Give an Example of a Product You Can't Stand Yet Grudgingly Admire

[Qs Laptop]

I got this idea for a thread after grumbling about the d@mn cutting boards my wife bought a couple years ago. As I was washing off the three, (yes three!) cutting boards I employed to make lunch today I did an assessment of the product. A mini-review.

Here's the product:
https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-60134...p/dp/B01N1WOVKP/ref=psdc_289863_t1_B08DD6JWX7

First of all, it's ridiculously expensive. $60 for four small slabs of soft plastic and a holding case. I see there are much cheaper knock-off versions available now.

Secondly, the cutting boards are too small. That's why I have to use two or three while preparing a meal. Chopping lettuce or other veggies on one of the boards almost always causes overflow onto the countertop. When this happens I really get steamed. Then there is washing and drying the three cutting boards afterwards. I've often joked if I had a buck for every time I'd cleaned a cutting board I could retire.

Third, the plastic is soft. It is easy to leave knife marks in the surface, small grooves that trap bacteria and crud. I wonder how many miniscule shavings of plastic I've eaten over the past several years? If I am eating them, I guess I'd rather eat wood shavings from a wooden cutting board than a plastic board.

On the other hand...

* It is an attractive set. The boards are color coded for meat, veggies, fish, etc.

* They store neatly in the case and it looks good tucked away in the corner on the countertop. The footprint is relatively small.

Basically, it's a good idea that fails in actual daily use.

Anybody else have an example of a product that you might loathe but admit it's a good idea?

 

[Janet H]

Anybody else have an example of a product that you might loathe but admit it's a good idea?

Laundry pods. Easy, fast, work well enough and I don't have to buy and store 3 products to do the same thing one pod does. Loathe: expensive, possibly bad for the environment. Occasionally the dissolvable outer skin doesn't and gets stuck in the water discharge on my machine.

btw... buy these cutting boards - you'll never look back https://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Boards-Epicurean-Natural-021-3PACK01/dp/B004TJMPWO

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

Kcups.. So wasteful. So much plastic. Such a brilliant product

 

[RunningBum]

Kcups.. So wasteful. So much plastic. Such a brilliant product

Perfect example.

 

[pb4uski]

+2 I love the convenience but I cringe to think how much we put to the landfill annually.

When we are in Vermont, DW takes out the spent coffee and uses it in her gardens.

 

[aja8888]

We use biodegradable K cups.

ECO-FRIENDLY, COMMERCIALLY COMPOSTABLE: OneCup pods, including the outer bag and one-way coffee valve, are made from plant-based materials and are certified fully commercially compostable by BPI. QUALITY COFFEE: San Francisco Bay Coffee uses only 100% arabica coffee and certified Kosher coffee beans.

 

[Boho]

Everything that the instructions say to unplug or remove batteries from when not in use. The toaster oven, fan, exercise bike, flashlight, etc. Just make everything better and leave me alone!

For example, make a large switch that disconnects the electricity by separating the wires an inch or two, or a foot, or whatever. How many plug/unplug cycles are outlets expected to last? I've had to replace two that hardly get used. I feel like I should keep extra ones around because of my exercise bike and toaster oven.

 

[Gumby]

... Then there is washing and drying the three cutting boards afterwards. I've often joked if I had a buck for every time I'd cleaned a cutting board I could retire.

Third, the plastic is soft. It is easy to leave knife marks in the surface, small grooves that trap bacteria and crud. I wonder how many miniscule shavings of plastic I've eaten over the past several years? If I am eating them, I guess I'd rather eat wood shavings from a wooden cutting board than a plastic board.
...

May I suggest that you run them through the dishwasher? That's what I do. Just make sure you turn off the dryer heating elements and let the dishes air dry (which saves money anyway). If you don't, they could melt.

 

[calmloki]

I've recently started splurging on cutting boards. Walmart has them in white plastic for $0.88 up to $1.88 I believe for the largest size. Yes the knives cut them, but they go through the dishwasher just fine (no melting). After 6-8 months I toss them. Bad ecologically, but we buy so little new and recycle so much (mostly paper/cardboard, cans and glass) that I'm ok with it.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-8-x-11-Cutting-Board/51727075

 

[pb4uski]

We run out cutting boards through the dishwasher all the time... the dishasher water is hotter and therefore cleans the boards better than we can by hand.

 

[Qs Laptop]

We run out cutting boards through the dishwasher all the time... the dishasher water is hotter and therefore cleans the boards better than we can by hand.

So do we, but it can't be done as often as we'd like as we use them so frequently. We'd be pulling dirty ones out of the dishwasher and washing them by hand in between running the dishwasher.

 

[Koolau]

Kcups.. So wasteful. So much plastic. Such a brilliant product

We have the refillable ones. Best of both worlds though I admit they are just a bit more messy. It REALLY saves money. A few cents vs about 50 to 75 cents but YMMV.

 

[Jerry1]

Apple products. The price premium on them is just not justified (my opinion), however, I’m an owner of many of their products (ugh).

 

[MuirWannabe]

Apple products. The price premium on them is just not justified (my opinion), however, I’m an owner of many of their products (ugh).

Yea, I might put Peloton in that category as well. Doctor ended my running career this summer after knee surgery. So I begrudgingly sold a kidney, bought a Peloton, and have been getting into it. It’s a good product and offers good programs. But I never thought I’d spend so much for something like this. Including the biggest grievance of all. The monthly subscription cost of $40.

But I do like it.

 

[yakers]

SONOS sound system, ridicules price but geat sound and music access.

 

[T-Minus]

SONOS sound system, ridicules price but geat sound and music access.

+1. I have the now-obsolete version and am being prompted to upgrade all my components for a very minor discount.

 

[Scrapr]

SONOS sound system, ridicules price but great sound and music access.

yep...and i'm thinking about getting the sound bar. Yikes. But it's so easy & I like it

as above Apple products. Specifically I Phones. I'm an 'Droid guy. My wife was I phone because her bestie said it was better. When her bestie would upgrade my wife would upgrade. I off loaded all user management to her friend. But...the pictures are demonstrably better.

 

[Midpack]

We use biodegradable K cups.

I wonder how many end up in landfills where they won’t degrade for 100’s of years? I’ll bet most go to landfills, hardly better than synthetic plastics. Biodegradable, compostable and recyclable “plastics” are about 90% feel good nonsense. Like the wishcycling about 90% of Americans happily engage in. Plastic recycling is/has been about 90% BS all along...

...biodegradable coffee cups are a GREAT thing, but only if you COMPOST them!! You cannot add these to your normal waste stream and think they will disappear. You need to dispose of the biodegradable coffee cups in a compost bin or a community collection process.

 

[Gumby]

I slice open the top and scrape out the used grounds for our the compost pile. I put the cups in the trash, where they will get burned in the trash-fired electric plant, like the vast majority of our other non-recyclable trash here in CT. We no longer have permanent landfills for municipal solid waste.

 

[kcowan]

Power cords for electronic devices. A major pain when travelling. A minor pain all the time.
Make them interchangeable!

 

[ls99]

The Bentley off roader.