Green Clean Wet and Dry Sensor Swabs

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: It's not nearly as scary the second time.

The Long Version: Green Clean is the European brand that makes a number of useful products for photographers. My favourite so far has been the Wet/Dry lens wipes, which really do work better than the one-step alternatives that I use, and they also make an innovative vacuum system that's powered by canisters of compressed gas.

I had mixed results with my vacuum, but Adam Marelli reports good success when spending time in dustier conditions than anything I've ever faced. In general, when given a choice between believing me and some other authority, my money's on the other guy – although in this case the different cameras we use, one with and one without an integrated anti-dust system on the sensor, might also account for the different experience.

But the Green Clean vacuum system is only half of the Green Clean Sensor Kit, so for this review I've been testing out the wet/dry sensor swabs. Like the wet/dry lens tissues that I really like, these are packaged together in their own envelopes which makes them very convenient to use. Essentially these are tissue swabs on disposable spatulas, and there's no separate fluid or bits needed.

I have to confess that the first time I tried these sensor swabs I did a pretty bad job with it. Relieved to be free of the fussiness of the Visible Dust fluid and swab system, I may have been over-enthusiastic with the wet Green Clean swab. Okay, I'll admit that I scrubbed like I was cleaning the bathtub, and unsurprisingly the dry swab just wasn't able to cope with the aftermath. The results were bad, and I should have known better. On the bright side, it was a learning experience, and my D700 and I were both okay after a little extra work.

But the snag is that it's tough to test a sensor cleaner on a clean sensor, so that little user-error episode did derail writing this review for a couple of months. But eventually I was able to redo the test, and took a little more care, with much better results. I've never quite managed to have my sensor completely spot-free when I really go hunting for them, but this brought me as close as I've ever been with remarkably little fuss.

Sensor cleaning is something to be avoided as much as possible and done well when necessary. The Green Clean system is simple and works well: the self-contained twin envelope makes it perfect for travelling, and the results are as good as anything I've tried at home. It's certainly something that I would throw in the bag for a road trip, which isn't something I can say for the other 'wet cleaning' methods that I've tried. I'm convinced.


The Green Clean products used in this review have been provided at no cost by the North American distributor for evaluation. However, anything that isn't consumed in the product testing is returned, and there is no financial relationship or incentive involved. But as always, the usual `thewsreviews disclaimer still applies.

last updated 17 mar 2012

Umbra Saddle Sink Caddy

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 1 out of 5
Yeah, but: No matter where you put it, there it is.

The Long Version: It seems like a really good idea. The Umbra saddle sink caddy is designed to go across the centre of a twin sink, with a compartment on both sides to hold sponges, scouring pads, and similar. It comes in different colours, but I picked a dark one – "smoke" – that would look the least grungy the longest. (White is also available for those who want the opposite effect.) Realistically there's not much chance that a silicone spongebra will add to the decor, no matter how cute it is in the store, so I wish I'd picked the red one just because it looks like it has more fun.

The problems with my sink caddy started very quickly. The saddle doesn't straddle my sink very elegantly, leading to a bulky fit that takes up more room than it should. Next I discovered just how much I use the dividing wall between the sinks, for everything from bracing cooking sheets to balancing the big 4L water-filter jug. And when I actually use the sink for dishes and cooking, the sponge caddy blocks a surprising amount of it. All this I could live with, even though I often end up having to move the caddy to one side or just drop it into the half of the sink that I'm not using. The biggest problem is that the Umbra caddy keeps sponges wet for a remarkably long time.

Each side of the sink caddy has four dainty little drainage holes, which serve to let most of the water out when it gets flooded by the faucet, but aren't enough to let it drain completely or allow proper air flow. So instead of keeping my kitchen organized, the Umbra sink saddle leaves me with chronically damp sponges sitting in a holder that's inevitably in the way. I have to admit that I was hoping for more than that from this simple little thing. Umbra usually does a very good job with product design, but this one just doesn't do it for me.

last updated 24 may 2011

Ultra Fleecy Fabric Softener

Concept:  3 out of 5
Execution:  1 out of 5
Yeah, but:  It's so fluffy!

The Long Version: Perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised at how hard it is to find decent information about fabric softener. After all, it's an industry worth a huge amount of money that involves complex chemicals and heavy perfumes. On one side of the information chasm we have the manufacturers whose only advice is how to use more of their product, while their adversaries love the cliché "chemical-laden". That's a scary phrase that's completely meaningless, as even a glass of pure distilled water is laden with hydrogen and oxygen, which are combustible, reactive, and/or poisonous chemicals that can kill you if not handled correctly.

