Pentek 158116 1/4" #10 Slim Line Clear Filter Housing

• Slim filter housing for low-flow applications with space restrictions
• Clear styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) for on-site viewing of flow and cartridge condition
• Holds a 10" x 2-1/2" sediment or carbon filter cartridge (sold separately)
• Pressure relief button for easier cartridge replacement
• Initial pressure drop of 2 psi at a flow rate of 3 gpm

Dropped from 2ft while full of water, no visible damage or even scratches. Very well built filter and housing.

The threads are perfect size and fit the watts fittings I purchased with a standard 3 wraps of Ptfe tape.

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I needed these to replace the housings in an old RO setup. Happily, these are standard 10" filter housings with standard screw/mounting holes. They fit perfect! They are also one of the rare housings that don''t have the bleed button which I didn''t want because the bleed button interferes with most multi-ganged mounting brackets.

My deduction of 1 star is because I feel the threads are a bit big. I had to use a ridiculous amount of pipe tape to ensure a good seal. Also, I would prefer an opaque housing to reduce mold/algae build-up from the light.

Very good quality, though. I think Pentair is the new owner of Pentek, Ametek, and others. My original R.O. was a Watts from over 10 years ago.

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Karcher Window Vac Save 13% Off

This little machine does the hard work for you. Simply scrub your windows with whatever you like (window wash, or my favorite, a dishrag with dish soap) and the machine vacuums away all the water, streak free. It runs on a battery charger, and it is very lightweight which is a great thing. The handle also allows for some extra reach for those tall windows for which you might rather not haul out a chair or stool. Great for quick touchups of bathroom mirror and shower tile as well. Where was this all my life?

I bought my Karcher WV 50 window vac plus the 17cm blade, it''s just another expensive gadget you don''t really need, and simply NOT worth the money, a 3 hour battery charge for only 20 minutes actual work is just not long enough, plus it has very low suction power.. OK for bathroom tiles maybe, but that''s about all, I much prefer to use a squeegee & rubber wipe blade for my windows for a proper job anyday.. My advice is save yourself some money £££££.. A decent Squeegee & rubber Wipe blade does a much better job and still leaves windows dry.. (all my other Karcher items are really excellent) but this "POWERLESS WV50" is just another expensive gimmick!!!

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Saw this item in my in-flight magazine (which has some good ideas, obviously) and thought I''d give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised: the parts are well designed to assemble/disassemble quickly, the battery charges pretty fast, and I was able to clean my windows with absolutely no problem whatever. I''m not finicky, so my procedure might not be suited to everyone''s taste, but it was rapid & effective for me. I simply equip myself with a couple of cloth towels & a sprayer full of Windex; hold the Vacuum in my left hand (since I''m right handed), squirt the Windex on the window starting at the top. Set the bottle down & using my right hand smear the Windex around to lift dirt. Wipe that hand on a towel, switch the Vacuum to the right hand and proceed with squeegee action. With a little practice, the whole window takes a half a minute or so, depending on how dirty it was.

Best thing about it, I think, is the sturdiness of the product. It''s really basic, no frills, no gimmicks; just vacuums up the dirty Windex. Done.

As I said, I''m not squeamish about getting my hands wet or dirty; you could wear gloves, I suppose, if you don''t want to get Windex on them. Beats using newspaper or paper towels by a mile!

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This is a tool that will help you get shiny windows faster. I have so far only used industrial strength windex and I like the results. I have read reviews on using regular dish washer detergent or vinegar, too. I have used it on windows and used it only once on a bathroom mirror; couldn''t get the corners right. I am happy with the window performance. Some facts: 1) it is important to use the tool from top to down mostly if you try to use it on a horizontal surface that has significant amount of water you get water coming out from sides the ventilation holes; a scary sight indeed, but it keeps running afterwards. Do not try to use it immediately if this happens to you too; let it stand for a while. The tank was not even one quarter full when this happened; it looks like the bursting leak is due to the design of tank connection. Keeping the tool upright on its base is a good habit when using this product, 2) There is a warning ''not to use it outdoors; I guess this is related to this issue; although the previous issue came up with regular indoor use I wouldn''t recommend using it outdoors after a rain or on wet surfaces based on potential problems You are of course going to use it outdoors. Outside of windows is why I purchased this product, and I surely used it outdoors on the truely problematic side of the windows. I rinsed the windows earlier with the garden hose. The dirty water tank is not large but it is sufficient to easily keep up with a couple large windows. 3) After a couple of uses the rubber will get dirty and leave traces on the surface; you can clean the attachment and try again or just go over the area using your conventional methods I use a paper towel to go over it a second round especially the corners always need a second round. It still is worth it as it reduces the amount of work you would have to put in to clean windows otherwise. It would be nice to have a secondary attachment so you can use one on clean home surfaces; I could not for instance use it on kitchen counters after cleaning the dirty windows. The attachment comes off for through cleaning; but I would expect the rubber to get distorted if you use harsh chemicals/tools to clean it. This must be the reason why outdoor use is not recommended. I use dish washing detergent and warm water to clean the head attachment. I wouldn''t depend on it for that variety of purposes as advertised; you should decide on the most important jobs and stick to it.

I would recommend it to those who like streak free windows with less effort. I guess a review after a long term use would be more useful to judge the performance

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Before buying it, I was a little bit skeptical, BUT IT IS A PURE MARVEL ! No more dripping on the floor, no need anymore to put a cloth on the floor to protect it. What I like the most is when cleaning a big surface in two stages, there is no "partition line" showing at all. Works great on glass tables too. Very quick to clean

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Sodastream Jet Starter Kit Save 15% Off

So obviously you''re reading this hoping to understand why you should buy this product and why you shouldn''t. And you''ve read a bunch of reviews and there doesn''t seem to be a middle ground. Seem''s either people hate it and tell you to beware, or love it and highly recommend it.... so you''re confused....correct?

Well, read this review from someone who understand technological things and simply isn''t some person looking to get soda for 10 cents per liter bottle. If this is what you''re looking for, it isn''t going to happen. At least not unless you own a carbon dioxide supply company.

