Cuisinart DTC-975BKN Thermal 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker Save 46% Off

Fussy Lid, but the Best Coffee Maker Ever!, April 23, 2005

Reviewer: R. Wilner (Metro Detroit)

I wish Amazon had 1/2 stars, because I would have given 4 1/2. I almost gave it a 5 star rating, but the lid may bug some people. I will admit that the lid MUST be placed in a perfect position, but how to do it is no mystery. Clearly etched in the top of the lid are the words "Open" "Close" and "Pour." If you put the lid on so that the word "Pour" is directly over the spout, it''s no problem. When you go to screw on the lid, just make sure that the word "Pour" starts out over the spout and when it''s closed, it will end up there. No big deal. My guess is, the people who have given negative reviews about the lid were impatient with it.

My reason for buying this coffee-maker was the 12-OUNCE thermal carafe. This was one of the only coffee-makers I saw with a 12oz carafe as opposed to an 8 or 10 ounce. This was a huge selling point for me. As someone who nurses a whole pot a coffee a day, I also was attracted to the fact that I read it keeps coffee hot for so long.

I have had the coffee-maker for over a month now, and I am NOT disappointed! I have not had one single overflow incident and I have had no problems. I suspect that those with overflow problems overfilled the reservoir or didn''t pay attention to how they put the lid on.

One thing I must share with those of you considering this coffee-maker. One day I made a pot of coffee and I forgot about it. The next day, approximately 36 hours later, I remembered I had made coffee the previous day, so I figured I''d pour a cup and microwave it. Microwaving was unnecessary. The coffee came out STEAMING hot. As if I had just made it! I''m sure the more coffee that is in it the hotter it will keep but this was over a day later!

I HIGHLY recommend this product!

PROS

-No heating mechanism. No burnt tasting coffee!

-Once coffee is brewed, the coffee-maker shuts off.

-Coffee stays warm for much longer than the description states

-The carafe stays cool on the outside. I make a pot and just bring it into the living room with me, or to my desk.

-Very aesthetically pleasing design. Looks great in my kitchen.

-A full 12 cup coffee-maker. A rare thing amoung thermal carafe coffee-makers

-LED Clock/Programmable Timer. Auto Seal. Brew Pause Feature. Automatic Shutoff. Available in different colors

-The water level indicator is easy to see

-The beep letting you know the coffee is done is loud (I like that)

CONS

-You do need to pay attention to how to put the lid on, but it isn''t exactly rocket science.

-The digital clock area is tiny. But read the directions and using the timer is a breeze.

-The stainless steel fingerprints easily, but that''s not unusual in a stainless steel appliance.

-The beep letting you know the coffee is done is loud (Some may not like that)

My beloved 25 year-old Rowenta finally died, so I started looking for a new pot with a vacuum carafe and a cone filter. That narrowed the prospects quite a bit, and I bought the Cuisinart because it was easily available and (relatively) inexpensive compared to others with the same features. I read the numerous poor reviews but figured it wouldn''t take a rocket scientist to make it work, so I pressed on.

Sure enough, the pot was defective in a couple of ways.

1. The instruction booklet says to _fill_ the carafe and pour it into the reservoir. The carafe holds twelve cups and the reservoir holds the same before the small hole in back below the hinge dumps any excess on your counter, so in theory it''s impossible to over fill. So far, so good but the guy at Cuisinart who designed this pot apparently skipped his junior high science class the day they described how water expands when it is heated.

Twelve cups of cold tap water expands to about twelve and a half cups when it is raised to boiling. So, if you fill the reservoir according to instructions and heat the water, the carafe will overflow onto your counter every single time. Only fill it to the top of the stainless part.

2. There''s another reason that it randomly barfs hot coffee all over your counter that is not related to the problem related above. I spent a few hours testing my pot with just water (no coffee) to figure out what was going on. It worked perfectly twice, and put hot water on the counter about a dozen times, starting anywhere from when the carafe was half full to almost full. Suddenly the water would stop running into the carafe as though it was plugged up and start spilling over the side. I took the (patent pending!) lid completely apart to see if something might be getting jammed. It''s pretty clever there are two plastic and one metal ball to act as valves to let the coffee in and out while blocking steam and heat from escaping. Everything''s a pretty loose fit and not likely to jam but I finally found the problem (with mine, at least).

When you fill a container with water, you must let the air out as you do it, so there is also a small vent passage without any ball valves that goes from the inside of the lid to the threaded area on the side of the lid that''s near the carafe handle when the lid is properly tightened. The vent is quite small and exits the lid in a strange way to create a sort of labyrinth to reduce the amount of heat loss. I blew it out with some compressed air and saw something that was plugging it fly out, likely some plastic that fallen in during manufacturing. The vent also seemed somewhat obstructed where it ended, so I cleaned it up a bit with an Xacto knife.

The coffee maker now works perfectly apparently the vent was not always letting air escape quickly enough to let the coffee flow in.

I''m also going to put a few small self-adhesive cork glides from the hardware store under the carafe to boost it up a little and make sure the valve in the bottom of the filter stays open properly, as it seems a little dicey.

All in all, I like the pot, but for $80, I shouldn''t have to do Cuisinart''s quality control for them. The problems that so many people are complaining about were easy to recreate and repair it''s really inexcusable that Cuisinart hasn''t taken care of them by now.

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Folks, Let me tell you.... I read all the reviews on this coffee maker before my wife and I decided that; Oh, come on! They must be goofy. How hard can it be to set this coffee pot up correctly to work without spillage; we bought it anyway.

It worked for a week or so and then dumped the coffee all over the counter and on the kitchen floor.

"I must have done something wrong", said the lady of the house. Ok, I''ll try it, said the man of the house.

It worked... See, all you have to do is.. place the carafe in correctly. Well, I did it for three days and again all over the floor.

I called the company and a sweetie pie with the "Have a nice day" mentality helped me to calm down and told me that perhaps the cover was defective. They will send me another if I would return mine.

Wife said no.... order a whole carafe so we will have two when we get company. So 50 dollars later, I have two carafes.

Wonderful! Now either one will dump the coffee onto the counter after a week or ten days of lulling me into a state of confidence by working fine for 10 days.

We have a great deal of patience, and we also feel that we are smart enough to find the problem. So we stuck with it trying different filter baskets, and soaking the lids before using...

It was many months now, and it decided to dump this morning; all over the counter; all over the floor; grinds and coffee.

The carafe was half filled indicating that it did start out ok and I didn''t misalign anything; but with a mind of its own, it decided that it hated us again today.

So folks, we got two green garbage bags, one inside the other, and dumped that 99.00 + 50.00 more coffee pot in the trash.

It isn''t worth the aggravation.

I tried to find a website for their corporate office, but they haven''t the guts to show any, so this is the only place I could tell you our story.

I kid you not. We should have believed all the negatives in this product review section.

I would have loved to return it to Amazon, but after so much elapsed time, it would not have been fair.

Thank you for listening.

Fred Auerbach

email: fred.auerbach@gmail.com

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I''ve owned two of these machines. Here are the details:

First, the carafe is great. I''ve come home after a 10 hour day to find the morning coffee still warm enough and very drinkable. The cap alignment is a bit awkward, but it keeps the coffee hot and fresh. I now have two of them and have used them for this year''s Christmas/New Years gatherings. They kept regular and decaf coffee hot and fresh throughout the evening. I used my replacement "Barista Aroma Grande" machine to brew the coffee then put it into the superior Cuisinart carafes. That is why I gave the product one star.

The downsides include almost everything else:

As a previous reviewer noted, if the carafe is not seated properly, you wake up to a puddle of coffee on your kitchen counter and floor. This happened to me twice.

Consequently, if any of that puddle seeps into the machine from underneath or drips into it from the LED display window, the machine is kaput. This is why out first machine failed.

The water reservoir requires filling the machine from the top. My replacement has a separate container that is easier to manipulate. It is a much neater way to fill the machine.

The red indicator ball on the side of the Cuisinart machine stopped working.

The second machine just stopped working. Like another reviewer noted, when you hit the "on" button, the machine beeped after a minute or so without producing any coffee. This was not a result from an overflow condition, nor a result of a user error it just stopped working.

Bottom line: look elsewhere for a reliable machine.

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I have had this coffee maker for about 3 weeks now. I read all these reviews before I purchased, and almost didn''t because of some of them, so I thought I''d let you know how it worked out for me since you are probably having the same concerns.

The short version: I am very pleased with this coffee maker and am happy I purchased it. There are a couple of minor concerns, but with a bit of knowledge you can safely purchase this coffee maker.

Pros:

Very solid construction and carafe. Good overall look and feel.

The carafe keeps coffee hot all day. A huge plus. I only get carafe style (no warmer) coffee makers, and this is one of the best I''ve used.

Simple and easy programmable auto-brew functionality.

The fill container has a very easy to read measuring line, making filling it to a desired level very easy and convenient. A bonus I didn''t know I was missing until I got this machine.

