Best Deals on Home Products

While the Kenmore Elite Pet Friendly CrossOver 21814 might be on the heavier side at 26 pounds, it makes up for it with its strong performance. Compared to other vacuums we test, it’s especially good at cleaning carpets and bare floors. Its suction power also earned an excellent score, the highest in its category.

The Shark PowerDetect IP1251 comes with lots of bells and whistles, including a dirt detection feature and a floor detect mode that adjusts the brush roll speed based on the surface it’s vacuuming. It’s very good at sucking up debris from carpets and is even more impressive at picking up pet hair. The vacuum can be converted into a hand vac and folded for storage.

If you’re a pet owner, the price on this Shark Vertex DuoClean AZ2002 is a real steal. It’s now just $30 more than it was during Prime Day, after being on sale for $385 for several weeks. It picks up pet hair especially well, has exceptional suction power, and does a solid job of containing small dust particles. It also has a lift-away canister, which makes cleaning hard-to-reach places easier. The self-cleaning brush roll prevents pet hair (and any long hair) from wrapping around it and getting tangled in the vacuum.

The HoMedics AP-T200 has impressive performance and an attractive design, similar to the AP-C500. It performs impressively on both high and low speeds and is easy to use. Just expect a fair amount of noise while it’s running. The major difference—this model is designed for medium rooms of 150-350 square feet, so it’s smaller in size and has a smaller price tag.

The Woozoo does a solid job at removing dust, pollen, and smoke at both high and low speeds. What’s more, it’s one of the more cost-efficient large room air purifiers to operate and maintain. Just expect a bit of noise while it’s running. This is the best price we’ve seen since the spring, when it was $250.

If you don’t mind some noise, this portable air purifier from GermGuardian may be a solid option. CR testers found that it’s really good at removing dust, pollen, and smoke particles from the air when running at high speed. But the unit is pricey to maintain because the replacement filters are relatively expensive. The model features a convenient carrying handle, easy-to-use controls, and a programmable timer.

This adjustable-fill pillow from Layla marries polyurethane foam with kapok—the featherlike fiber made from the seed pods of the kapok tree, popular for being a vegan alternative to down. Our tests find that the model lives up to the material’s reputation, offering top-notch breathability in a soft and rather resilient package. Despite not having cooling properties as its name suggests, the pillow does not retain warmth. And while it offers stellar support for side sleepers, back sleepers are also well served by this pick.

These towels are perfectly acceptable entry-level towels. They’re made from extra-long combed Turkish cotton, so they’re somewhat soft, but because the pile is thin and light, the Company Cotton bath towels from the Company Store don’t exude elegance and luxury. Those who prefer their towels to have a more textured surface should consider these, as should folks who want good-quality materials without a big price tag. It’s one of the most absorbent towels we tried, yet also nears the top of the list for drying time. So while it isn’t the most spa-like towel, it nevertheless has superb performance.

Blackout curtains can be a total game-changer. The Amazon Basics Room Darkening Blackout Curtains are among the best we evaluated for a number of reasons. Tested in both black and white, they scored a perfect 5 out of 5 for their ability to block light. As for how well the curtains provide insulation against heat loss and gain, we scored it 4 out of 5. Made from polyester/polyurethane, each panel uses loops to attach to a rod. They’re also washable—making them both functional and convenient.

The Elegear Revolutionary Cooling Blanket was CR’s top pick because it kept us the coolest in our tests and was comfortable, soft, and well-made. It features smooth Arc-Chill 3.0 Cool Fabric on one side and Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified cotton on the other side.

The Guohaoi Cooling Blanket offers strong cooling performance—second only to the Elegear Revolutionary Cooling Blanket (also on sale)—and features a similar smooth, swimsuit-like feel. It’s made with a nylon-polyester front and a cotton back, and includes a satin border, though the build quality and stitching are less refined than the Elegear. While it stays cool during use and doesn’t retain heat, issues like the loosely attached layers and less comfortable design make it a less compelling option, given its similar price point.

This cooling blanket from Sleep Number is not one of the chilliest options among the cooling blankets we tried, though it will keep you cooler than a traditional blanket. But it has many other great qualities that may make it worth a look. It’s well-constructed, incredibly soft, and cool to the touch. Plus, the material is very thin, making it easy to fold and store.

Buffy’s Cloud Comforter is the softest choice in our at-home assessment, and it’s back down to the lowest price we’ve seen at Amazon. Thanks to its smooth, silky feel and fluffiness, the duvet is comfortable enough to use without a duvet cover. Made of recycled materials, it’s uniformly stuffed in layers to prevent clumping and shedding. The shell material is 100 percent sateen-weave Tencel lyocell.

This 3-inch queen-size memory foam mattress topper offers excellent support and a deeper, more cushioned feel than many others. Infused with cooling gel, it helps regulate temperature for a more comfortable night’s sleep. The flippable design adds versatility, though it lacks a cover and corner straps, which may lead to shifting. Temperature-sensitive foam means the topper feels softer when warm and firmer in cooler conditions. Weighing 15 pounds, it provides average warmth retention and a balanced blend of comfort and support.

The Tuft & Needle Original Foam Pillow is made of polyurethane foam and has a micro-polyamide and polyester cover. Despite this composition, testers found that the pillow excels in breathability. According to our lab tests, it is a great choice for side sleepers but less ideal for back sleepers. Expect its firmness, height, and support to remain consistent with use.

The medium-capacity Midea MAD35S1QWT is a top performer in our ratings and can remove 35 pints of moisture from the air per day. It excels our water removal, energy efficiency, and convenience tests. It also earns an excellent score for noise, making it one of the quietest models in this category and earning it the title of the highest-scoring dehumidifier. This model is equipped with a digital display, a built-in water pump, and a timer.