So why should you buy this?

1. First off, it does work as advertised. Once you connect the CO2 cartridge, there''s not much more to set up, other than put some water (preferably spring or filtered COLD water) in the liter bottles (or 14 oz bottles sold separately), inject the "proper" amount of carbonation into the bottle and then add whatever amount of flavoring you wish. I say "proper" amount of carbonation because the soda maker (at least the ones bought recently I have the "Dynamo" model and this review was written in Nov 2011) will add carbonation to the point where the pressure will force the unit to make a sort of "buzzing" sound which indicates that the maximum carbonation has been added into the water, and the excess is being forced out to create that "buzzing" sound.

2. The ability to add carbonation up to the point where the SodaStream "buzzes" or "burps" brings up another plus. You can add less carbonation than the SodaStream maxes out at, in which case you won''t hear the warning sound. But when you do this, you create carbonated drinks which have varying amounts of carbonation in them. If you desire less, you can make carbonated drinks with less.

3. Flavors. A third plus. Yes, some people don''t like the flavors that SodaStream provides. But these are the same people SodaStream were probably never going to satisfy anyway. SodaStream provide a bunch of flavors....cola''s (diet/reg), Dr. Pepper-like flavors (diet/reg), Sprite and Sierra Mist-like flavors (diet/reg), Orange, Energy, Grapefruit, lightly flavored unsweetened "MyWater" flavors, etc., etc. The point is, as a 3rd plus, you can use their flavors or you can experiment and try anything you like that will flavor your soda. I use Mio water flavorings which provide excellent, low calorie alternatives. If you don''t like their flavors, then don''t complain and knock the technology. Be creative and leverage what the SodaStream gives you....which is convenience and flexibility/options.

4. Green. A fourth plus is that you refill plastic bottles espcially designed for use with SodaStream soda makers. Because of this, you don''t buy cans or 2 liter bottles from the store, in some states paying a redemption free for the right to lug this stuff home, then drinking your soda and then accumulating all these cans and bottles to take back to a redemption center, or worse, throwing them away and filling a ton of landfills.

5. Health. A fifth plus...or at least it can be. People really shouldn''t drink too much soda. At least soda with sugar in it. It leads to obesity, diabetes, etc. Yes... you can flavor water with stuff like Mio or add some juice from an orange or lemon. But not only does it not taste as good as a soda, you just know that flat water based drinks are missing something. And what''s missing is that carbonation and the SodaStream will add that for you, and allow low calorie flavored drinks to taste better and be better for you!

6. Space. A sixth plus is space. That''s obvious. You don''t have all the bottles and cans sitting around, and the SodaStream unit only takes up a small amount of counter space.

7. Convenience. Yes you do save time and hastle from going to go to the store to lugging around bottles and cans of soda, this one is sort of a wash. See the reasons why you don''t buy the SodaStream. But at the same time, those who claim that it''s hard to find replacement CO2 cartridges, don''t get out of the house much. In California at least, you can get replacements at any Staples, Macy''s, Bed Bath and Beyond, Sears, Costco, and Target (to name a few). What may be issue is returning the unused cartridges, since not all stores that carry the cartridges, support sales and exchanges of the old cartridge. But what i do is simply collect the unused ones, and then periodically go to a store that does accept them.

So now lets address why you shouldn''t buy the SodaStream. Or better yet, lets address why you don''t buy the SodaStream.

1. To save money. While i know you will save money per liter, my feeling is that if that''s the primary reason you''re looking to buy the SodaStream, i don''t recommend it. It''s not signifant enough in my humble opinion, to warrant spending around $100 to $130 for a SodaStream unit, another $30 (minimum, less tax and shipping if you purchase the cartridges online).

2. Convenience. Despite the convenience "pluses" i mentioned earlier, as i stated, this is sort of a wash because you still have to go and return cartridges, and purchase syrup/flavoring, albeit less frequently than buying soda depending on how much you used to buying at one time.

Hope this information helps. One last note. In California where we have to pay a 5 cent redemption fee per can, this tilts the money saving and convenience to the "plus" side. A 24 pack adds another $1.20 at the cash register, and then you have to store the sticky cans and bottles until you can accumulate enough to make it worthwhile, to drive to the local redemtion center to get your cash back. That''s incentive enough alone to purchase a SodaStream!!!

We love the Sodastream machine and all the soda flavorings.

We live in a small condo with a long walk to our unit, and we got the Sodastream mainly to cut down on the number of plastic bottles we were hauling in and out of the place. Also, my husband drinks a lot of diet soda, and the sodium isn''t good for his high blood pressure. The Sodastream diet syrups are low sodium or sodium-free, and they''re sweetened with sucralose instead of aspertame (which some people think is healthier). For those who don''t drink diet drinks, the non-diet syrups are sweetened with a cane sugar-and-sucralose mix, instead of high fructose corn syrup, so they''re much lower in calories than name brand sodas.

The Sodastream has been great for our purposes. I have a lot fewer grocery bags to haul up the stairs every week, and a lot less recycling to carry out to the bins. We make soda as we need it, in whatever flavor we''re in the mood for, so we can have a lot of flavor choices without having a lot of extra bottles sitting around. The water comes out perfectly fizzy if you follow the directions, and we''ve been very happy with the flavors. My favorites are the lemon lime, grapefruit, and cranberry. My husband likes the diet cola and ginger ale. Best of all, we never "run out" of soda. If we open the fridge and there''s none in there, we simply make more.

Before we bought this product, I read a few consumer reviews that made me worry a little about the availability of CO2 refills and flavor syrups. For most people, this won''t be a problem. You can simply order the CO2 canisters and flavors online, leave the empty CO2 canisters on your doorstep, and a messenger will drop by to pick up the empties and deliver your supplies.