The foundation of most softeners, ditallow dimethyl ammonium chloride (DTDMAC) (pdf) certainly isn't something I'd want to drink. Norway has it on their list of priority substances to reduce, a list that include[s] substances that are persistent and bioaccumulative, that have serious long-term health effects, or that show high ecotoxicity. The additional additives and other ingredients almost certainly don't improve matters; there's no doubt in my mind that this isn't something I should enjoy pouring down the drain. I compensate for that by adding it only when it will actually be useful - I wash my shirts separately from my jeans in the world's smallest front-load washer - and by using about a fifth of the recommended amount. Even with that level of moderation it still takes care of the static electricity that's endemic in winter.

click here for larger in a new window

But in a market filled with dubious information and spin, sometimes companies rise to the level of art. All bottles of fabric softener have this handy disclaimer on their backs. Essentially, fabric softeners increase fluffiness and flammability, so it should not be used on inherently fluffy fabrics like fleece and terry cloth, or on anything that needs to be treated for flame-resistance, such as "children's sleepwear". Yet the photo on the front of the bottle that I bought looks like a scary aryan robo-baby wrapped up in a fluffy fleece blanket. I have to admit that this absurdity is the only reason why I picked this particular brand out of the noise of indistinguishable products.

WTF, Ultra Fleecy?

last updated 12 jan 2011

Life Brand Folding Travel Toothbrush

Concept: 2 out of 5
Execution: 1 out of 5
Yeah, but: Something small and frail and plastic…

The Long Version: Travel toothbrushes are one of those things that inherently compromise function for convenience. Where they fold, whether it's through a hinge or from a two-piece design, is invariably going to be a weak point. Hopefully it won't be so weak that the brush will fold over backwards at the slightest provocation, or completely come apart at the feeble hinge the way this one does. It's also nice when the 'closed' position covers and protects the bristles, rather than leaving some of them splayed out to the side of the handle. This folding toothbrush, marketed under the Life Brand Essential's line by Shopper's Drug Mart, is simply the pits.

There's a reason why the two-piece style, where the brush head inverts and is stored in the hollow lower handle, is so common. It works. This one-piece folding design ranks right around 'better than nothing', so I'll probably leave it in my kit, but I'll be looking for a better one as well. On the other hand, given how easy it is to leave toothbrushes behind, maybe the two-for-one pack of disposable-quality plastic is exactly right. You pay your money and you make your choice.

L'Oreal Vive Pro Hair & Body wash

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: Shortest. Review. Ever.

The Long Version: The label says it's "hair and body wash" for men. Finally, a shampoo that assumes I'm lazy rather than balding.

Method Laundry Detergent

Concept: 4 out of 5
Execution: 3 out of 5
Yeah, but: It's hard make money from affection alone.

The Long Version: Method Laundry Detergent (manf) is one of those instances where the the great idea doesn't depend on the product. What they've done is get rid of the screw-top and cap, and replaced it with a pump that puts out a metered amount of detergent. It didn't go over that well for toothpaste, but it works for laundry soap.

There's an interesting phrase floating around. At the time of writing, Google was returning 112 hits from an exact match search for the phrase: "As highlighted in a recent Wall Street Journal article, Americans continue to overuse laundry detergent." (That article, almost never properly cited, is here.) The tendency for pouring detergent is to use too much, either by over-filling the deceptively large cap-cups or by pouring it directly into the machine. Highly concentrated detergents just make matters worse, since a little bit too much is a lot more than anyone really needs.

While there's nothing stopping the detergent makers from putting pumps on huge half-gallon bottles, Method's using it on a detergent that's so heavily concentrated that they recommend using only four pumps per load. That makes it practical, since the little 300ml bottle is easy to handle but is still rated for 25 loads. Doing the math, that works out to less than a tablespoon each - not nearly enough to be psychologically satisfying when poured, but the little pump makes it alright. And that amount is what the swimming-pool sized top-load washers need; front-load washers use far less water and need far less detergent. My Asko washer-dryer might be a dog, but I've been very happy with only one pump per load.

Another interesting little tidbit from the WSJ article can be found at the end: "Seventh Generation's co-founder, Jeffrey Hollender, wonders why more people haven't stumbled upon laundry's big, dirty secret: "You don't even need soap to wash most loads," he says. The agitation of washing machines often does the job on its own." It's a good question, but I've never felt the desire to test it. I'll just continue to use a tiny little bit of the Method detergent instead.