For smaller spaces, if quiet is a main consideration, check out the Midea MAD20S1QWT. It’s more silent than any model in our ratings while earning standout scores for water removal, convenience, and humidistat accuracy. It’s relatively energy-efficient and includes some nice features, such as a timer and an auto-restart function that turns the machine back on to its previous settings after a power outage. It also comes with a hose to divert water to a drain. Midea’s dehumidifiers received a very favorable rating for reliability and a midlevel rating for owner satisfaction in CR’s member surveys.

The Midea MAD35C1AWS is sold with the claim that it can remove 36 pints of water per day, and it earns a near-top-level rating for hitting close to that mark in our tests. It’s also a very quiet model that scores highly for its energy efficiency.

This dehumidifier’s humidistat accuracy is so-so, but overall, it gets points for convenience. This model alerts you when the filter needs cleaning, which is important because you need to wash and dry your dehumidifier’s filters regularly if you want it to maintain efficiency.

The ultrasonic Babymoov Hygro (+), designed for small rooms of around 215 square feet, is top-rated for a reason: It shines in every one of CR’s tests. It’s easy to use, according to our evaluators, and emits enough moisture to sufficiently humidify a room. Features include a night-light that cycles through a rainbow of colors, automatic shutoff when the tank is empty, and a timer, as well as the option to diffuse aromas. One drawback: The 58-inch cord is on the short side.

The low-priced, ultrasonic Levoit Classic 300S can humidify a room of up to 505 square feet, which earns it a solid rating in our output test. It aces other evaluations too. It has a variety of features including automatic shut-off, a digital humidity display more accurate than those of most competitors, and the option to diffuse aromas. It’s been as low as $64, but this is the best discount we’ve seen in a few months.

This handheld steamer is a great option if you need something for travel because it’s lightweight, about the size and shape of a flat iron (great for packing), and you can use regular old tap water. It offers 8 minutes of steaming with a manual steam button on the handle, and it was the fastest steamer to heat up in our lab test, ready to go after 40 seconds. Our evaluator recommended using a spray bottle to dampen any especially deep wrinkles to help the steamer get the job done. It was $5 less recently, but this is still a good price for the convenience.

The Bagail 8Set Packing Cubes won CR’s evaluator over with the sheer number and variety of cubes it offers. In addition to three packing cubes (medium, large, and extra large) that have mesh on the top panels to help you identify the contents inside quickly, it also comes with two zipper bags, a cosmetics bag, a shoe bag, and a drawstring bag that you can use to separate your dirty laundry. The extra organizational features were ultimately what gained Bagail the edge over the other packing cubes CR tried.

Veken Packing Cubes provide great bang for your buck, though they are a few dollars more than we’ve seen recently. This set has the largest capacity among the cubes we tried, and you get eight different ones to stay organized: four small, medium, large, and extra large, a laundry bag, a shoe bag, a toiletries bag, and an accessories bag. The laundry bag, in particular, is on the larger side, which can be a real asset when you’re on a longer trip.

The Cozy Essential Vacuum Storage Bags are at the best price we’ve seen. They come in various combo packs. This set includes 20 bags, with four each of these sizes: jumbo, large, medium, small, and travel roll-up. Our evaluator liked that they were easy to both pump and compress, and the variety of sizes offers a lot of convenience for travel and storage.

If you’re looking to store your winter clothes, vacuum storage bags can be a great way to get them out of the way without taking up a ton of space. And this set of three from MagicBag could be a good option, especially for under $10. While these bags did require a bigger, more physical effort to seal, our evaluator noted that they didn’t have caps on the valves, which made it easier to use them overall. And with the zipper, one side is blue and the other is yellow—it turns green when it’s closed properly.

The Phomemo M110 is the bigger, bulkier version of the Phomemo D30, which we also evaluated and liked. The M110 offers a bit more flexibility with the size of the label you’re creating. It uses the same app, and has a wide variety of fonts, styles, and images, with quick creation and easy label cutting. Its size, compared with the smaller Phomemo, makes it a bit less portable, and its alignment isn’t as precise when it comes to cutting the label exactly on the cut line compared with other label printers. But it’s still a solid option.

The 1.25-horsepower Frigidaire FF13DISPC1 continuous-feed garbage disposal excelled in our tests, quickly and (fairly) quietly grinding scraps into small particles that won’t cause clogs. The 13-pound disposal comes with a 10-year warranty, a removable splash guard, and a plug-in power cord. Its magnetic ring prevents utensils from falling inside, and antimicrobial protection guards against odors.

If sleek washers are your style, consider LG’s Signature WM9900HSA front-loader. Recently introduced, it offers a minimalist brushed-steel design with an intuitive LCD touchscreen, generous 5.8 cubic-foot capacity, 26 wash programs, and AI technology that automatically detects fabrics and load size and selects the ideal settings for both the washer and its companion dryer. It also has an auto dispenser that releases detergent for up to 36 loads before refilling and can be operated remotely through its app. The price on this machine was $200 less for Labor Day, but this is still a good buy.

The LG DLGX5501W offers great performance and some nice extras at a moderate price, and it’s only $30 more than its best price. It scores admirably in our tests for drying performance, convenience, and noise, and offers a steam option, extended tumble, and WiFi capability—and it’s our top-rated dryer. Its stainless steel drum has a 7.4-cubic-foot capacity. In our surveys, CR members rank LG gas dryers at the top for both reliability and owner satisfaction.