Unfortunately, the messenger system can be a bit of a problem for those of us who live in security buildings, or in areas where it''s not safe to leave things on the doorstep. Sodastream doesn''t give you an estimated delivery date or a way to track your package. The messenger tends to show up at unpredictable times, day or night. The guy who delivers in our area is not too bright and speaks very little English. Twice he''s been unable to follow the directions posted on the security system in our lobby so that we could buzz him in.

Fortunately, you can just exchange your CO2 canisters at Williams & Sonoma and Sur La Table stores. (And they last a long time, so you don''t have to do it very often.) Unfortunately, the same is not true of the flavor syrups. Brick-and-mortar stores carry a very limited variety of flavors, so unless you only want a couple of basic flavors, you still have to order refills from Sodastream (and deal with their messenger service). But again, for the vast majority of people, this won''t be as much of a hassle as it is for us.

A number of people have complained that the cost savings of the Sodastream are greatly exaggerated by the company. That might be true. If you''re really pinching pennies, you can certainly make carbonated water on the cheap with some supplies from a home brewing store. But if you don''t have the space for a DIY setup and don''t want your kitchen to look like a science lab, the Sodastream is a simple, easy alternative.

One more tip, for those of you who are deciding which model to buy we originally liked the more expensive "Penguin" model, because it looks more stylish on the countertop, and it uses fancy glass carafes. But then we realized that if we wanted to make soda and take it somewhere (to work, in the car, on picnics, camping, etc.), the plastic 1-liter bottles were much more practical. It''s something to consider, especially if you want to break the habit of spending money on soda at the vending machines at work.

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Beware the real total cost of ownership when buying this product.

These are great in the UK, where you can buy the gas refills (actually exchanges) in many supermarkets for not much money. However, in the US there are pitifully few outlets for the refills (Williams Sonoma and Camping World) and as such they are always out of stock. Because these gas cylinders have a proprietary fitting and anti-refill valve on them, they cannot be refilled at paintball, welding, or homebrew stores, so your only option is to mail them to Sodastream and obtain refills from the manufacturer directly. This adds up very quickly, and there is simply no way you can achieve the 20c per liter carbonation they claim here. The cheapest refills available from the manufacturer today are 3x14.5oz cylinders for $39 + $10 shipping = 41c/l. But since you have to have 3 cylinders first, you have to buy 3 more first (another $75 + $10 shipping), and these are their SALE prices.

It''s an interesting novelty and the kids love it, but when the first gas cylinder runs out, the soda cans on the supermarket shelves are going to look really tempting again. It''s a shame, here''s another great idea marred by poor execution. I can''t see that there is anything ''green'' about burning up so much in shipping heavy cylinders back and forth across the country.

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Let''s start off with the hardware. The machine is mostly plastic, but it appears durable. I''m a great abuser of products and I haven''t managed to break anything on it yet. The bottles are of above-average plastic thickness, so they''ll probably last as long as the company claims they will. The CO2 canisters are well made and the only disadvantage is that they''re proprietary and need to be send back to Soda Club for refill. Use of the machine is so easy that it''s trivial -screw on a bottle filled with water, press the button, wait for a buzzing noise from the relief valve. It doesn''t get any simpler than that. No electricity required and no mess to clean up. In short the hardware is a 100% win.

Now we get to the software (or maybe I ought to call it "softdrinkware"). In order to make soda / pop / "soft drinks", you need to use syrup which the company calls "soda mix". The company sells a variety of soda mixes in both regular and diet forms. As many people have noted, the regular mixes are actually hybrid mixes with 2/3 artificial sweetener and 1/3 real sugar. That''s a real shame as choice has been taken away from the consumer in favor of a perceived health benefit by those who think they know better than you. My initial order contain five regular mixes: Cola, Orange, Grape, Root Beer, and Pete''s Choice. Let''s walk through them from best to worst.

Pete''s Choice and Root Beer were both excellent. Pete''s choice tastes like Dr. Pepper. Both of these mixes tasted as good or better than store-bought soda. There was no annoying aftertaste from the artificial sweetener. I''d highly recommend them and I expect that most of my refills are going to be these two flavors.

Orange and grape .... not so much. Fruit flavors demand a certain sweetness to taste right, and it just isn''t there. The annoying artifical sweetener aftertaste is prominant among these two flavors although it''s tolerable. They also don''t taste that orange-ish or that grape-ish. I might try mixing the syrup in at double the amount next time to see if I can raise the sweetness and strength of flavor while hopefully not ramping up the aftertaste. I''m skeptical.

And then there''s the cola mix. This has to be one of the foulest concoctions I have ever had the misfortune of drinking. It doesn''t taste like regular cola. It doesn''t taste like diet cola. The artificial sweetener aftertaste is overwhelming. It kind of tastes like the old diet sodas that would spoil after sitting on the shelf for 5 years. If I didn''t know better, I''d think they''d mixed in some of that chemical is in cough syrup that makes you gag when you put it in your mouth.

In summary, I really like the machine itself. I''d have given it 5 stars were it not for the flavors. The cola flavor was so bad that it deserved taking two stars off my review. The orange and grape flavors were mediocre and between the two of them it deserved the loss of another star. The bottom line is that this is a product that you''ll be drinking and it needs to taste good.

Updated (2/17/2010) I''ve had a chance to try out a few more flavors and I''ve found that I really like the ''Fountain Mist'' and ''Lemon Lime''. The ''Energy Drink'' tastes quite similar to red bull. I''ve bumped up my review an extra star to cover the new flavors that I actually enjoy! Still can''t stand that cola flavor though, which is rather unfortunate. I''m on my third CO2 cylinder now, and have given the machine a lot of use. It''s holding up well.

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I love this thing! I bought it originally in order to stop throwing away so many plastic bottles (we''re seltzer maniacs here).

Features:

* You can control the water source and filter it.

* You can control the fizziness (we''re getting up to a level that boils in our blood for at least an hour after drinking it, but you can have a light Euro-water-style fizz as well).

* It''s entertaining to use.

* It''s better for the environment.

* The sound makes the dog get all wiggy, which is fun to watch. It sounds like a big raspberry when you fizz up a bottle of water.

* You''ll probably be the only one on your block with a seltzer maker it definitely spanks a bread machine.

