Consumer Reports articles from January 2005

Consumer Reports archives from January 2005

Have you heard? Check this out: you won rights.
January 1, 2005... When my wife and I redid our kitchen, we met with the contractor to go over a "punch list"--work the builders still had to finish. Well, here at Consumers Union and CONSUMER REPORTS, we have another kind of punch list--work that still needs to...

Safety alert: new baby bath seat presents a hazard.(Up front: news / trends / advice)
January 1, 2005... Baby bath seats, almost all of which stick to a bathtub with suction cups, have been blamed for about 120 drownings and at least 160 injuries since 1983. In July 2000, Consumers Union, publisher of CONSUMER REPORTS, and other consumer...

Serving up new nutrition labels.(Up front: news / trends / advice)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Several major food and beverage companies have announced a welcome change to the Nutrition Facts labels: information for a single serving and for the entire package or bottle. So, if you can't limit your noshing to, say, the 13 chips in a...

Sewing machines, plain and fancy: the latest quick picks from our tests.(Up front: news / trends / advice)
January 1, 2005... You don't have to spend thousands to get a handy, versatile, and durable sewing machine. You can see that clearly in the Quick Ratings below The chart highlights the best of the best--newly tested machines that proved very good or excellent and...

A razor with good vibes?(Claim Check)(Personal care appliances)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The claim: The Gillette M3Power razor uses a AAA battery to vibrate its head, thereby providing what Gillette modestly terms its "best shave ever." The check: We pitted the M3Power, $16, against another triple-blade razor from Gillette,...

Have hidden payments hiked your household insurance bills?(Up front: news / trends / advice)
January 1, 2005... Officials in several states are investigating the insurance industry to determine whether inflated commissions may have inflated premiums. Investigators say that may also mean that individuals have paid too much for employee benefits and for...

Dishing rice.(The talk)(varieties)
January 1, 2005... There are more than 40,000 varieties of rice in the world--in shades of red, blue, and purple in addition to the usual white and brown. Ounce for ounce, all have similar calorie and carb counts, but they differ in other ways. Here, a primer on...

Laser levels: the straight line goes high-tech.(Up front: news / trends / advice)
January 1, 2005... The laser level, which uses a beam of light to tell you when something's exactly horizontal or vertical, is one of the hottest tools on the market. But our tests show that it isn't exactly must-have hardware. Here's the lowdown: Basic...

Maytag to compensate owners of Neptune washers.(Up front: news / trends / advice)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Maytag's Neptune front-loading washer, introduced in 1997, has proven to be trouble-prone in recent years, with a repair rate significantly higher than that of any other front-loader brand we've rated in our annual reliability survey. A...

Going digital.(Your Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Concerning "Biggest Digital Issue Ever," the November electronics package, your coverage was quite extensive, but you only included warranty coverage at length for plasma and LCD TVs. Without warranty information in your Ratings you leave us...

Wine.(Your Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... I enjoy the magazine, but I am disappointed with your wine article in the November issue. Nowhere do you mention wines from France and Italy! The American wine industry has almost completely taken over the wine market in this country and it is...

Credit reports.(Your Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... I was pleased to read, in "Guarding Your Credit Record" in the November issue, that soon consumers can request credit reports for flee. You didn't mention, however, whether frequent queries of your history can be detrimental to your credit...

SUV tires.(Your Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... I read your report on SUV tires in November, in which you rated Goodyear Fortera HL Edition the No. 1 choice for pavement use. Tire Rack rated the Yokohama Geolandar H/T-S G051 No. 1, far ahead of the Fortera. Consumer satisfaction was also...

Vacuum sealers.(Your Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Your November report in the Up Front section, "Freezing for the Long Haul," says the cost of vacuum-sealer storage bags is ten times the cost of plastic freezer bags. I use the Food Saver vacuum sealer. I wash out the bags with detergent and...

Kyocera recalls 1 million counterfeit cell-phone batteries.(Recalls & Safety Alerts)
January 1, 2005... In the largest action of its kind, Kyocera is recalling about 1 million of its cell-phone batteries because they may be unsafe counterfeits that could overheat, short-circuit, and cause skin burns. This is the latest in a series of recent...

Lexmark, Dell, and IBM laser printers.(Electronics)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Could short circuit and pose electric-shock hazard to user. Models: 39,431 printers, made by Lexmark International, sold 5/04 to 8/04 for about $200. Recall includes Lexmark E232, E232t, E330, E332n, and E332tn; IBM Infoprint 1412 and...

Care Bears lunch kits sold at Kohl's stores.(Children's Products)(Kohl's Department Stores Inc., product defects)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Pull-up drinking spout on water bottle could detach, posing choking hazard. Products: 13,000 lunch kits sold 7/04 to 9/04 for about $13. Kit consists of purple and blue insulated lunch bag, about 9 inches tall, with rainbow strap....

Fargglad multicolored children's chair sold at Ikea stores.(Children's Products)(product defects )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Plastic feet could detach and pose choking hazard. Products: 7,279 chairs sold 5/03 to 9/18/04 for about $15. Chairs have article number 400.548.40 and supplier number (either 16592 or 17128) on label on one of rear legs or on underside of...

Avanti water dispensers.(Household Products)(product defects )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Child-safety feature could malfunction, so that the hot-water faucet will not turn off. If so, child could be scalded. Products: 124,000 water dispensers sold 7/00 to 8/04 at Office Depot, Staples, and various appliance and electronics...

Zippo "MPL" multipurpose lighters.(Household Products)(product defects )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Butane could spill from nozzle and pose fire hazard. Products: 101,557 utility lighters sold 10/1/03 to 9/1/04 at various retailers including Lowes, Bed Bath & Beyond, Yankee Candle stores, Barbeque Galore, and Wal-Mart. They were also sold...