Cons:

Pretty slow brewing. Takes 15-20 minutes to brew a full pot.

Does not come with the filter basket. Make sure you purchase one when you order. It is well worth it, and way better than paper filters.

It is a slow pourer. You may think "well come on, how much of a hurry are you in?" But when you fill travel size mugs, you really notice how slow it is. It is not a deal breaker, just letting you know.

The big one: SPILLAGE! Yes, this happened, but it can be avoided.

The Spillage: I''d read all about the complaints "It overflowed all over my counter", "made a huge mess", "worst coffee maker ever", and so I was concerned. At first some people were chalking it up to not putting the lid of the carafe on properly. While this is slightly trickier than it could be, it is still very obvious if you have it threaded wrong and is not the problem. However, I did experience the spill-over, huge mess, grinds and coffee all over my kitchen. But I investigated this thoroughly and found out the problem was due to the very finely ground coffee. When ground to almost a powder texture, the coffee passes through the filter and into the carafe''s unique brew-top lid. This lid has a separate compartment with a ball inside that allows it to brew through, and not spill when pouring. However, that area filled with the fine grounds and created a solid barrier that didn''t allow coffee to go into the carafe anymore.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT OVER GRIND YOUR BEANS. This brewer seems to brew it at above normal strength anyway, so you do not need to grind your beans too much. Most pre-ground coffees are fine; it''s just the custom grinders who can overdo it. Be careful, and you won''t have this problem.

So, I set my timer up for 30 minutes before I need it, don''t over-grind, and am very happy with this coffee maker. Hope this helps!

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Euroflex Monster Steam-Jet-II 1200w Disinfecting Floor Steam Cleaner Save 22% Off

After reading all the reviews I settled on the monster steam mop. After reading the directions I went to work. Steam appeared to be shooting from all directions around the mop head giving the appearance that this thing was working. But the bottom of the mop was just warm, all the steam coming from the sides looks great but did little to heat the mop pad. I was dissapointed and tried all the different pads, even pre wetting them to see if that helped. Nothing did and I thought I had a regular mop on my hands. I let it cool down and inspected the bottom. The steam was directed to the sides of the head via a couple of small channels. Not effective at all. I then saw three small screws holding a plastic cover on the bottom. Removed the screws and plastic cover, plugged it in and WOW, a real steamer. Tons of steam directed at the bottom of the head and actually got hot enough to disinfect. Give it a try. And your''e welcome.

I recived my Monster EZ2 on Saturday and I''ve used it to clean my downstairs since it''s all tiled.

First off, I think my expectations of just how WELL a steamer was going to clean were NOT realistic. That being said. It is VERY easy to use and it DOES clean!

Bad:

* It is VERY hard to push forward. I have had to use my foot at times to help push it forward. It is a strain!

* The pad WILL bunch up when pushing forward if you have not placed the pad far enough forward for the steamer to ''glide'' on the pad.

* I have a 13'' x 24'' living room & it takes at least 2 fill ups to clean the entire floor. That is not so bad for me since I''m a stay-at-home mom, but for others that are working, that can be time consuming.

* It takes two pads to clean my living room/hall area (again, not that large of an issue for me since I do not work out of the home).

* The major annoyance for ME is that small cup that include for you to use to fill the steamer with. EVERY time I have used it, some of the water will drip and dribble down the side of the steamer. The hole to the boiler is as big as the spout on the boiler. I have tried to use a funnel, but with how the handle is joined to the bottom of the steamer, my funnel was to large to sit properly so I could make use of it.

* There is no no/off switch. You plug in the steamer and instantly it goes to heating the water in the boiler. Moving the handle backward releases the steam from boiler into the jets on the bottom. Pushing the steamer back into the upright-storage position shuts the steam off, but keeps the boiler HOT.

* The screw top on the boiler is a bit tricky. It''s a good SAFE cap, but you MUST constantly push DOWN on it for it to unscrew or screw back on. Just annoying more then anything. Safety first I suppose. hehe

* There is a LONG wait (I feel) for the unit to cool down enough to put MORE water in. Supposedly you can place the unit in the upright position, wait 10 minutes and place more water in. I did just that, and steam was forcing out from the boiler as I unscrewed the cap!!! I''d UNPLUG the steamer and wait until it was COMPLETLEY cool before refilling it!

* Filling the steamer AFTER you have used all the water is VERY difficult!! The boiler its self is still VERY hot even after waiting the prescribed amount of time. The only way I now fill the boiler is to unplug and wait 20ish minutes!! That is a lenghy amount of time for someone who might work full time and not have the minutes to wait for a steamer when they need to clean up a mess!

* The steamer did NOT clean the dirt stained grout of my front entry way and bathroom. The tiles and grout are ''cleaned'' but the grout is still dirt stained and dirty looking.

Good:

* This steamer is amazingly light-weight!!! Literally can lift it with one hand, even filled!

* The steam jets on the bottom are very good at getting dirty areas of the floor clean with just letting the steamer sit 10-15 seconds on it!! AMAZING!!

* I can clean my VERY LARGE living room with only having to fill the steamer twice!

* Heating the steamer takes only a few minutes after plugged in.

* The indicator lights are VERY clear and VERY accurate:

~Green (the second light) is to indicate that the water has heated to steaming levels and ready.

~Yellow (the first light) is to indicate that you have water in the boiler. When the light goes off, no more water.

* The screw on boiler cap to fill the steamer is a push down as you turn. I''m VERY glad for this since when I went to refill the boiler to keep cleaning there evidently was enough water left in the bottom to form steam and it seeped out as I unscrewed the cap to add MORE water (I did wait the length of time as stated in the owners manuel) and a GUSH of water escaped when I finally got the cap off. Thankfully the push down cap allowed enough of the pressure and steam to release before I got the cap fully off, so I was not harmed!

* I can plug in the steamer, let it take the few moments it needs to heat up and start cleaning my floor! I keep water IN the steamer so it''s ready to go! I LIKE that it''s so light weight it''s soo dang easy to use for every day cleaning. It''s ready before I''m done sweeping! AWESOME

* The steam temp stays at a steady 203 degrees!! That''s NOT the steam BOOST on the front. So when it gets HOT....it gets HOT!

Conclusion:

I read SEVERAL reviews on here about other products. This one did have a good rating. The steam is VERY high (I think). It cleans what I need cleaning. Easy to use. VERY light weight. I LOVE that it came with two cleaning pads (since I use both when cleaning the whole of main floor). It''s VERY hard to push forward if you don''t get enough of the pad for the steamer to glide on. I haven''t yet used pad for steaming carpets, but I will be trying it out this weekend and will update then!

All in all it''s a handy steamer. Now that I have personal experiance with steamers I''m going to be looking at getting one that I can use on my walls and other items in my house with!!

Would I buy this steamer again? Now having experiance with one, I would go with a steamer that is more versatile that will do more. The heat of the steam is excellent and the light weight of the over all steamer is wonderful. It''s a nice every day use steamer. In the future I''ll be purchasing a more heavy duty cleaner.

Still a nice steamer for the price and worth what I paid for it! The biggest draw back is when pushing it forward on the floor.

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I owned the shark steam mop for about a year and halfand I LOVED it. When it broke, and I went to buy another one, I noticed that in many many shark reviews, users mentioned that it tended to live only about a year, which was my own experience. Considering that they aren''t cheap, I started reading reviews for a comparable or better steam mop that would live for a longer time. Over the course of a week, I browsed reviews on every single steam mop available for sale on Amazon among other sitesthe Monster seemed to do very well across the board. I have owned it now about 6 months and I am NOT happy. First let me preface this by saying that I am a single female, living in NYCMy apartment is not large, and I do not have heavy foot/animal traffic in my home. My shark replaced my traditional mop,floor cleaner fluid and bucket ENTIRELY. I am a very clean person who is rather meticulous about my home, and when there are large spills, I use a sponge/paper towels, floor cleaner,elbow grease, etci.e I use my steam mop for traditional linoleum/wood upkeep and general dirt removal NOT for large accidents or spills. I am also an aerialist weighing about 135 lbs and I haul my body weight around by my arms and legs while suspended in the airi.eI am much, much stronger than your average female. I mention this specifically because in my ll by 7 foot kitchen, the drag on this thing is RIDICULOUSI am literally dragging it back and forth, putting in a ton of effort to move it along the floor to the point where I break a sweat, my arm gets tired and my back starts to ache; in a TINY kitchen! I''d put up with the effort, no problem, if the thing cleaned well, but it DOES NOT! 1 person''s foot traffic should be no trouble to remove from floors, but after several passes in one area, the dirt does not come up much. So I end up getting out my sponge and cleaner and going down on my hands and knees to spot clean the areas that the monster simply could not combat. I NEVER had this issue with the shark. Alsoas mentioned previously, my apartment is a TINY NYC apartmentwith the shark, one tank cleaned the kitchen, hallway, living room and bedroom, often with water to spareNOT the monster.I''m lucky if the kitchen is semi done in one tank. Perhaps, since I have to make 10 passes to achieve half the result of 2 with the shark, I am using a lot more watergranted, that must be truebut considering the monster only takes 2.5 of the given water filler cup that comes with the unit ( which equals to one standard size coffee mug and a half of water), I have to let the unit cool down entirely before filling up again to do the rest of the apartment. What used to take me 15 minutes to do with the Shark, now takes me an hour with poor results to boot. Lastly, besides poor cleaning ability and heaviness, this thing, as pictured, is structured like a domeand it''s lip only juts out about a half inch in front of the domeso along the cabinets and sideboards, this thing does not even touch the perimeter at all since it''s reach is obstructed by the large dome on top. Basically, I am throwing it out after giving it a very long trial period, and resigning myself to spending about 100 dollars a year on Sharks.