I still haven''t had to return the CO2 bottle, so I don''t know how easy that''s going to be. Delivery was slow but entertaining: about 3 weeks after we ordered, an actual Soda-Club delivery woman showed up at our door toting our new Soda-Club.

One caveat: the syrups are pretty revolting...at least the ones we tried. Plus, they all contain artificial sweeteners, even the non-diet ones. But we just add some lemon or orange essence (available in the spice section at your store) to pep it up a bit.

Also, if you go through fizzy water pretty fast, be sure to order two extra bottles. You have to chill the water before you fizz it up, so it''s good to have a few in rotation.

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AIR WICK Stick-Ups Air Freshener: Fresh Waters Save 32% Off

cannot find these in stores any more so when i saw them on amazon i had to buy them. Use them in my car has double sided tape car smells like clean laundrymat

These are very handy--you can stick one right on the side of your toilets with the two-sided tape. The scent comes out strongly almost immediately, so you can screw it shut again by the time you leave the bathroom. I''d recommend the "crisp breeze" scent over the "fresh waters," however. This one smells like the disinfectant used in a lot of restaurant bathrooms, where they leave them open all the time until the scent is suffocating.

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I am an Air Wick fan. I use these in my garbage pail. It works well to keep the odor to a minimum.

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It worked amazingly well when i got them, and freshened up the room a lot. however, after just 5 days, the smell died out. They are good for short periods, but not as a permanent solution.

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I put one of these up in our kitchen, and another near the cat litter tray in our spare room. It hasn''t made a difference in either places. I will not be buying this product again.

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Kleen Free Naturally, Natural, Non-Toxic, Enzyme Solution and Multi-Purpose Cleaner Save 3% Off

This review is targeted towards people who have had an ongoing issue with mites and are desperate to hear from someone who has tried something that worked. I have spent thousands of dollars on various methods over the last ten years to try to get rid of my bug problem. I have tried: moving house, fumigation, throwing out all bedding, beds, linen, various chemicals and powders, vacuuming daily, showering twice a day (washing my bedding daily), listerine, menthol crystals, diatimacious earth, neem oil, baking soda, windex... you name it, I''ve tried it.

A couple of years ago I kind of resolved to learn to live with the problem. But this year I found some websites on the internet with information from people who had beaten the problem so I spent 6 months trying a range of products that they recommended. I purchased many of the products on the internet and had them posted to me from America to Australia at great expense.

I tried so many things that I cannot be certain whether it was the combination of products that worked in the end or not. But what I can tell you is that this product seemed to make a very radical difference very quickly. It is the only product that I am certain kills the bugs in the wash. This is important to me as my clothing and bedding seemed to be the last battleground with the mites. After ten years I had mostly eradicated them from other areas of my house but I found that I kept reinfecting myself until I started using kleen free. I have only been using kleen for around one month.

I wish I had received this advice when I first got the problem. In fact one of the websites that I followed said that Kleen Free didn''t work for them so I didn''t bother to try it until I read testimonials on the Kleen Free website that sounded truthful. I doubted that it was going to make a shred of difference though when I bought it.

Again, I''m not certain it will work for you. We are all amateurs out there trying things through trial and error and I''m sure there are a million bugs out there that respond to different products differently. I just know that it worked for my bugs. The fact that it is non toxic is so important. I was using products that I knew were toxic but I had decided that I would take the risk and use the other products anyway because I was so desperate to get rid of the bugs.

If I had to start from scratch again, I would do this:

Cover your mattress and pillows in mattress and pillow protectors that are properly sealed (ones recommended for bed bugs etc, not the flimsy dust mite ones), or wrap in thick plastic and seal with thick tape. You''ll get nowhere until you start doing this. Spray the mattress with Kleen Free first though!

Get rid of anything that is non-essential that you could live without (furniture, clothing, books etc.). And when I say "get rid of", I mean throw in the bin do not donate to charities or sell on ebay don''t pass the problem onto someone else. I threw out 95% of my clothes and ALL my furniture. This was hard to do because I collect vintage clothing and it is hard to replace. I threw out all furniture because the bugs can go in deep and it seemed too hard to keep cleaning, vacuuming my favourite couch etc. I don''t regret it. But I highly recommend not buying any new furniture until you have full confidence you have eliminated the problem, and if you do buy something, choose something you can wipe down with few crevices (like plastic chairs etc). (I did this before I came across Kleen Free)

Think of the creatures as you would dust. Wherever dust can reside, so can they. However difficult dust is to eliminate, so are they. This may seem extreme, and if you''ve only had the problem for a short while, you might think my advice is over the top it is not. This "dust" also likes to breed! And can do so very quickly. What may start off as a minor problem can become a major and expensive problem within a week. Think of them as breeding dust that can lay eggs that can survive for years. When they do hatch, it takes them around a week to mature and start breeding again. So do the math... you could have millions within a week. And these are worse than dust because you can''t see them and they can scurry away very quickly.

Vacuum clean EVERY DAY and everywhere. Use a vacuum with a hepa filter. Throw the bag out everyday if you can afford it. If not, put the bag in a plastic zip-lock back and put that bag in another zip-lock bag and put that bag in the freezer. (My experience makes me think that freezers kill mites but not their eggs). Handle the bag with disposable gloves.

Note: Try not to reinfect anything (as a general rule).

Wash your bedding everyday (in kleen free). Only use towels and clothing once and wash immediately. Put washing in a freezer (or sealed bags) until you can wash them.

Clean (with Kleen free) all areas where you plan to put your clean clothes, bedding etc. (cupboards, drawers etc)

Vacuum your whole house including floors, walls etc as much and often as you can. (This includes shoes).

Tell yourself that this will take you six months to beat! And that it requires planning, persistence and patience (make that your mantra when you think it is unbearable and no believes you!!!). If it takes less than 6 months it will be a bonus. Also, tell yourself that it might take a month of mad cleaning before you start to notice a difference.

Follow the instructions on the kleen free bottle bathe in it, spray the whole house etc for the first week then every second day in the second week.