Electrasol Finish Powerball dishwasher tablets

Concept: 2 out of 5
Execution: 2 out of 5
Yeah, but: Who names these things?

The Long Version: There are two good things that I can say about this detergent - I haven't had any reason to complain about it, and it got rid of the gunk that the last stuff left. Really, what more can I ask?

The dishwasher detergent itself comes in little rectangular tablets that are designed to be pretty as well as water soluble. They remind me of the fancy striped toothpastes, except that toothpaste doesn't come in individually-portioned plastic packets. While that does give me a bit of an excess-packaging twinge, it's better than having a lumpen mass of unusable detergent that ends up in a landfill. It's still not a great choice overall, so I'll likely look for something else next time, but when I bought them they were the best type available.

But really, "Powerball Finish"? C'mon. I'd love to know how much the macho-male dishwasher detergent market segment is worth. Even the officially-sequenced "Finish Powerball" is still an awfully suggestive name. I'm sure that most everyone will think that I'm reading far too much into this, but there are some mighty clever people working in advertising. When it comes to multi-million-dollar industries, I don't think that much happens by accident. Sex, after all, sells.

Bio-Life Automatic Dishwasher Detergent

Concept: 1 out of 5
Execution: 1 out of 5
Yeah, but: I'm a hard case.

The Long Version: Life Brand is the store line for Shopper's Drug Mart / Pharmaprix, and they have a huge range of products. (One of which I've reviewed before.) Most of them are quite good, offering cheaper alternatives to The Leading National Brands, even if they don't have Dave Nichol shaking in his boots. They've recently branched out with a line called 'Bio-Life', selling more 'eco-friendly' products. They're competing with brands like Method, which is also sold by Shopper's, as well as specialty lines from other stores.

My dishwasher is old, and not particularly great. Things need to be rinsed fairly well before they go in, and the myriad plastic lunch containers never dry properly. That might be relevant to my experience with the Bio-Life detergent - I have a hard time imagining that it would have ever made into circulation if the test labs results were as bad as mine. Every piece of hard-to-dry plastic comes out coated with a mottled white film. It smudges with handing; for these photos I've carefully polished half of it off with a paper towel. It doesn't seem to be left behind on things like plates and glasses, but it's hard for me to have much confidence in the detergent, and I resorted to re-rinsing everything by hand.

The detergent itself comes in little pre-measured doses, wrapped in a water-soluble packet. There is a cautionary note on the container that the bag needs to be kept closed and handled with dry hands. I can attest to both of those in my brief time using the product. The little bundles glom together when exposed to even modest humidity, which makes them easier to stack but harder to use. And the one time I picked up a pack with damp fingers - I hadn't seen the warning yet - I discovered that the wrap does indeed dissolve instantly on contact with water. Not the most user-friendly product I've ever seen, to say the least.

I suppose I don't seem that smart when I say that I actually tried four loads of dishes before I gave up on this stuff. For the last attempt I waited until the dishwasher was finished before running the rinse cycle again, just to make sure. No luck. The good news is that other brands of lower-impact detergent have worked in my machine without any issues, so it's not a problem with the idea, just this one particular product. But no matter who makes it, I won't be buying this style of water-soluble packaging again. Not a big deal, as big deals go, but I'm just a little bit older and wiser now.

Asko WCAM1812 Combination Washer/Dryer

Concept: 3 out of 5
Execution: -1 out of 5
Yeah, but: Others may have had a better experience. Maybe.

The Long Version: The Asko WCAM1812 is a single unit that combines a washing machine and a ventless dryer. It's a great idea: the plumbing is simple, it doesn't need a special power outlet, and it doesn't need to be vented to the outside. Mine sits in the middle of my apartment, in a place where no other washer/dryer combo can go.

There are a couple of compromises to be made with the Asko, or any combination unit, that need to be said up-front. For one thing, it's much smaller. While the drum is about the size of an ordinary front-load washing machine, its effective capacity is less than half of that because it needs the empty space to tumble the clothes when they're drying. In a household of two people, this unit probably runs five or six loads in an average week. If you're considering buying any combination washer-dryer and may have children some day, then you'll have to rethink one of those plans.