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Hello, if you are like me you have read all the reviews for steam mops on amazon, overstock and searched consumer reports, good house keeping rankings, etc. All I can tell you is this mop works and gets super hot. I almost bought the envirosteamer but then I remembered I never had a Eureka Vacuum cleaner that lasted longer than a year why would their mop be any different.

This mop is not heavy or hard to push. Folks that are saying that the monster s super heavy and hard to push need more iron in their diet. If you can pick up a 5lb weight you can handle this mop. The mop glides over the floor when you angle the handle and push on it. It gets super hot. As far as the handle breaking and being flimsy? The handle is fine, it is plastic that has a hard metal sleeve over the length of the plastic handle. I did not feel like the handle was going to break at any moment. If you are pushing this mop and you have a death grip on the handle I think you would likely break quite sweat trying to bend or break the handle. It''s fine, buy the green monster mop shown on this page and you will be fine. I bought this one because it did not have that bizarre ergonomic experimental shape like the red and blue EZ1 Steam Mops shown on amazon, if your mop handle was going to break it would be likely due to the curve of the handle on these two models. Get this one (The green one with the straight handle) and you should be good to go. I used it as soon as it arrived which was today. It only took a moment to put together. I let it heat up on the parking pad for three minutes after I put the 2 cups of water in as directed. I did use distilled water because I have no plans to ever clean the boiler on this thing. Do read the instructions line up the little arrows and you will be fine. It works just like as seen in the picture. I had steam billowing out of this little monster in less than three minutes.

I also used the cleaning solution that came with it and I did not care for the smell too much but after seeing how this thing actually gets super hot you really don''t need it. My floors dried quickly and they looked clean. This is my first steam mop and I am keeping it. I decided I wanted a mop that got the hottest so my floors would dry quick, and that mission has been accomplished.

In my opinion I think the video of the envirosteamer shows what a cheap piece of crap Eureka makes, I have had Eureka Vacuums and they have been true barkers....

I will report back once I try out the carpet glide.

I checked out the shark mop in Walmart and it looked cheap, I am not sure if it works good but I am throwing my support behind monster. If you want clean floors that look and smell clean I would buy the monster steam mop. As a shopping tip do check amazon well since this mop is priced differently by different vendors on amazon.

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the only thing im upset about is that i bought this on QVC for $105 abnd here it sells for so much less with free shipping

but After all the things I have purchased recently, this is the best. I have always disliked mopping floors. This is so easy to use and does a great job. I no longer feel like I am pushing dirty water around but really getting the dirt up. And the floors look great also. With a 9 month old kid crawling on them, I really want them clean. Wish I had found this years ago. This may be what I get my sisters an d mother for Christmas. Anything that makes life easier so i guess it is even worth the $105 i paid! but if you can get it for this than it is Truly a no-brainer

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L.B. Evans Darren

I picked these out and just got them out of the box. The memory foam insoles are VERY comfortable. It feels strange at first walking on them, but after that initial step, my foot fell in love. These are pretty great. I can wear them inside or outside and still feel like I''m walking on a pillow. I also like that they don''t have a furry inside so I can wear them in any season.

My one complaint is that they don''t run in half sizes. I''m a 9 in normal shoes and these feel kind of loose, so i would have gotten a half size smaller, but an 8 is definitely too small. It''s ok though. This is designed as a slipper first and a shoe second, but I''m going to wear it as both anyway.

I would like to point out that I am a 26 year old male, I''m not in a nursing home, and I don''t mind wearing these in public. My fiancee even agrees that these are actually pretty stylish and comparable to some more popular name brand moccasins out there.

Slippers looked good and fit well. My only problem was a tag attacked to the inside of the slipper between the arch and the heel. The tag constantly rubbed the bottom of my foot making the slipper uncomfortable to wear. The tag was so securely attached that it was extremely difficult to remove. I did finally remove the tag which left a small tare in the liner.

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These slippers were a gift for my boyfriend, who absolutely loves them. The hard sole allows him to wear them outside, and the memory foam makes them very comfortable.

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Slippers seem nice and very well made.....they wear better and look better than my LL Bean slippers (I love LL Bean but their slippers never seem to last). I thought LB Evans was a take off on LL Bean but instead...seems like a high end brand (they are sold at Nordstroms). Highly recommend

My original post is above......but now its just a few months later and the inside is falling apart....now i''m sad (and need new slippers). ugh...

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I bought these for my dad who is in a nursing home. Not only are they extremely comfortable (he has problems with his feet), but they are of excellent quality and the soles are great can be worn outside and are not slippery at all on all types of floors. He can easily slip them on and off of his feet. I''m buying another pair for my spouse.

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DuPont WFRO60X Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Filtration System

I got one of Dupont''s WFRO60X RO kits at a local home improvement store. The install was fairly strait forward since I added in a dual outlet water supply valve to feed the WFRO60X and my kitchen faucet. I also merged in a separate water supply to get cold RO water to the refrigerator.

Filter canisters replace very easily but still drip some water (still better than most). The RO drain line (with restricter) is attached behind the RO filter which makes replacing the RO filter a pain since it is difficult to get to the line disconnect. This is poor design planning just to offer a cleaner appearance for something mounted under a sink or remotely. It was 4 stars at that point.

Awhile ago I noticed slight water damage near the cabinet interior floor but no standing water. After a stake out I finally found a water drop that came from the assembly header and behind the filter canisters. There is a small drain hole in the header. I did not have time to remove all the lines to remove the header and find out what this is. I placed a paper towel to absorb the small drips before they affected the cabinet floor. It dropped to 3 stars at that point.

Recently I found a larger amount of water on the cabinet floor and a soaked paper towel. I removed the lines and took out the header assembly. That was tricky since there is a gallon of water stored under pressure, I suggest adding a valve to the top of the storage tank. This drain hole is a spill port from the auto shut-off valve. It appears that any water leaking past either of the round gaskets will drain from the valve out of this hole and end up in your cabinet. Why was this spill port not incorporated into the line to the sink drain? I dropped to 2 stars since it still works and I am still using it. But it should be 1 star at best.

I will try to get replacement auto-off gaskets and retry. To avoid future failures I plan to tap a line to that spill port and route it to the drain remote mount this in the basement like I should have in the first place. I may consider finding another brand RO filter to replace this one since I am less enthusiastic about Dupont''s design.

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Nesco CU-30 Professional Coffee Urn Save 14% Off

I was excited to try out this urn through the vine program. I have two of the 100-cup West Bend Urns that I love and use for larger groups but that are too big to use for smaller groups.

***Note to anyone who hasn''t used an urn before--a cup is generally something along the lines of 5-6 ounces of coffee, which is funny to a coffee drinker--that''s a SIP not a cup! My mugs at home are 12-16 ounces, so this urn, which makes "30 5.7oz cups" according to listing, actually makes enough for about 14 12 ounce cups of coffee, or enough for a group of 10-12 people. This makes it a perfect size for a large family or small group gathering.

I like the sleek styling of this urn that doesn''t overwhelm my counter in either size or appearance. Bonus point for being made of a nice, heavy stainless instead of aluminum. I love the double walled insulation as well. The base is sturdy and sits flat on counter instead of on legs and the spigot doesn''t dribble.

As with all of the urns I have owned it takes about 1 minute per cup to brew a full pot of coffee.

The coffee was very hot (yeah!), rich tasting, with no off/bitter taste and the double-walled construction keeps the coffee that way for hours.

The only potential negative I see on this urn is that the handle on the spout seems a little flimsy, but only time will tell if that is so.

I have had good long-term experience with Nesco appliances (some of them are 30+ years old and still going strong) so I have high hopes for the longevity of this urn. I am also pleased with amazon.com''s pricing on this item.

Since there is no way I could possibly drink that much coffee myself, I took it to work with me. Everyone was happy to see it rather than the little coffee maker we had been using. So of course everyone had a comment for this review.

Very nice looking and not very heavy. Makes 30 cups. Easy to use and because of it''s weight, fairly easy to clean.