Even if you don''t buy this product, the vacuuming and washing of clothes (or disposal) is absolutely essential.

In fact, when I got bitten while wearing an item of clothing (before I discovered Kleen Free), I would take the item of clothing off immediately and throw it in the bin. I also did this with bedding. I would ask myself whether it is worth the trouble of trying to wash the bugs out or not... what is more costly? I bought myself heaps of cheap blankets, sheets and pillows I was willing to throw away every so often... but with Kleen Free, hopefully you won''t have to do that. (I stopped doing it when I discovered this product!) I threw out expensive woolen coats etc. too. It''s best to wash your clothing in the hottest water possible and in the hottest drier, so I started buying synthetic clothing that could handle such temperatures. Try to buy cheap, synthetic clothing and don''t buy too much... throw it out if you''re getting bitten too much.

Psychologically, what worked for me was that I tried to keep some kind of tally of how many bites I was getting on a daily basis. At first it was 50, then 20ish then 5, etc. As annoying as five new bites a night is, as least you know it''s less than it was last month, so what you are doing is working, so persevere! I remember I used to count how many bites I''d get on the way to work... usually three or four, then down to two, then one. Then one day I remembered that I hadn''t counted them for a couple of days. That equalled NO BITES on the way to work! Sure, I was being bitten at night still, but they were disappearing VERY slowly but surely.

As I write this review I am awaiting another bottle of Kleen Free to come from the USA. I didn''t follow the instructions correctly when I first bought the product and I ran out of the product very quickly. I also didn''t take the baths etc. (because I don''t have a bath) I just bought myself an inflatable one on ebay! I have been getting the occasional bite (one these last three weeks). But I know it''s because I have reinfected myself with something I haven''t treated. I only wash my clothes in Kleen Free now, and I''m saving all that I have left for my washing. When I do the whole program properly, I will amend this review.

I''m writing this review because I feel compelled to help people who need somewhere to start. I know if I post on a bird mite board somewhere people might think I work for the company and not take my review seriously, so I''m posting here.

Good luck to those of you who have had the misfortune of a bird mite infestation!

Later edit:

I just read the review above mine that talked about a bedbug crawling straight through the product. I agree that that would be extremely disconcerting. My bug problem was probably a type of mite, not a bedbug. I don''t know if that makes a difference to the effectiveness of the product. If you do have an "invisible" biting mite problem like I did, I would chance this product... it''s a relatively cheap low risk. I''m only adding this footnote because if I had come across the negative review and not given it a go that would have been a shame and I wouldn''t be experiencing the relief I''m experiencing now.

If you want to check out the ingredients of this product for product comparison''s sake, do a google search by including the name of this (or any) product with "MSDS" (Material Safety Data Sheet). All companies by law, must list the ingredients and safety requirements of the product. You will then have the knowledge to make your own judgement. This information is abundantly available on the internet.

Even later update (Oct 2011):

I have practically eliminated the problem and I have run out of Kleen Free. All I do now to maintain my sanity is clean my clothes and bedding in hot water and dry them in a hot (laundromat/gas) dryer on a weekly basis. I also vacuum clean once a week. And this seems to be good enough. I had not been bitten for some months though. I recommend maintaining your routine until you haven''t been bitten for three months. Just to be sure!

I recently walked into my garage and stepped on some old furniture and by the end of the night I was being bitten again. This time I didn''t panic! I knew that if I stuck to my usual regime I would get rid of them eventually... and I did after two-three weeks.

But I am adding to this review because I came across another additional product that I believe assisted me on my journey and that is orange oil. I read somewhere that if insects lay their eggs too deeply in the skin of an orange, the eggs do not survive. Apparently when they come into contact with the d-limonene found in the peel of oranges (and some other citrus fruits) the eggs die. When I read that I decided to try dabbing orange oil wherever on my body I felt a bite. Be warned, this stuff is used as a cleaner because it is very corrosive. 99 % of the time I had no reaction to it but on occasion I did. It stung me and I believe it can burn your skin. So if you choose to try it out like I did use it very cautiously or mix it with another oil. I purchased it from a health food store and then in bulk from an essential oil supplier. Be very careful!!

But I do think it helps. You won''t notice its effect immediately because I think it only kills eggs... but I think it does help in time.

Good luck to you all and I''m glad my review has assisted some of you.

Later addition, 11 October 2012:

I started a blog way back in 2009 to discuss my processes. But I was so overwhelmed with trying to defeat the problem, that I did not add anymore entries. Additionally, I felt silly blogging about things that weren''t working.

As this review has turned into a kind of forum, I thought I''d direct you back to my blog so that you can add things not related to the review of this product there. The blog is called The Mite Wars. I hope Amazon allow me to keep this info on this review. I''m not sure if I''m breaking any rules here.

Please comment or ask questions there! I did not copy and paste any comments from this review as they are not my own, and I do not have the right to do that.

If anyone wishes to start a forum (instead of my blog) please feel free to do so.

