggest downside to both sprays is that the scent is too strong and it can be nauseating
to everyone around you. If you're gonna go this route, perhaps the do-it-yourself method is more cost-effective because you can not only control the peppermint power but make whatever size bottle you want. As a side note, you could always plant mint near entryways. That'll probably deter rodents as well. There's a number of products out there that help reduce or
prevent drainage issues to save money and avoid having to pay a plumber. But today we're gonna focus on the as-seen-on-TV Drain Wick. It claims to prevent clogs by catching hair that would normally get stuck in your pipes. It's basically just a
stainless steel ball chain with little rubber
whiskers and a plastic cap. According to the
directions, you just insert the chain through your drain cover and then guide the rubber whiskers through a hole. The, quote, daisy cup should lie flush on top of the drain. When you turn the water on, the chain will flow into place and catch hair. During testing, we removed the Drain Wick after a week without much success. However, the package advertises to remove and replace every two to four months. That means the longer you give it, the more success you'll allegedly have. Over time, the hair builds up and can easily be removed and disposed of. It also suggests to clean your pipes beforehand in order for the Drain Wick to work properly, so we'll do just that. Inspired by the basic
premise of the Drain Snake, flexible barbed one that
effectively removes clogs, we made our own out of plastic zip ties. We used a pair of scissors to cut angled slits and slivers
about an inch apart up the sides of both zip ties. We staggered the cuts
from one end to the other. But you don't necessarily have to do it for it to work. Now feed a second zip tie
through the cable head, cut off the excess strip, and you should be left with a pretty durable handle. Although the Drain Snake is 18 inches, our do it yourself prototype is 12. You can use various zip tie lengths and thicknesses to get similar results, depending on your drain
covers or pipe size. Now it's time to put it to the test. We started with the sink by inserting the makeshift clog remover
and then twisted it around a few times, slowly pulling it back out of the drain. Since it worked pretty well,
we moved onto the shower. Just feed the tool into the drain cover, rotate the handle at
least one full rotation to allow the barbs to
grab any obstructions, then slowly pull out the zip tie. On our very first attempt,
we found huge success. You may be disgusted right now, but we were really impressed. This tool may not serve the same purpose as the Drain Wick by
catching hair in the drain, but it certainly removes hair clogs, even ones unbeknownst to us. Although we think the
Drain Wick can be used over and over again,
much longer than the two to four month advertised amount, our do it yourself
snake should be disposed of immediately. So in conclusion, you
could pay about ten bucks every six months for two Drain Wicks or grab some zip ties from your garage and make your own for basically free. If you've ever stripped a screw, you know how incredibly
frustrating it can be. The as-seen-on-TV Speedout extractor kit advertises that it'll
easily remove stripped or damaged screws in about ten seconds. The secret lies in the heavy-duty hardened high-speed steel construction
of the extractor bits. The product claims to extract the stripped or damaged screw in as easy as two steps. While following the
operating instructions, you'll notice right away that it takes more than two steps. It also says not to use
with impact drivers. Side A of the bit is
first used to drill out the damaged area, and side
B is used for extracting. Ensure that your drill is on slow speed and in reverse, and then give it a test. In our first try, we
surprisingly removed the screw with only side A of the bit. Perhaps the screw wasn't
really stripped enough. We shoulda worked harder on that. We decided to try it again anyway and got the same result. Interesting. Let's follow the instructions this time. Insert the bit into a
three-eighth of an inch variable speed drill so
that side A is facing out. Ensure that your drill is in reverse and then drill out the
damaged area with side A. This should make a cone-shaped indention in the screw or bolt. Next, flip the tool around to side B and lock it in. Once again, ensure that
your drill is in reverse and then firmly press down
so that the extracting slots into the hole and
grips the damaged screw or bolt firmly. And just like that, the
biting action of the extractor allows the power of the drill to torque out stubborn screws. Pretty impressive. Now how about the DIY version? There's a handful of alternative solutions that can be used with what
you already have at home. We'll start with one we've covered before, the rubber band method. Find yourself a thick, wide rubber band and place it over the stripped screw. We recommend bumping up one size from the screw head
which caused the strip. Now apply hard but slow force as you turn the screwdriver. If you're fortunate, the
rubber band will fill the gaps caused by the
strip and allow extraction. Now, there are other
solutions, such as pounding the screwdriver into the
screw head with a hammer hoping to create enough
traction to remove it. On raised screws, try clamping down with a pair of pliers,
slowly spinning it around until it comes out. For simply jobs, you can
just apply some duct tape on top of the screw and tap
it in to fill in the gaps. That makes for easy removal. Tougher screws obviously
call for more power. If you have a seriously stripped screw like this one, it might
be time for a rotary tool. Cut your own new slit right into the screw and remove it with a standard
flat head screwdriver. No rotary tool? No problem. Grab a small drill bit and bore deeper into the screw to allow that screwdriver to get in deep. Apply pressure and extract that sucker like a bad tooth. Let's review. The upside of the Speedout kit is that it's so simply, anyone can use it. The only downsides we
noticed is that although it says it works with
any size screw or bolt, it struggled to grip harder metal screws. The bit can also get warm to the touch and even get stuck to the screw. Because there are so many DIY solutions for removing stripped screws, the Speedout is probably best for really broken screw heads, but it's certainly not a bad idea to have it as part of your tool kit, you know, just laying around in the garage for whenever you need it. If you've ever tried any of these tricks or have your own favorite methods, let's hear about them in the comments. We hope you enjoyed our first experiment into testing As Seen on TV products and creating our own solutions from home. Thanks for watching. You can find a link to all the products we used in the description
if you're interested. Be sure to subscribe for
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