Day one.... I made 15 cups (a little week because I was unsure of the amount of coffee to use) the machine is so quiet we were unsure if the coffee was done. There''s the little tube on the front where you can view the amount of coffee in the pot, however when we looked at it, it was like tinted water so we didn''t think it was done. After inspecting it and finally trying it, we discovered the coffee was done and this was just some sort of measuring thing. The coffee was weak but good.

Day two..... I made 15 cups again, and this time we were wise to the tube thing, but this time there was condensation in it so we couldn''t see what was going on. But the coffee was done and I had gotten the proper amount of coffee.

This urn stays warm until you turn it off, however it does not burn the coffee. I tastes fresh all day. For 15 cups it took about 20 to 25 minutes to brew.

The only problem we''ve encountered is when there''s about 2 or 3 cups left in the pot, it is hard to dispense. We had to tilt the thing to get the coffee out. I''m not sure if this is the norm for an urn.

But we love our new urn and look forward to many years of use.

Addendum..... After about a week of use this urn ceased to work. I was greatly disappointed, however I did the last resort..... I read the directions. I felt the need to add this because I found that if the urn is left on when there''s maybe a few cups left in the pot, it automatically shuts off. (Duh!) The directions lead you to the reset button (enlightenment!). And if you''re wondering, it isn''t the little red button one expects to find, rather a 1/2 thin piece of metal. Taa-Daa! It worked! But now I keep an eye on the coffee level and shut it off when it''s low.

Thank you.

MEF

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Both Amazon and the Nesco website confirm this urn can hold 30 5.7 ounce cups. Given that:

30 x 5.7 ounces = 171 ounces

FACT: 1 Liter = 33.814 US ounces

THEREFORE: 171 / 33.814 = 5.06 liters

So basic math tells you this urn can ONLY HOLD ABOUT 5 liters NOT 6.8, as Amazon is advertising.

UPDATE 12/2/2012:

I now have this item (received it as a gift) and I must say it is pretty wonderful. For the looks and price, nothing I have seen comes close.

Regarding the earlier discrepancy on the capacity I have noticed that IF you use this urn for coffee it can hold only 5.06 liters. This is because the large coffee basket takes up quite a bi of space and you cannot fill the water level above it (well I guess you can if you don''t mind lousy coffee). However if you use this as a hot water urn only (as I do) it can in fact hold the full 6.8 liters! Keep in mind though that the water below the spigot (25-30 ounces) is basically unusable (you can tilt the unit but I wouldn''t recommend it because of hard water deposits that settle at the bottom, plus it''s dangerous).

Here are the pros and cons of this unit as I see them:

Pros:

Very stylish looking shiny stainless steel

Strong build quality (the only thing that seems "cheap" is the spigot but only time will tell)

Large capacity can hold almost 7 liters when used for hot water

950 watts when in boiling mode, 85 watts in warming mode (according to Nesco) it heats water/brews coffee fairly quickly and keeps it very hot (190 degrees F coming out of the spout)

Cons:

Power cord is hardwired into the unit and not detachable like some other water urns. This is a drawback because when you take it to the sink to refill you need to unplug it from the wall every time

and the cord tends to get in the way

Unit makes a LOT of noise when in warming mode like a constant pinging/rattling noise.. to the point I was concerned the unit was malfunctioning. So I contacted Nesco and sent them a video of the noise but their engineering department confirmed this is a "normal" cycling noise the unit makes while the water is being warmed.

While the unit itself is double walled , the lid is not and gets EXTREMELY hot (you can burn yourself if you touch it for too long) I imagine it looses a lot of heat and must be less energy efficient than it could if the lid was double walled so this is a bit disappointing.

The water gauge is not as useful as it could be because when the water level is below the visible point you still have about 60 ounces of water/coffee left which is quite a bit

The unit is about 17.5 inches tall including the knob on the lid. This just fits under my counter top but might not fit with lower cabinets

Read Best Reviews of Nesco CU-30 Professional Coffee Urn Here

I have had several Nesco appliances. They are all dependable and great quality.

This Stainless Steel Professional Coffee Urn is excellent. Easy to set up and use. I followed the instructions and washed everything in soapy water first. Next, I ran plain water through a cycle to get rid of any residual ick.

Then, I made an urn of coffee. After adding the desired amount of Cold water and coffee, plug in and turn on. The Red Heating light comes immediately and remains on through brewing. It automatically switches to a Green Keep Warm light to signal the coffee is ready.

The results were delicious and hot. The water is heated higher than my old coffee maker, so the flavor of the coffee releases/develops better. I''m not sure if I explained that correctly but coffee from the Nesco is superior to my old brewer.

The urn is double walled so the coffee stays piping hot for a long time long enough for a casual family dinner of coffee lovers.

A glass gauge on the front shows how much coffee is still in the urn. The serving handle allows you to push it down all the way if you want to fill carafes OR push a little for one cup at a time. The coffee flows without splashing.

I''ve been to dinners where the coffee urn is aluminum and the coffee tastes funny. THIS Nesco Stainless Steel Coffee Urn makes a delicious cup of coffee X 30! If there''s any left, you can drain it, cool it and make ice coffee. (a Summer staple for us.)

I''m pleased with it and I''d definitely recommend it.

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The product works very well; Had it for 3 months, then noticed a white film on the inside wall. Not sure what this represents. Have stopped using it temporarily , awaiting a response from the company or from anyone else who knows about this

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Twinkle Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish Save 37% Off

I have 2 energetic boys, ages 9 and 13, and this is the only stainless steel cleaner that keeps it''s polish and resists finger prints. A friend a work told me about this product and it''s been a standard in my cleaining supplies closet ever since.

Twinkle is the best product I have tried to clean my stainless steel appliances.

I use microfiber cloths. I spray product on to appliance and wipe with cloth everywhere. I walk away and come back 5 to 10 min later. I then use a clean microfiber cloth to wipe of film on appliance. Your appliances will gleam!! It doesn''t leave a sticky residue or fingerprints. Make sure you leave no product on your stainless, wipe until shiny. Good luck!!

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Twinkle is THE ONLY product I have ever tried that really works to clean the stainless steel cabinet faces and appliances in my kitchen, It is great stuff!

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SS-780SA Single Serve Brewing System Save 31% Off

I read a number of these reviews. The horror stories about these machines working and then ceasing to work were more than enough for me to steer clear. When the office I work at bought one of these machines, I figured that this would be my chance to find out just how well this machine worked without having any personal finances in play. Let''s face it, these machines are an investment. This machine was so much fun to use, just about everyone in the office jumped on board and bought some version of the K-Cup system. I was more interested in this particular model. So, I watched and waited.

Pretty soon, just like other users, the office Cuisinart ran into problems. A K-Cup would be put in the machine, the Brew button would be pressed, the machine would make sounds as if it was trying to brew, some liquid may start dripping into the cup below, but then nothing. This same problem happened to one of the co-workers who had bought this Cuisinart model for their home. The manual was referred to, troubleshooting ensued, tinkering occurred, but nothing seemed to work. One of the home Cuisinarts ended up going back to the store to be exchanged. An inquisitive co-worker at the office, however, took a straightened paper clip and started poking around. After a number of "pokes" with the paper clip in the part of the machine that is sharp and hollow that pokes into the K-Cup, the office Cuisinart was back in working order. The co-worker who had replaced their machine at home, again, ran into the same problem. The Cuisinart stopped working. Using a paper clip to clear the same part, the home machine was returned to working order.

*** I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU LOOK AT THE K-CUPS THEMSELVES ***

While this may not apply to everyone who is running into problems with this Cuisinart model, this may help some of you, thanks to that same paper clip wielding co-worker. And if anything, it may help if you end up purchasing this machine by avoiding one of the problems that may be plaguing others. In my case, the K-Cups come from a lower elevation than where I reside, so there is a LOT of pressure in the K-Cups. Prior to putting the K-Cup in the machine, we poke the cover of the K-Cup. I favor right in the middle where the Cuisinart machine will eventually poke the K-Cup to reduce the chance of grounds escaping through another hole under forced pressure and mucking up your expensive machine. Make sure to gently press the lid/foil of the K-Cup down to force out the excessive air. Then you use the machine just as you regularly would. Since coming across this realization and releasing the pressure in the K-Cups, the office Cuisinart machine and the various co-workers with their home Cuisinart machines have reported no more issues. Including myself. I bought one of these machines after running this field test of almost five months. I figure if I try and keep any K-Cups contents from being forced into the machine through the entry needle (the sharp hollow point) in the first place, hopefully, I won''t have clogging problems down the line. This may also keep random grounds from ending up in your cup. I''m not sure about the inner workings of this particular machine, so who knows how far interloping K-Cup contents can travel in this machine and what problems they or eventual build-up can actually lead to, but at least for me...so far, so good!

I''m not a coffee drinker at all. But this machine comes in very handy for all the coffee drinkers who visit. I don''t have to try to figure out how much to brew, remember who likes what, wait for the coffee to finish, or be stuck with a leftover pot of coffee. You select the size. There is a huge variety of flavors. It is quick. But, it is not cheap. That would be the detractor so far for the K-Cup system as a whole. Also, if you are a Hot Chocolate fan, you probably do not want to add more than 8 ounces of water. I would suspect that Hot Cider is the same. I''m not sure if this is a fad and will eventually go the way of the 8-Track tape, but at least for me...it works and works well for just what I need.