I didn''t know I had scabies until six months into having them. The skin specialist said I had a rash and the treatment wasn''t working. My internal medicine doctor was the one that told me I had scabies. I never heard the name before so when I got home I went onto the internet to find out what they were. I never new such a bug and wish I never did but I had to continue to read and learn as much as I could so I could find a way to get rid of them. Rumor has it that lying in the sun can help get rid of them but that isn''t true. You want to get rid of them use Kleen Free. Your nightmare will be over. Before I knew about Kleen Free, I tried another expensive product to get rid of the scabies but the treatments it required just wasn''t doing the trick. It only called for 2 or 4 oz to be added in the tub verses one cup of Kleen Free. My first treatment of Kleen Free by adding one cup in the tub, I could feel it working. It is hard to say into words, but I could feel the enzymes killing them on my skin. Scabies lay their eggs in your skin and when they hatch they like fly or flutter around your body and you can feel them for a while before they enter back into your skin and turn into adult scabies and make more eggs and the cycle starts all over again. The enzymes kill them before they have a chance to re-enter your body and produce more of them. As time goes bye, less and less of them are hatch and the cycle stops. Your Kleen Free of scabies. When you only use 2 or 4 oz of another brand, it takes forever or weeks before you get rid of them. You are only teasing them and not really getting to the problem effectively. Using Kleen Free, and using what is recommended, one cup in the bath water, and soaking for 1/2 hour in the tub was more effective. I would purchase two gallons of Kleen Free which lasted a lot longer than the other competitor product. I also use Kleen Free in my wash, my bed, rugs, furniture, my car seats and floor, and I even washed my makeup cosmetic pad in Kleen Free. I would spray my shoes or put them in a freezer bag over night. Everyday, I would change and wash my sheets and comforters. The same goes for my towels and dish towels. I wished I came across Kleen Free sooner. I spent a lot of money purchasing the other product and you get a lot more for your money with Kleen Free. After using the other product after five weeks, I still had them, but when I started using Kleen Free and after two weeks I could hardly tell I had them anymore. By the third week, I was Kleen Free. And even though I don''t have them anymore, I still keep on hand some Kleen Free just to maintain. I don''t ever want them back again and your mental state is Kleen Free, too. Happy Ending.

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Great natural cleaner and pest killer amazingly good at dealing with bug infestations on plants (like those neffy Japanese beatles) and actually, truly works to kill scabies which I can, sadly, personally attest to.

We had a scabies outbreak where I used to work (wholesaler/retailer in the garment district; source was likely a contaminated goods delivery). Just my luck, I was one of the people infected. Let me tell you, these things are vicious and can be really, really difficult to get rid of. They are invisible to the naked eye and to most magnifying lenses (10x and under useless), breed and spread rapidly and become immune to treatments very quickly. Unfortunately, I (and most of my fellow sufferers) did not realize what I had until it had spread in my home; these things love paper, cardboard, cloth, anything porous of that type, and can even get down in the floor boards. Basically a nightmare. The prescription medications I received worked at first, but I kept getting re-infected while trying to deal with infected bedding, clothes etc. and, unfortunately, within one week these hideous little things had spread in my bedroom and become immune to the topical medicine. Doctors were no use (initially told me I didn''t need to do anything to clean the environment, not even wash my clothes, which was just moronic!).

I was getting desperate so I did what I should have done in the first place and searched for advice from other sufferers on the internet. I found a lot of information that scared me to bits, but also some good product recommendations and protocols for dealing with this infestation in my home and on my body. I bought all of the products that seemed to be most recommended the one that worked to kill the mites off my body and in my bathroom and most of my bedroom was Kleen Free. This stuff gave me relief and got me (and the worst affected areas of my house) clean of the nasties; apparently it kills them by dissolving exoskeleton of the mite so the mites have no chance to develop immunity, thank goodness (and no, the Kleen Free did not damage my skin and I have VERY sensitive skin). I did NOT use the Kleen Free on upholstery, rugs or clothes, but I did use it in bathe water to decontaminate myself and I used a diluted solution to wipe down floors, walls, furniture and personal possession I handled all the time, like cellphone, keys, etc. Once I and the immediate environs were creepy critter free, I put on some clean clothes one of my sisters brought for me (sealed in plastic) and went to stay somewhere else while an exterminator bombed my home (internet search told me this was possible and what should be used). I then purchased a few of those environment suits with plastic linings at Home Depot (for cleaning basements, etc.) and my family and I wore them as a precaution to go back into the house. Per the information I found on the internet, anything in the affected areas which could not be laundered and dryed at high heat for at least 30 minutes was bagged and disposed of, including papers, books (sob), mattress, carpets, some upholstered furniture and shoes. To be on the safe side I disposed of all clothes except my favorites. Clothes I couldn''t bear to part with were washed and dried in a hot dryer for a minimum of 30 minutes and then double-bagged to be left un-opened for 2 months and then re-washed and re-dryed before being worn again; there were some suits that could not be washed which I cleaned with those dry-cleaning sheets you can use in your dryer the important thing was to expose them to high dryer heat for at least 30 minutes to kill any possible remaining infestation. There were some books and papers I couldn''t bear to part with which I sprinkled with diatomaceous earth, sealed up in plastic bags and put aside to store for a minimum of 2 years (erring on the side of caution different sources gave different time periods I was horrified at how persistent mites apparently can be). We then sprinkled diatomaceous earth on all floor surfaces (this stuff cuts up the exoskeletons of all insects and is non-toxic, although you do NOT want to breathe it we used face masks). My home was then left vacant for 2 weeks and then bombed again at the end of the 2 weeks this was to give the mites nothing to eat during the next lifecycle and to kill the next round of any nasties (from egg to adult). I confess I was so paranoid by that point (listening to the horror stories of my co-workers and from what I read on the ''net) that I waited another 2 weeks and bombed one more time before moving back in. In the meantime, I continued to bathe using the Kleenfree as a just in case preventative. Anyway, this worked and my home and I were both scabies free (although there was a lot of clean up to get rid of the diatomaceous earth, but it was worth it for the peace of mind!)

There is a codcil here. A bad attack of scabies will continue to cause incredibly severe itching and irritation for months after, as it takes time for the skin to purge out all the contamination from these creepy things. It is also typical to develop a skin yeast infection about a year or more later as a side affect of the scabies attack (yes, the gift that just keeps on giving). For these reasons, combined with the fact that the scabies mites are invisible, people often think they are still infected with scabies long after they have gotten rid of them. The first 6 months after the initial infestation were rough for me; taking a bath with Kleen Free once in a while during that period helped keep me calm and sure that I was "clean". Let me add that the oral prescription drug ivermectin is an effective way to get rid of scabies if the skin medications don''t work for you; there are some dangerous possible side effects but most of the people I worked with who were infected ended up having to take this and were ok you take one dose and then another 2 weeks later. Altogether, having scabies was one of the worst experiences of my life and I honestly don''t know how I would have made it through if I had not found Kleen Free.