Making workouts work.(Health & Fitness Special Section)(exercise)
January 1, 2005... Exercise. The very word can make grown people cringe--not just because they think it will tire their body, but also because before they even start, it can tire their brain. What exercise is best? How much is necessary? Can you stick to it day...

Don't wait: whatever your age, it pays to lift weights.(health wise)(weight lifting )
January 1, 2005... Weight lifting may be the closest thing ordinary people have to a fountain of youth. Between the ages of 20 and 50, healthy adults have, essentially, a fixed amount of muscle mass. At about 50, it starts to go. By age 80, sedentary adults may...

Treadmills & ellipticals: indoor exercise.(Health & Fitness Special Section)(exercise equipments)
January 1, 2005... When you're paying $400 to $3,500 for a treadmill or elliptical exercise machine, it's reasonable to expect it to work properly. The disappointing news from our tests is that a number of machines had problems, from annoying "clunking" sounds to...

Calcium: more than just a bone builder.(Health & Fitness Special Edition)
January 1, 2005... The U.S. surgeon general, Richard Carmona, has warned that by 2020 half of older Americans will be at risk of fractures from osteoporosis unless they take preventive steps now. At the top of Carmona's list: consuming plenty of calcium. But...

You are what they eat.(animal feeds)
January 1, 2005... Humans are at the top of the food chain. As a result, we're vulnerable to pathogens, drugs, and contaminants consumed by the animals we eat. And we eat a lot: an average of 137 pounds of beef, chicken, fish, and shellfish per American in 2002,...

Retire in the black.(retirement benefits)
January 1, 2005... For many Americans, the dream of a secure and comfortable retirement is slowly receding. Consider Louis H. Cohen. When he retired in 1999 from Time-Warner, the communications giant, where he had served as chief financial officer for the books...

Sofas: how to uncover value.(purchasing)
January 1, 2005... You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to get a well-made sofa, our tests show. Two of the best sofas we tested cost $800 and $1,050. We also found that you may want to took beyond the traditional furniture store to find good values in...

Refrigerators: form follows function.
January 1, 2005... Get ready for more choices as refrigerator manufacturers refine existing designs and reprise old ones in the name of style and convenience. Bottom-freezer, French-door models with swing-out doors like the ones on side-by-sides are a prime...

Vacuums update: new features, new designs.
January 1, 2005... Cleaning carpets, floors, and furniture isn't enough anymore, judging by the arsenal of new tools and other features found on the latest vacuums. Kirby's Ultimate uprights offer a shampoo sprayer and, would you believe, a scalp massager,...

AC power supplies: keep them from zapping your wallet and the environment.(CR Technology)(alternating Current )
January 1, 2005... You may not think much about power supplies, those power cords with a bricklike appendage that converts AC power into the DC needed by cell phones, laptops, and a host of other devices. But touch that brick while any of those devices is on and...

Hypnosis: a safe and potent pain reliever.(CR Health)
January 1, 2005... Discomfort during certain medical procedures can be reduced with the help of hypnosis. In a study in Wales of 80 cancer patients ages 6 to 16, for example, those who received hypnosis from a therapist reported less pain and anxiety, and...

Feverfew for headaches.(names & claims)(medicinal plants)
January 1, 2005... "When sensitivities to light, noises, or smells go straight to your head, don't hide in the dark--reach for the herbal support of feverfew." So reads the claim on www.swansonvitamins.com, one of the many Web sites marketing the herb feverfew as...

Extended warranties say yes, sometimes.(CR Money)
January 1, 2005... On the way to the checkout counter, you have no doubt been waylaid by a sales clerk extolling the benefits of buying an extended warranty. But one of our editors, a battle-hardened shopper, was taken aback recently when the cashier at a chain...

Redefining the American sedan: large sedans: the new Chrysler 300 and Ford Five Hundred combine American Nostalgia and European Pedigree.
January 1, 2005... The new Chrysler 300 and Ford Five Hundred are good examples of two seemingly contradictory trends in American cars: a nostalgic reach back to America's automotive past and a growing international influence. With its lengthy hood, big...

Dangerous hide-and-seek with recalled meat.(Viewpoint: the consumers union perspective)
January 1, 2005... Government agencies such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission have the authority to order recalls of toys and other products if they are deemed potentially dangerous. But when meat is infected with E. coli, listeria, or in one instance,...

Ol' what's-his-name.(Selling it: goofs / glitches / gotchas)(marketing)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... For years we've tracked a marketing ploy we've personified as the Post-it bandit (early missives came with a seemingly handwritten sticky note). The notes were stuck on clippings that looked like magazine articles but were actually ads touting...

Whee!(Selling it: goofs / glitches / gotchas)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Heads up if you plan to drive in the Garden State. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Location, location.(Selling it: goofs / glitches / gotchas)
January 1, 2005... "This brochure for continuing education came to our real estate appraisal office," an Illinois reader wrote. Despite the promise "Dedicated to exceptional education... no exceptions," our reader found one. Naperville, Ill., one of the course...

Time for a new name.(Selling it: goofs / glitches / gotchas)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The Hover Crafts Clock may be "awesome," as the catalog says. It may use "scientific principals of magnetic levitation and electricty to create counter-intuitive and magical modes of motion." Each piece may even be "exquisitely carved." But...

Sorry, wrong house.(Selling it: goofs / glitches / gotchas)(Illustration)
January 1, 2005... "Well, dag," an Illinois couple writes, "we had one foot in the car ready to race off to this 'spectacular' auction--I mean, look at this place!" Then they noticed the petite disclaimer. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]