Update: The first Cuisinart (purchased for the office) has been in-use five days a week, multiple times during the day, and going strong since December 2010. It hasn''t been descaled (but probably should be) during that period, but it has been getting both regular and filtered water, so that may be pretty helpful. My personal Cuisinart (which I purchased five months after the office one) is also doing quite well. It doesn''t get used as much, but again...*knock on wood*...no problems. I really do believe if you avoid clogging your machine from the start, you have much better luck in the long run.

This coffee maker makes a great cup of coffee! I have increased my coffee consumption beyond just initial wake up and breakfast. It was kinda hard to justify the price at first, but with family encouraging me, I purchased this model from Bed Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon.

There was a small learning curve and adjustment to make, but it was worth it. I have many 14 and 16 oz mugs from around the world and have become used to drinking a couple of 14 oz cups each morning. However I quickly learned that even the 12 oz setting with the K-cup caused the coffee to be too weak for my taste. I settled on using the 8 oz and 10 oz settings, depending on the coffee used. The increase in flavor, taste and consistency over even the best of pot brewed coffee more than made up for the decrease in amount.

The price of the K-cups are too expensive to continue using them at the rate of 6 to 10 a day, every day, and my personal favorite coffees are not available in K-cups anyway. A a result, I use the included "make your own" filter most of the time and make my favorite coffees. This setup works great and has very consistent flavor. I have ordered the Solo-cup and EZ cup and will try them when they arrive.

My wife noted that I don''t just stand at the coffeemaker waiting on the coffee anymore. It is fast and convenient and every cup is fresh and hot like that first cup from a brewer. I can''t go back to the old way. I am glad my family urged me to get it.

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I cannot believe how good this product is in combination with Keurig''s K-cup system. We''ve owned the Bosch Tassimo and loved that for the last year until we couldn''t get the descale light to go away, plus the selection was quite limited to Starbucks and Gevalia. Both good brews (not great), but in comparison to the variety of the K-cup system they look and taste paltry in comparison. Caribou Coffee is a mirror image (tastewise) of what you buy in stores and the Donut Shop blend from the Coffee People is incredible as well. For a bigger kick Emeril''s Bold and Easy is fantastic, or you can brew your own blend of whatever you like in the reusable cup which Cuisinart nailed. Coarse ground coffees fresh from Dunkin Donuts come out very weak and are not advisable, but their Turbo Hot blend sold in grocery stores brews FANTASTIC as it has a finer grind. I think you can re-grind coarse coffee in a burr grinder to get a deeper brew.

Again, if you love coffee and you love the idea of the single brew system then this Cuisinart is for you. It''s a solid machine that brews a very impressive cup of joe from a variety of vendors.

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After agonizing about this purchase for a long time I finally bit the bullet and bought one. I have been through many coffee makers for various reasons, including due to wasting coffee, taking up counter space for something only I used, and just overall being a PITA. Hands down this is the best money we have invested in a kitchen appliance in many many years. The convenience of this thing cannot be beat and I am LOVING the savings over the craving to jet off in the car for a Starbucks when the mood for a coffee strikes. I have my AM/PM coffee in less than two minutes with no mess and no tossing half or more of a carafe.

Now, as the only coffee drinker in the house, this appliance makes even MORE sense to buy. My kids have loved making hot cocoa and now can do so on their own. My wife can enjoy hot tea or a chai. Instant hot water when needed. This thing can be enjoyed by everyone in our house. It''s even better for guests since everyone can have the flavor they want. Decaf? Got it. Bold? Got it. Tea? Got it. Cocoa? Sure! Hazelnut coffee? Done. Vanilla? Got that. Chai? Got that too. How can you argue? Plus, this thing is insanely quiet. Even making coffee at 3AM is super quiet (everything is louder at 3am) I am a sporadic coffee drinker and like to have some joe when the mood strikes, and this machine lets me be completely spontaneous with zero mess and even less hassle.

I do plan on being a bit more efficient with my own brew and utilize the "my K-cup" for my own grounds most of the time. But I have a hard time thinking of another kitchen appliance that can be so much fun for the entire family. My 11 year old even said she wants one when she goes to college! LOL! Awesome.

Reasons I picked this Cuisinart over the Keurig:

1. A bit shorter and it fits better under the counter.

2. I like the rinse button. Yes, I know the same thing can be done on the Keuig by doing a small brew with no K cup.

3. Built like a tank.

4. Built in water filter.

5. Biggest water tank of all models.

6. 3 Year warranty.

7. Built in storage for the reusable k-cup.

I am being realistic here and have paid attention to ALL of the negative comments on these things. I read them ALL for this model and the Keurig models. Seems a few very simple things can keep them running well and I plan on doing the following as a "each use" habit and/or routine maintenance:

1. Relieve the pressure in "poofy" k-cups by poking a small hole in the BOTTOM before inserting and closing the top. I have read in many places that this prevents dry grounds from "poofing" up into the lines when the top needle pierces the foil, and doing so ELIMINATED a lot of problems for folks.

2. Don''t let the tank run dry of water. Keep it topped off.

3. Run a rinse periodically.

4. Periodically check and clean the lower needle. (this is spelled out in the manual.)

5. Treat the unit as an expensive investment which it is.

We are also lucky that where we live hard water is not an issue, and I think the quality of water in a persons area has a lot to do with how well these (or any) coffee makers will perform long-term.

Overall we are VERY happy.

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This is my third k-cup brewer. The 5 cup selection is the best! Using the 4 Oz iced settings makes very good espresso to my taste. If it were possible I would rate this as a 10 star review. My bride of 49 years like her tea strong and the 6 Oz is just right. As we are both retired we set the auto on to 07:00 and off at 22:00 (10:00 PM). We consume about 80 Oz of coffee/tea daily and the reservoir of 80 Oz only requres a daily filling most days. Crusinart got this one right even better than their grind & brew makers.

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Krups F472 Duo Filter 2 pack- Set of Three

I have ordered this before and now both times I am more than satisfied with the filter. My coffee is improved when I use it.

I bought the Krupps coffee pot because I had heard it is durable, easy to use, etc. I didn''t know at the time that the machine needs the filter. Of course the coffee is great without the filter, too. We have horrid tasting water where I live. I use bottled water for coffee. Using the filter, I don''t need to use the expensive bottle water! I save a lot of money with the filters.

The filters are hard to find at regular stores, when I found them on Amazon, I bought it right away!

Sijai

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These little filters are pricey, but worth it if you have well water. I truly think they save on cleaning the coffee pot every other week. Easy to use.

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I really like my drups crystal arome coffee maker, I think the water filters make a difference in the coffee taste. Coffee is so expensive might as well make it taste its best. These are so easy to use and the coffee maker has a switch so after so many uses a red bar appears and tells you it is time to change. Very efficient. I''ll keep buying filters as needed!

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We couldn''t find these in the stores and needed to change the filters in our coffee maker that we have now given away.

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Oreck Rinse-A-Matic Steamer Ultra Floor Cleaner Save 2% Off

I have tried 2 other steam cleaners, the Bissel Heat pro and the Hoover (not sure which one). Of the three, the oreck has the best suction. Since it pulls up more water, the floors dry more quickly. As far as getting the floor cleaner, they are pretty close in performance but the Oreck comes out a little ahead. The best part of the oreck to me is that it is the easiest to fill with water and the easiest and cleanest to empty. It is all in one tank that is quick and easy to remove. I find I clean the floors more frequently because it is so quick and easy to use. Also, I didn''t like being stuck with using Orecks cleaning liquid. There is a very easy way around that. Set the unit to RINSE mode and add the detergent directly to the clean water. That way you bypass using the Oreck brand cleaner in the little bottles. I have been using Resolve carpet cleaning soap with excellent results. It is cheaper that way and cleans just as good as the Oreck detergent. I would definitely recommend the Oreck steam cleaner.

*It works well on a heavily soiled carpet, but of course is best when used routinely as with most cleaners. It is a pain if you break the latch. If there were a better method of holding the tank in place this would be perfect. I also broke the ALCI plug by stepping on it when I backed up; also an inconvenient feature because now the cleaner is unusable. Hopefully Oreck can assist me with fixing it without charging an arm, and leg. Wish me luck...

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I just purchased my rinse a matic from goodwill for 9.99 and its like new. They say it sat there forever and it was reduced. I planned on selling it on here but my girlfriend won''t part with it. I mix resolve in the canister and it works perfectly. This is by far one of the best if not the best on the market.

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This carpet cleaner has been around for many years. There''s even a newer version that, from what I understand, is basically the same machine with a different colored plastic exterior. So if you''re reading this review you are probably considering a used one from craigslist or somewhere else.