Note that this stuff is highly concentrated; a couple gallons was enough to see me through the whole ordeal and the 6 month period after (with enough left over to use on the japanese beatles in my sister''s garden).

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I was interested in this product because we have bed bugs to get rid of and the product is made from natural ingredients, no chemicals. I could tell right away that it had vinegar in it. I think vinegar acts as a repellant to bed bugs but does not kill them. I sprayed the carpet and our bedding and floor boards. I regret to say we still have bed bugs so we must move on to other methods.

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I used this spray after I got a bed from some friends who were moving. Turned out that the bed (mattress and box springs), which previously sat unused in their spare bedroom, was infested with bedbugs. Nothing killed the bugs; I used Raid, bug bombers, probably tried ten different products from local retailers. I was utterly miserable because the bugs were migrating into the rest of the house from my spare bedroom, and I was getting bit. It was a living hell. In desperation I found this. IT WORKED!!!!!! I diluted the concentrate a little on the heavy side and sprayed everything. Twice. I laundered the sheets and blankets in it and I also soaked in the bath for the bites, which worked like a charm. Within two days my house was clear of bedbugs. I am buying another bottle this year to treat for fleas on the dogs because Frontline isn''t working as well as it used to.

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Klean Kanteen Wide Mouth Insulated Water Bottle

I''ve had several of the regular Klean Kanteen bottles which are great, but I always disliked the fact that the liquid didn''t stay cold for long unless the tote was used, and the bottle would sweat quite a bit. I didn''t like the tote because it smelled odd and made the bottle awkward to set down on tables. When I saw the insulated bottles I bought 2 of the 20 oz size, one with just the regular loop cap and one with the cafe cap. I have to disagree with what everyone has said about both caps. I love them both! I use the bottle with the loop cap the most, and it keeps my juice cold all day, 9+ hours at work, even without adding ice. The cafe cap doesn''t leak for me, either out the opening or around the seal. Of course, it does state that the opening you drink from isn''t supposed to be leak-proof, it says it right on the packaging. I don''t upend my bottle, but if I did, I might get a few drips at the most. These are great as travel mugs for coffee, they even fit in my car''s cup holders. I don''t think most travel mugs are completely leak-proof anyway, especially if you can drink out of the cap. Keeps coffee hot for the whole day, just as stated. Would also be great for smoothies or soup. I plan to buy a couple of the 12 oz size for my lunch bag. Another excellent product from Klean Kanteen!

OK...it was a little hard to spend this much on a water bottle, but I am glad that I did. Water stays cold a long time & I am sure that a heated drink would stay warm just as long. No metal taste at all! Easy to clean. I''m glad that I spent a little more $$$ and purchased the insulated Klean Kanteen. UPDATE: After four months of using this bottle I appreciate it even more. I live in Florida & this bottle keeps my water cold even AFTER it has sat in my HOT car for several hours!

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As a student, I feel that I am always on the go and always craving coffee. This bottle is almost magical in its ability to preserve the temperature of your drink (hot or cold), and maintain the taste (no plasticy aftertaste). This is obviously because of the vacuum insulation, and stainless steel construction, respectively, along with supurb build quality.

I will now speak specifically about cold and hot liquids in the bottle, as well as a lid (something that is very important to a bottle.

Cold: This is what it seems to handle the best. Ice stays frozen for hours (seems like up to 10 or 12 hours sometimes), and ice water will stay pleasantly cold for nearly 20 hours. I put water with ice in the bottle around 3:00 one afternoon, and it was still quite cold the following morning around 10:00. Another advantage of keeping very cold water in this bottle versus a non-insulated klean kanteen is the fact that it does not sweat.

Hot: Coffee from my keurig coffee machine stays at a delectible temperature for up to 5 hours after brewing with this bottle. With a traditional coffee pot, or a french press (where the temperature is usually higher than a keurig''s serving temperature) would last longer. I have not tested this personally.

Lid: This is the weakest part of the bottle by far. There are two things about the lid which bothers me quite a bit. Firstly, the lid is not supposed to be fully submerged in water when washing. Water "under pressure" can leak into the lid and have no hopes of getting out. Secondly, and partially due to the difficulty of cleaning caused by the first point, the lid seems to smell strongly of whatever you have been drinking. This is most evident with coffee. Otherwise, the lid keeps a tight seal when on the bottle, and leaves you feeling comfortable tossing the bottle in your bag with a computer and notebooks, etc.

Summary:

This bottle is great, and does as it advertises quite brilliantly. It handles hot and cold liquids well, and makes taking your drinks wherever you go easy and pain-free. Unfortunately, the lid made a nearly-perfect bottle not entirely perfect in the end.

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It keeps things cold all day long, but the lid system needs to be improved.

If you carry a full bottle of iced coffee to work as I do, you have to use the loop cap to transport it then switch to the cafe cap. There should be one leak proof cafe cap for this. Since it''s insulated, I imagine people aren''t necessarily drinking water from it and would rather not drink their hot/cold beverage from the side of the bottle. You shouldn''t have to buy an additional cap.

The loop cap sweats a lot when there''s something cold in it. Beware when putting it in your bag.

The cafe cap leaks and spills on your face when you get to the end of the bottle and tilt it too high.

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I own a regular Klean Kanteen and used it occasionally. I liked the idea of a long term stainless bottle but it did very poorly keeping things cold, compared to, say, a Nalgene bottle. The thinner steel is far less insulating than polycarbonate. It also made tons of condensation.

This Klean Kanteen is about as opposite as you get from that. It keeps things colder longer than any Thermos I''ve ever had, and seemed to do well with hot stuff too, although I''ve only tried hot chocolate one time and drank it quickly. I just filled it with ice water and shook it for several minutes, and the outside was still the same temperature, amazingly insulted. Also, the top is big enough to put ice in with ease, another issue with the original Klean Kanteens.

I have experienced no leaks, and I haven''t treated it very nicely. It''s been in gym bags and all over my car, and it''s falling onto concrete once. The only slight downside to this bottle is that it''s bigger than a normal 20 ounce bottle, because of the insulation jacket, but there''s nothing that can be done about that. It''s completely reasonably sized.