Compromise #2 is that this single washer-dryer is slower than two separate units. The dryer in particular takes longer, and because it's one machine it's not possible to start the second wash while the first one is in the dryer. On the other hand, this means that it can do its thing without supervision, so it's possible to start a load in the morning or at night and come back to it when it's done. Or at the very least, when it's almost done.

And this brings me to quirk #3. The clothes wrinkle from the small drum, and there seems to be no way to prevent it. Clothes do not come out fluffy, crisp, and warm. Instead they come out wrinkled, damp, and very hot. The best strategy is to get them close enough that they'll be dry and fairly wrinkle-free by the time they're hung up in the closet. With some experience, it's possible to tell the difference between 'wet' and 'damp'. But let them sit and they'll never recover, requiring a 40-minute 'fluffing' run through the dry cycle to get them warm again. And even then ironing is probably going to be needed for anything that can't show a little character.

Don't get clever and run the dryer long enough to force your clothes to dry. It doesn't work - I can have something come out scorched from the heat and still be damp. And don't get too complacent about the heat of the dryer, either. It can leave clothes too hot to touch, and I frequently have to wait for the steam to clear even after the dryer's safety delay has released the door. Forget about that nice feeling of pulling on something comfy straight from the dryer - it just doesn't happen that way.

But all told, it's better than having to use my buildings' communal laundry rooms, even though it astonishes me to get an entire weeks' worth of clothes cleaned in an hour and a half. And this isn't a case of me needing to try the alternative to write a well-rounded review, either. I've had ample chances to compare the two laundry options since my Asko has broken down so often.

When it was first delivered, the belt had come off of the blower that moves hot air into the drum while drying. It took a while to realize that there was something wrong - after all, it did warm up, people had warned us how much longer the drying would take, and not to expect crisp fluffy clothes. But no, it was broken, and this turned out to be a recurring problem. This unit had four or five service calls because it stopped drying, always resulting in scorched-smelling clothes that were plenty wet. Changing the belt and all of the pulleys made no difference. It was eventually resolved - I think - by an enterprising technician who spotted and fixed a misaligned shaft that was - we hope - the source of all of the trouble. (Incidentally, Kampen Appliance Service was great, and I'm happy to have them on my speed-dial.) The only other trouble that this particular unit had was a tear in the door boot that caused a small leak. It's something that never happens, which means it took forever to get a spare part, and the new one had a drain in it that the old one didn't. I don't know if that's an upgrade or a bug-fix, but it does work better now.

So overall, I have mixed feelings about this Asko washer-dryer thing. If I had an option to get a traditional front-load washer and separate dryer, I would without hesitation. However, since that's not possible, I'd rather have the combined machine than have to leave the house, even if it's just to go down the hall in my slippers. But when this one finally dies - probably right after the warranty expires - I won't be replacing it with another Asko unless the things I read get much, much better.


Updated May 2011: The Asko washer-dryer has had a host of issues since I originally wrote this. Some of the electronics went bad, meaning that the washer would occasionally wash forever (or dry forever) as it would keep resetting itself. There would be a subtle but distinctive 'click' when it did this, and the solution was to turn the power off, wait for it to actually stop – typically a matter of several minutes – turn the dial to 'off', open the door, turn the power back on, and wait for it to reset itself. Other times it would start running on cycles that it wasn't set to, such as when I wanted to run the dryer for another 40 minutes but it would start on the "rinse" cycle instead. The final in-warranty service call was to get this fixed, and after replacing a bunch of parts, nothing changed.

One of the big mistakes I made with the WCAM1812 was to paint the kitchen. I needed to move it out of its cubby to be able to paint behind it, and that just made it angry. Now it has an intermittent but LOUD rattling noise in each stage of the wash-dry process. The actual results aren't affected, but there's occasionally a warm rubber smell and it's impossible to hear the TV. Running the wash overnight is now a thing of the past – at least until it has a couple of out-of-warranty service calls behind it.

On the other hand, it is still struggling along, meaning that it has outlived its warranty period. I suppose that means it exceeded my expectations.


Updated July 2011: The loud rattling turned out to be that the impeller had come away from the drive shaft of the drain pump, a small part that only cost a couple hundred dollars' to replace. The next day – absolutely literally – the thing stopped working. The water would run straight through the washer, never stopping, never filling. Additionally, the control panel stopped lighting up, and the usual tricks to reset the machine stopped working. When the technician took the top off of the machine, the control board had small scorch marks around one component, and a huge scorch mark around another component that has partially melted.

This is the same panel that was replaced under warranty fourteen months earlier.