I got my Rinse-A-Matic at a neighborhood garage sale. It had been sitting in this guys garage for years. I was told it didn''t work. In fact it had never worked. --the machine had never been used- Since I''m a handy person, and the price was right (free), I thought I''d give it a try. I took it apart, fixed the problem (a piece of plastic lodged in one of the tubes) and voila'' it worked. I will say that under the cheap plastic exterior are some quality parts. A strong vacuum motor, a quality ''Italian made'' pump, etc.

Anyway... I put the thing back together, gave it a try, and it worked great. Because of all the plastic, it''s relatively light and easy to maneuver. Much easier to use than a rug doctor I once rented.

CONS: The water tank is small. It''s a pain to constantly stop cleaning to refill the tank. At least you''ll always be cleaning with hot water because it runs out before the water cools.

The Oreck cleaning solution comes in small cartridges that are relatively expensive. You must have a cartridge plugged into the machine for it to work. You will go through a lot of cleaner. My solution: (a tip from another review) I bought a 48 oz bottle of Resolve Steam carpet cleaner ($10) at my local grocery store (Ralphs) and refilled the Oreck bottles. It worked as well as the Oreck shampoo at a much cheaper price. Just take a knife and pop off the top of the Oreck bottle and refill. I used Resolve but I''m sure other carpet cleaners would work as well.

SUGGESTIONS: Practice on a small area before the real thing. I used some floor mats made from carpet remnants.

Spray and brush the stains with a carpet spot remover before you shampoo. I used Folex. You could probably get many of the stains out with the Oreck machine by going back and forth several time from different angles. But if you do it like that, you''ll go through a lot of carpet cleaner and overly saturate the carpet.

I followed these directions. "Shampoo-Dry-Rinse-Dry" ...Be sure to rinse thoroughly. Rinsing does more than just remove the soap residue. You''ll be surprised at how dirty the water is in the recovery tank after you rinse. Take your time on the final dry. Several slow passes. You''ll be glad you did when the carpet is dry the next morning.

CONCLUSSION: This machine cleans very well and is easy to use, once you get the hang of it. I gave it 4 stars not 5 because I''m a little concerned about the quality control. The fact that my machine obviously didn''t work when it left the factory. With my machine it takes a lot of force to close the latch that hold the water tank in place. I pull the tank up firmly with one hand while pulling the latch with the other, to be sure I don''t break the latch. My cleaner leaks water/shampoo out of the back. It doesn''t affect anything and I think it will be an easy fix, but I''ll have to take it apart again.

I like this cleaner. I hope it lasts.

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This has been one of my favorite household appliances. There is no real steam involved, hence the name "steemer," but that doesn''t matter. I''ve cleaned every carpet in our home--from synthetic to wool, and the results are incredible. I work in small sections, and it''s very simple and quick. The extracted water is always absolutely filthy, and the carpets immediately look brighter and smell fresh; and they don''t take very long to dry. It is important to start with a well-vacuumed carpet, because pet hair will cause clogs. Do not get annoyed if your "steemer" stops working. It happened to me today, so I called the Oreck customer service number that is printed on my rug cleaner (800-989-3535) and a very helpful, polite lady answered immediately. I explained that the water was not moving through the unit and she said that the water tubes can get clogged with crystalized shampoo. She recommended using extremely hot tap water and holding the button down to release water for a long time. She said it might even take more than five minutes, and she was right. After that, it worked perfectly. Some people might not like having to buy the special Oreck shampoo that is needed. To avoid that, you could probably just pry the lid off the empty shampoo bottle and use your own mixture. I like to use their shampoo, though, and I don''t recall it being too expensive. I only use the "steemer" a few times a year, so it seems like a worthy investment to use the proper rug shampoo. With children and pets, this Oreck rug cleaner has been invaluable. It''s held up really well, so I expect to get at least another five years out of it.

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Koblenz P-2500 Floor Scrubber/Buffer Save 41% Off

Pretty good, not great.

Pros: Good quality. Light. Easy to carry around the house. comes with heavy duty scrub brushes, shampoo brushes, and a couple buff pads. Two speeds, easy to assemble, does a good job with light workload. It''s a bit too light to really dig deep, but it did do a great job on my tile floors.

Cons: No convenient way to stand it up with the brushes attached. You have to kind of lean it on something, which is a bit of a pain if you want alternate between scrubbing and mopping. Also, the handle to release water from the tank is on the front of the machine, so you have to take one of your hands off the handle and reach for it. This is difficult because you really need two hands on the handle while it''s scrubbing. If you only hold on with one hand, the thing starts going crazy and can get out of control, so dispensing liquid becomes a bit of a juggling act. Quite honestly, it''s much easier not to use the tank at all. Just dump a bunch of cleaner on the floor and go to town. All in all a good buy. Good for household cleaning. Not something you should expect to use for a business.

This machine delivers good scrubbing and buffing action, but I realized I couldn''t use it around my house, as I''d intended. This is more my fault than the machines''s. I hadn''t thought ahead when buying this product.

It doesn''t pick up the considerable amount of water it dispenses. So it releases quite a quantity of water and soap onto the floor, scrubs vigorously, then leaves you with a pool of dirty water to slosh through. You have to periodically stop the machine to mop up the dirty water, or else have a second person following in the wake of the machine to mop up the water. If you''re doing the job alone, this will probably present an extra problem because, if all machines are like the one I got, the handle of the machine won''t stand upright on its own. You''ll have to move the machine over to a wall or some other support every time you stop to mop up.

This all can end up being time consuming and messy. The scrubber clearly wasn''t going to be useful in my house, crowded as it is with furniture that would get splashed if it wasn''t moved well out of the area of operation. I ended up handing the Koblenz P-2500 over to a cleaning crew that does a lot of work in commercial properties that have clear expanses of floors.

In general, this machine would seem to be most useful in places such as show rooms, hospitals, and gyms.

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Used to have an old time hoover floor polisher and was sceptical about ordering any other but they discontinued the hoover. Just bought this scrubber and it is fantastic having white porcelain floors and three large dogs I needed something that would get the job done and this surely does. I couldn''t believe how well it worked and at half the time. I would recommend this scrubber to anyone. It is easy to put together and very easy to handle.

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Everyone needs one of these. I never cleaned my vinyl floors so easily. I have beveled tiles and even the grout came clean. Easy to use. Absolutely love it!

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I did a lot of research before purchasing this machine. I chose this model because the tank was larger for the solution and the cord was longer. 90% of the floors in our home are tile. We chose textured surface tile for safety and beauty.Until I bought this machine I would literally have to get down on the floor with a brush to get all the nooks and crannies clean. It is a joy to clean them now.So, far the Koblenz floor scrubber does everything I expected to do and it does it without much effort. I do go over the floor after with a damp mop to clean up all the dirty water. Great machine! Would not hesitate to recommend it.

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Aroma AWK-160SB Pasta Plus Water Kettle and Noodle Cooker Save 8% Off

In my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I decided to add green tea to my daily liquid intake. I''ve never been a coffee or tea drinker so I perused Amazon to find an electric tea kettle for my work office.

I decided to try the Aroma AWK-160SB kettle/cooker for several reasons. First, I like that it''s stainless steel and not plastic like so many other electric teapots. Second, the price seemed very reasonable for the item''s quality, and third, the pasta option seemed really cool!

I got my kettle and took it to work, only to find that the on/off switch would kick to off immediately when I turned the temp up. So, to boil water I had to hold down the switch manually. Not good. I contacted Amazon about returning the item and was VERY VERY impressed with their return policy on faulty products. They RUSHED me a new one AND paid return postage on the bad one. In this day of awful customer service being the norm for so many companies, I was thrilled about how well Amazon treated me.

When I got the new one, I was happy to find that it worked just fine. It is SO versatile. I''ve cooked both pasta and oatmeal in it, and also make my daily green tea. It comes to a boil very quickly and it''s very easy to turn down the dial and stabilize the water temp at just under a rolling boil for pasta.

My only complaint is that the cord that comes out of the base is really short, but worse is that it''s stiff and twisted (from being wrapped around the base) and when you don''t have the pot on the base, the cord can and will whip the base around like what happens to a person at the end of the line in ''crack the whip''.

I would think this item would be handy for an office, a dorm room or a single person''s kitchen. All in all, I''m quite impressed with its features and its cost/quality value.

I use this as a water kettle only currently, and I really like it so far. I''ve looked for a long time for an electric kettle that allows the water not to contact any plastic, and this kettle has this exact feature -the interior is completely metal although the lid is plastic, but you don''t have to use the lid if you don''t want to. I also like the way the heating element is completely sealed and that the kettle detaches from the base (the cordless feature). This kettle''s construction appear to be very good quality, and it has a 1-year warranty. Its water kettle function works great -it boils 1 liter of cold water in about 5 minutes. It being a noodle cooker/ soup warmer is a cool feature that I might use one day. This item also comes with a collander and a cute little metal pasta fork to aid you with cooking noodles. I''m very glad I found this kettle.