If you are willing to spend $25 on a bottle (I had to grit my teeth over this too), this is a SUPERB one to buy. It is worth every penny.

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Pollenex 3 Settings: Massaging Hand-held Showerhead

It came on time with everything you need included in its package. I installed and used it right away and so far soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good. It really deserves 5 star.

I had wanted one of these for the longest of time, and now I finally own one. I love the different settings from a gentle spray to a pulsating massage on my sore muscles.

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This shower head is sleek and powerful for the price I paid, it has 3 different settings and the tube is long enough and I think I will buy another one for my second bathroom.

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leaked after installed so I sent back. When they sent me the new one it was the wrong one. I gave up and returned it all.

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This is a simple, easy-to-install, inexpensively priced showerhead. The good news is that is saves on water, effectively decreasing the water flow. The bad news is that it may diminish the water flow and force more than you desire.

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5-Stage Replacement Mineral Filter Cartridge for Zen Countertop & Water Cooler Water Filter Systems

If you have a Zen Water counter top system, DO NOT order this product. It is a cheap knockoff whose threads are the wrong size and you can not got a proper seal on the adapter ring.

I sent it back after calling the company and have not yet received my refund.

You are better to spend the extra money and order your replacement filters directly from Zen Water.

For all you Zen Water System owners, there is apparently another vendor called Purenex selling similar item on this page. If you own a Zen Water Filter System and you need to purchase replacement filters, be sure you watch which vendor you purchase from. My friend bought the Purenex product and besides being inferior, it simply doesn''t fit with the Zen Water Systems.

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Ordered this item as along with a Zen countertop system as a replacement to have on hand down the road. When this filter arrived, the end cap was sideways in the packaging, and about half of the charcoal was out of the filter in the bag. Several of the other filter materials were only about 1/3 full inside the filter as well. Now, I know this could have just been a lemon, but I''m betting that is not the case. It was clear just looking at this filter that it was extremely cheaply made, and when compared to the one that came with the Zen, there''s no contest. I didn''t even try to fit it to the Zen, so I can''t speak to the fit issues others have had.

Here''s a link to the real one from Zen. It''s actually cheaper: just fine, I''m sure).

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I bought my Zen water filter from Amazon and clicked on the link to order an extra 5-stage filter. Six months later when I go to change out the filter, I was greeted with a sub-par filter. Where to start? The first thing you will notice is the filtering minerals and rocks are very different from the original. Secondly, the thread pitch is all wrong. When you screw in the filter, it doesn''t thread or seal properly. A complete and total rip-off, don''t buy this product. I only gave it one star because you are forced to rate an item to submit a review.

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It does not fit properly so the water does not filter , it runs on the edges. i thought I was buying the real Zen filter and only after installing it realized the bad quality. Shame to Amazon for selling this junk. I''m overseas and have no choice to return it .

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Jura 7520 Claris Water Care Cartridge Save 14% Off

The Claris filter is manufactured for the Jura Coffemakers, but does not fit the F9 perfectly.

It only has 3 slots to lock in place however the water container comes with 4 blades which should lock into 4 slots.

It still fits, but the clearyl water filter has a better fit.

Amazon had the lowest price I found on this filter which is the one specified for use with a Capresso C1000.

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These things are so freakin expensive and my machine makes me change them every 5 7 weeks. They work great for not having to. Descale the machine but I can''t believe what a rip off they are. I rate them 1 star based on price to value, but as far a how they work, I guess they do what they are designed for,

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Nothing special and way overpriced but necessary for the Jura coffee maker and it''s not available locally. I buy filters for my water at a fraction of the price but this is the only game in town for the Jura.

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I normally did not use this filter with my S8 because I use R/O water, but now our present RO system can do no better than up in the 90 ppm range due to the hardness of the ground water so I decided to try this filter again. I was surprised to see it immediately bring the 90 ppm level down to 28 ppm (AMZ // HM Digital COM-100 Waterproof EC/TDS/TEMP Meter)... and apparently thee filter is good for 500 cups at $20 or two months whichever comes first... for me that would only be 120 cups in two months before I had to throw it away and I probably would because I don''t know what''s in that filter, but someone does!!

I thought that it was just a "filter" but something that brings down the ppm level that far down is more than just a filter. I have a Spotless Water System (AMZ // DI-120 Cr Spotless Water System) for washing my cars and windows, it also turns water into distilled (de-ionized) water quality of 0.00 ppm. It uses a resin to remove ALL minerals in the water. I''m guessing, just guessing that this Jura filter uses a resin of some sort too. I wasn''t expecting that. I don''t drink my Spotless Water System water per company recommendation, but I don''t know why they don''t recommend drinking it and it probably has nothing to do with a Jura filter process. Spotless recommends for one thing that totally mineral-less water is of no value to drink...?

Plan B:

$35 per 3 gallon glass water bottle (cheaper locally without shipping) plus an AMZ Dolphin Manual Drinking Water Pump @$17... then $.50 per gallon of water for commercial RO water @ 5 ppm max. At $20 per filter that equals the price of 40 gallons of high quality commercial RO water if you have an outlet near you... and I don''t have to throw my water away after 2 months, or 500// (120 actual) cups!

Once the two Jura filters that I bought are used up (two months or 500 cups whichever comes first per filter) I plan to follow my Plan B...

Sorry Jura, but I just don''t know what that stuff is that is shaking around inside that filter... It has taken so long to write this that I''ve now decided to toss the two new filters immediately anyway. I don''t even know why I gave it 3 Stars maybe just trying to give the other 3 Star guy company... just trying to be nice I guess. (No more Mister Nice Guy... now down to 2 Stars). Folks might not have access to RO water companies so this could be an alternative... a dumb alternative!

Even my wife said... "What''s in there shaking around? Does our water go through that! Do we drink that? Where does it go?" Not wanting to appear too dumb for buying $40 of these filters I said that whatever is in there it must gets out with the coffee grounds!! Smart girl.

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