While the technician was checking out the machine he asked if it was having problems drying. The truth is it's hard to tell the difference between malfunctioning and normal operation, and since it had been making so much noise we'd just become used to hanging up the still-damp clothes to dry in our dining room. But the point is that the tech spotted that our blower/fan unit had seized, and would also need to be replaced. So in addition to the hundreds of dollars that the thing cost us last week, the cost of having these parts replaced will almost certainly write off the washer/dryer.

Four years and it's garbage. I have shoes older than that.


Updated September 2011: My Asko washer-dryer is back in service. Following the advice of the technician who diagnosed the problem, I called Asko North America and asked for the pending service to be covered as a warranty repair. I had to send in the work order that detailed the parts needed – thankfully I have a flat-bed scanner – and it took a little while, but I have to say that the Asko Complaints Dept seems pretty well-rehearsed. I took on the Disappointed and Long-Suffering tone with my emails, and never had to escalate beyond that. So the most recent round of repairs was covered for parts and labour, and eventually they also refunded the cost of the parts (but not labour) to replace the drain pump that disassembled itself.

The control board, which is the charred item pictured above, cost better than $500. This washing machine is now on its third one in five years. But apparently they're not common items, as it still took about a month for it to arrive and complete my service call. I'm lucky that my condo also has communal laundry machines, so spending more than a month without my Asko isn't as bad as it could be, but those machines still cost $3.75 a load. I didn't even bother to ask for that back.

But wait, there's more! My WCAM1812 also needed a new air duct cover to replace the one that had clogged with lint, which is typical for these machines. So even if a WCAM1812 doesn't have some sort of acute failure, it will gradually lose its drying effectiveness and need a service call with a $160+ part to bring it back to its original performance. The good news is that my dryer now works just as well as it did when the machine was new. That's a qualified victory, to be sure, but a noticeable improvement none the less.

I've finally dropped the "Execution" rating from "1" to "0" I'm not sure why it took me so long to do that.


Updated May 2012: Shortly after the new control electronics were installed – read: replaced for the second time – the washer went back to its infinite-run trick. We've discovered that it only happens when we adjust the cycle settings or drying time while the unit is on, which makes the situation somewhat manageable. If we forget, the reset routine is written on a post-it note on the side of the machine:

Power off. Wait for door to unlock. Open door.
Turn cycle selector to "Stop". Wait at least five minutes.
Power on:
- If "start" and cycle lights flash, power off and wait again.
- If start light is solid and control dial can select new cycles, the machine is ready.
Power off. Close door. Turn selector to desired cycle.
Power on. Press start.

Oh, and the dryer is back to being essentially useless again. There's nothing specifically "wrong" this time – no burning smell, scorched clothes, or horrendous noise – so we just live with it. When the Asko's short and troubled life finally does come to an end, it will just be replaced by a front-load washing machine, so always having a drying rack out is good practice.


Updated November 2013: Actually not much to report this time; the machine stumbles on. We still don't use the dryer, and while the control electronics are skittish enough that we always verify that it will run the program that it has been set to, it still works about as well as it ever has.

Updated September 2017: That took way longer than I expected, but it finally happened. This is all that's left of this horrible, horrible machine.

The Asko stumbled on for years, never working well, but not so badly broken that it acutely needed to be replaced. That's the worst of both worlds. The frequently-replaced control board remained a chronic problem, making it difficult to select cycles, and even when it did the cycle it was told, it would often fail partway through and just stop. Similarly, the dryer would want to run even when its time was set to zero, so we'd leave that dial pointing to twenty minutes lest it run forever. The good news is that the heat function had broken years ago, so there was no danger of scorching the entire load, which is what happened when it was "working".

Amazingly, what finally killed it was mechanical, not electronic. The drum rollers must have disintegrated, because the drum couldn't spin without sounding like it was trying to tumble cinder blocks. And it would barely spin at the same time: sound and fury, drying nothing. So it was in the back of the junk removal truck without ceremony – I didn't even take any goodbye photos of it. The photo above is the door from the detergent dispenser, which had broken off ages ago and was left behind in the excitement.

My WCAM1812's replacement is a small and relatively inexpensive front-load washer. Despite having a drum that's two-thirds the size, according to the various manufacturer data, it holds far more. It get everything cleaner, and it takes half as long to do a load of laundry, leaving it drier out of the wash than the washer-dryer Asko could. It's even happy to do it. And needless to say, it's not made by Asko.