Buy Aroma AWK-160SB Pasta Plus Water Kettle and Noodle Cooker Now

I''ve only had this item for 3 weeks now and primarily purchased it for cooking 2 portions of pasta and Ramen noodle soups quickly.. I''ve used it about 15 times so far and here are the results..

The Good:

The pot is extreamly well built and boils water for cooking pasta and soups much quicker than on the stove. The pasta cooking feature works great for 2 cups (dry) of wide egg noodles, as well as Ramen Noodle soups.

It also works great for simply boiling water for tea or any other use, and the automatic shutoff feature is great as well..

The Bad:

Because the electronics are in the pot itself, and not the base, and the manual warns of getting those components wet, the pot is more difficult to clean than it should be. The pot is also not teflon lined, so I would not be inclined to cook cream based soups or other things that might stick.. I also have to agree with another reviewer here about the power cord.. It''s very stiff and unyielding, much more so than necessary in this day and age. When the pot is off the base its basically "the tail wagging the dog". The cord is also hard to store in the base as well.

The Bottom Line.

If you can live with the bad which isn''t really hard to do, it''s a great little appliance and has found a favored spot in my kitchen..

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I''ve used electric teakettles for about 25 years. This one promises to last a long time the heating element is self-contained, the pot itself has no holes in it, and thus no gaskets to leak. However, it was designed by someone who never uses an electric teakettle.

It is sloppy to pour, and clumsy to fill (you have to remove the top, which is locked on or is it off? hard to tell by 2 little press tabs). The top always has a large puddle of condensation ready to drip out. It is hard to read the Max and Min labels. Also, I have twice scalded my thumb because of the gap between the handle and the top. Plus, I really cannot imagine someone using both the teakettle and the pasta cooker maybe my son at college, except he wouldn''t trust the plastic drainer. Others are keen on the lack of plastic, but the top is plastic and the pasta strainer is cheap plastic.

I think the scalding concern should make this a good candidate for recall.

Aroma could have made this quite elegant and useful, but instead it is simply klutzy and unsafe.

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I bought this item to boil water and cook food without a range after my house burned down. It boils water pretty fast and is great for drip coffee or espresso. You can also throw the tea bags right in it for tea. I cooked pasta in it, and although the cleanup isn''t fun and you have to be careful about the water level so it doesn''t boil over, that works too. For a single serving, it''s so much faster than a stove as well. I also used it for instant oatmeal and to heat soup. You can eat right out of it if you want.

To clean it, I soak it in a vinegar solution overnight, and then it''s easy. I have well water with lots of minerals, so that takes care of the mineral buildup at the same time. I''d never get one that didn''t have a wide opening as it would be horrible to clean! The simple shape and wide opening means you can get right in there with a scrubbie.

I also love that there''s no plastic in contact with the water. I had a plastic one, and one day it shocked me when I placed my finger in the water (the metal heating element didn''t interface well with the plastic container), and the plastic got horribly discolored with iron and tomato sauce.

But, after using the Aroma for four months, I started to smell plastic burning inside the unit. It seemed that it had an electrical issue, and that could cause a fire! Which, after being through a fire and being told by the fire marshal that small appliances are a major cause of house fires, freaked me out! I hope I just got a defective one. I liked its functionality so much I might try another...it''s so versatile and the stainless steel is high quality and thick.

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EnviroMate EP1000 Pro Steam Cleaner with CSS Save $0.99 Off

Kills bed bugs on contact, saved me a couple box springs and mattresses. Also good for cleaning just about anything. Only thing is on setting 3 or 4 it loses pressure really quick. If it set it to 1 or 2 you can go on endlessly. Also one other complaint they didn''t leave room for you to leave attachments on the unit itself. I might end up buying the cart for this.

Performance is amazing though. Haven''t had any issues and the accessories are pretty good.

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Brita 20-Ounce Bottle with Filter (Twin Pack) Save 16% Off

Some people have said that these bottles are a little leaky, and from time to time they are. All that happens is you get one or two drops of water on your shirt, it''s not like squirting out or anything crazy. I wouldn''t call it a disadvantage, and the same thing has happened to me with a Nalgene bottle.

The product pretty much does exactly what you''d think. Squeeze it like a bike bottle, and delicious water comes out. (It''s beyond me why they made them just a little smaller than the standard bike bottle size, because I''d buy two more for that application in a heartbeat!) The water tastes great, and I liked having it on the plane with me on my last flight. Airport security let me take it through as long as it was empty, and I just filled it from the water fountain inside. I also like putting several ice cubes inside for instant cold filtered water.

UPDATE: It''s a year later and we still use both bottles all the time. Naturally we replaced the filter cartridges a few times, but the bottles are still really great! If anything, they leak even less now than the tiny bit they leaked at first. Great product!

Just a quick note so people understand the difference between a water filter and a water purifier. This unit is not for anything but filtering for taste and to remove foul tasting items from municipal water you get out of your faucet per say.

This is not for taking water out of your local stream.

If you are armed with this information then you know what you are buying...

This is a good product as long as people use it for its intended purpose....and to those that do not.. you will spend some quality time with your local bathroom....

This is what you use for the nasty stuff:

Katadyn Pocket Water Microfilter

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We have a water cooler here at work and the water tastes very bad so i have been buying bottled water ever since i started working here. I the commercial for the Brita water bottle with filter and decided to try it. I received it yesterday and brought it to work and used it on that nasty water cooler. the water tastes so much better. I can finally drink the water! I have read reviews on here about the water bottle leaking and i haven''t had any leakage problems.

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Picked up the Brita Bottle as soon as I heard it was coming out. So far I love it! Makes it easy for me to get filtered water where ever I go and it''s definitely helping me drink more water. My recommendation is to ditch the bottled water and get one of these. (FYI I left this same review for the individual Brita Bottle as well.)

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I purchased this bottle 5 months ago because I''m traveling for work every week and I want to drink water while I''m at the airport and during my meetings.

The good:

* I have absolutely no problem going through security at the airports with this bottle as long as it''s empty of course. Then it can be re-filled at the water fountain

* Sturdy, it doesn''t get scratched easily

* Thin bottle, it fits pretty much everywhere

* Filters are sold everywhere: at Amazon, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc

The bad:

* Water tastes like plastic: During the first few months I noticed that if I left the water inside of the bottle for more than one hour, it started to taste like plastic. Now the problem is getting worse, the water tastes like plastic as soon as put it in. The filter is new, but somehow it seems that the plastic taste in the water is worse

* The bottle is noisy: right after you drink water from it, it makes some noise, not very good to have it at meetings.

* The transparent cap that covers the top is too small, so it gets lost easily and it can''t be replaced because it isn''t sold anywhere. You have to buy the whole bottle again. My bottle''s cap got thrown by mistake by the cleaning crew at my hotel and I haven''t been able to replace it. It''s not really hygienic to throw the bottle without a cap on the bins through security at the airport and then drink from it...

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Frigidaire FRA053PU1 5,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner Save 39% Off

Purchased this unit a few weeks ago to cool a small office room (about 120sf). I was skeptical when I bought it because I was unsure how well portable AC units could be. The unit works really well and is very nice looking. The blowers are somewhat loud but given the small size of my room that is to be expected. It''s not annoying loud. My only complaints were the poor documentation regarding the drainage. There are two drainage outlets. The upper one requires a garden hose attachment. This is only required if you are using the unit in the dehumidifier mode (which I am not). The instructions about this one were clear. The second drainage port is very small at the bottom of the unit. There were no specific instructions about this. It has a soft rubber cap. Once a day I place a shallow tin (pie tin) and drain the water. This is really important otherwise you will have a leak on your floor. Ideally you would hook up some type of small tube to drain. The only problem is that this drain is only about an inch above the floor which makes draining somewhat clumsy.

You do need to vent the unit and it comes with a good length, expandable, 6" thick plastic vent tube. I believe it stretches to 6 feet. Also comes with a window adapter.

Aside from the drainage issue, the unit seems very well made and works wonderfully. Comes with a remote control which I have not used.

WARNING-

There is NO REASON to drain the water from the bottom outlet during normal conditions.

Modern portable units REUSE the condensation water to their advantage (for evaporative cooling). The only time you would drain is if you need to move the portable system.

BACKGROUND-

My house has central air, but my computer room gets hot on it''s own, and central air doesn''t kick in since the average house temperature isn''t hot enough for it to kick in. So the solution? Get an air conditioner for just the computer room. I have a vertical sliding window, and that makes getting an affordable window air conditioner quite difficult. I settled for this portable AC.

INSTALL-

Installation of the window pane didn''t take too long, and was generally easy. Only issue is that although the pane was more than long enough (maximum length of 48.5"; minimum of 26.6"), the amount of non-adhesive and adhesive seal was insufficient to make rounds around the window, resulting in gaps for outside air to freely come in, as well as potential bugs.

Another issue is that the window pane has holes on it for screws that I''m not using (since this is meant for both vertical and horizontal window panels; so I''m not using the horizontal screws), and again, this will result in the outside air to freely come in, as well as potential bugs.

Both issues are solved by getting more seal, and/or taping it up.

Note that sound and heat/cold radiation will be more with this window pain, since it''s just one sheet, as opposed to double-panel windows, which insulate very well.

In addition to the window kit, an L-shaped metal hinge is included so that you can block the window from sliding, since you can''t lock your window anymore (for vertical sliding windows), for security.

ACCESSORIES-

The duct is of better quality than I imagined. It''s very hard, and will not crinkle easily, and can do tight turns (although this is not recommended in the manual). It however does not come with any insulating material, so you may want to get a cover for it to insulate the heat better. The duct ranges from 15" to 55" in length.

The remote is also of better quality than I imagined. It has a small LCD display with backlight that shows the current settings, and you can change any of these settings using it. I expected a non-LCD remote with just buttons on it. It uses 2 AAA batteries, of which are included.

COOLING-

It cools. Very well. Outside temperature is 70F, house temperature is 77F, room temperature was 89F while installing this unit. After about an hour, room temperature is down to 75F, of which I am happy of (and will keep around there).

This unit features fan-only mode and cooling mode, with cooling mode having two options: manual and auto. Manual, you control everything, fan speed and temperature. Auto, it controls it by itself to get it down to the temperature you want it at, and keep it there (so if it''s hot, it will blast the fan at full ''till it gets to lower temperature, then start using slower fan speed for quieter operations).

It also features sleep-mode, in addition to timers, which increases the temperature every half hour for 7 hours, then decreases it back to what you set it at (so you can save energy by not using it as much when you''re asleep).

Power consumption, in the manual, says it uses 8.4-9.1A @ 115V input, and estimates a power usage of 560 Watts for cooling.

Note: Fan is on at all times if the device is on, presumably to take advantage of the evaporative cooling, so it will never be silent as long as it''s on. Be sure to take this into account if you''re planning on using this in the room you sleep in.

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I bought this unit for my 180 sq ft home office which needs more cooling power than our central unit can deliver. The room has 3 large east-facing windows which receive full sunlight for at least 4 hours each morning in the summer. It also contains a workstation-class laptop computer, 2 22" monitors, an external hard drive, and several pieces of networking hardware.

With the doors closed this room easily reaches 85 degrees by noon each day in the summer (even with the window blinds closed), while the central AC maintains the rest of the house at 78 degrees.

The first full day I used this unit I left it off and the office doors and blinds closed until 10 AM when the room had reached 84.6 degrees. After running full-blast for 1 hour the room temperature had dropped to just 78.9 degrees and never dropped below 78 degrees until the windows were shaded.

If you have a medium-sized home office this unit will provide more than enough cooling power to negate the effects of your electronics, but if you don''t already have central AC you will need a bigger unit.

Keep in mind that the 5000 BTUs of cooling provided is enough to balance out the effects of about 15 100W light bulbs (each bulb produces 341 BTUs of heat per hour). You can calculate the wattage of other electronic devices by multiplying their power source voltage * amps (the wattage is sometimes provided by the manufacturer in the user manual).

Also keep in mind that this is a single-hose unit which creates negative air pressure in the room where it operates. This causes some air to be drawn from other parts of the building to balance the pressure. If you need a portable unit as your primary cooling source you should look for a two-hose unit that maintains a more neutral air pressure.

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This A/C works great in my bedroom. It''s usually about 75-79 in my room when I get home from work and when I turn the unit on it gets the room down to 67 in about 5 minutes. My room is about 20x20 which would make it 400 sq ft. The unit is pretty quiet compared to a regular fan. I would highly recommend this unit.

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We got this for my daughter''s room, which gets hotter than most of the house, despite having only a eastern and a northern exposure. On a moderately hot day, in the 80s, it will keep her room comfortable. But if it''s in the 90s (when she needs it most!), it just can''t keep up. When the temperature was in the mid to upper 90s, the best we could get in her room was 84. And this is a very, very small room (less than 100 square feet). Maybe I''m expecting too much. But sometimes the air blowing out doesn''t even feel cold.

On the positive side, it''s reasonably quiet (for this type of unit), it doesn''t make strange noises (as these units often do), it''s simple to operate and easy to install, and it''s certainly a lot better than not having any AC at all. But if you often have days in the 90s or higher, I would recommend that you get an AC unit with a higher BTU rating, even if you are only cooling a small space. Conventional window air conditioners are not allowed where we live (so I''m grateful for this type of AC unit), but if they are an option for you, they are much, much more efficient than portable ACs.

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KRUPS XP4600 Silver Art Collection Pump Espresso Machine Save 33% Off

I''m changing my review after a year of use and the 2nd steamer wand broke. The first two removeable steamer wands had 3 thin plastic tines that were supposed to snap onto a metal tube. The tines continued to snap off from the pressure of the steam. It was a design flaw and they knew about it and I''m happy to say, fixed it! When I called to request a 2nd wand, they sent me the old flawed design (w/i a week). But another week later they sent me a 3rd wand but with the new design! This new wand, though still with plastic parts, screws onto the metal arm! No breakable or cheap parts on this new design! If it breaks again I''ll let everyone know.

Krups customer service was curtious and I got my replacements within 10 days. Apparently, this machine is covered by a 5 yr warranty, which is not listed in the description on this Amazon site.

I''ve also been helped by you readers to end up with a nice dry puck of grinds! Thanks CJ and others!

11/2011 I''ve had it almost 1 week & made 10 double shots.) The machine is beautiful (chrome and stainless w/wood trim), compact, easy to use, heats quickly and cleans up easily. It has made good crema on the coffee.

The water reserve tank must be filled after 4 double shots of coffee are made (including the steaming of the milk) which is no big deal. The machine lets out water (internally) into the outside tray, to cool the machine after you froth your milk, but the tray comes right out and is easy to clean.

Tips: 1)Read the manual before using. 2)Before making the 1st cup of coffee each day, after the machine says it''s ready/hot, set the machine to make a double cup but don''t put the filter with the coffee in. Let the water come out into a cup to heat the machine lines (then discard water). Then put your filter with coffee in and tighten as much as it lets you and make the shot(s). This will make a hotter cup. 3)If you like steamed milk, buy a clip-on thermometer for your milk frothing pitcher so you know when it''s hot enough. 4)Experiment with the amount of coffee you put in the filter and with the grind.

I wanted to replace my recently non-working Starbucks Sirena(made by Saeco)and I did not want to spend more than I spent on the Sirena so this was one of the contenders for consideration. I chose it mostly because it said it had programmable buttons (like my Sirena, a feature that I loved)and secondly for the looks. I so dislike the looks of typical square machines. I was surprised how lightweight this machine is compared to any other espresso maker I have had. Most of the ones I had in the past weighed around 25 pounds and this was about 10! It''s basically all plastic with fake wood and chromed plastic to make it look metal. I was a little dubious about that part. And, upon reading the manual, I found that the programmable buttons will not stay programmed after it is turned off! What good is that?? So, I was going through the motions of priming it and making my first espressos and steamed milk for lattes and thinking I was not happy with this machine, so far. BUT, the espresso was wonderful and had lots of crema, not bitter at all. That seems unusual for a new machine. Usually they have to be broken in for a while. The milk did foam right away, but did so so fast that it did not have time enough to get warm. The top foam was actually still cold. I tried it again and was able to figure out how to get it hot as well. It''s just so different from any of the more "professional" machines that I have had that it will take some adjustments. You cannot adjust the steam because there is no knob. However, after all of this being said, I like the fact that the portafilter is all one piece and has a push-button on it to eject the puck. With other machines, I have had to bang the portafilter like hell to get the puck out (Gaggia) or it was always like soup (Sirena). This was neat and I had a bunch of nice little pucks in my garbage can. So, even though it is mostly plastic and lightweight and has no steam knob, it makes a nice beverage and I guess that is what matters!

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My Starbucks bill gets high so my husband bought me this machine as a gift. I used to own De''Longhi EC155 15 BAR Pump Espresso and Cappuccino Maker a while and died less than a year. It''s the most beautiful looking machine, so my kitchen looks amazing for just having this unit. It''s very easy to use and clean. Heats up very quickly. I''m very happy with this gorgeous item in my kitchen and start a day with a Latte which does not cost $5.

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I want to chime in. I''ve been looking at this cool espresso machine wanting it. But all the bad reviews on here about the nozzle keeps me from ordering. So? I decided to write Krups, and ask them about the nozzel..and if by chance have they corrected the problem. They wrote me back within 24 hours and told me it has been redesigned. you have to call customer service with your model number to see if you have the new improved wand since some of the original models are still out there.

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Finally after endless research, trying one of the Nespresso machines and finding it totally useless and sending it back, I came across this machine and bought it. I am not disappointed not only does it look amazing, it''s very easy to use and makes a wonderful latte. Features the automatic tamp from Krups and emptying the filter is a breeze at the push of a button. Love everything about it!

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