Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:
5 Household Items Worth the Splurge
By Farnoosh Torabi | Yahoo! Finance – Thu, Jan 31, 2013
As the saying goes, you pay for what you get and that includes household products. For those items that go through far more wear and tear, it makes sense to pay a little bit more upfront for better quality and durability. Here are five household items worth the splurge.
Steam Iron
It’s probably not your favorite chore, but ironing can be far more unpleasant with a cheap device. For one, it can damage your clothes, and poor quality irons are known to leak water and fail to reach the proper temperature. Quality irons start at around $75 and have the following key features: fast heating and an anti-drip seal. Also look for stainless steel or ceramic-sole plates, which glide best over a variety of fabrics. It doesn’t have to have a lot of steam holes to be effective. A $75 iron used twice a week will pay for itself in about a year, at just 72 cents per use.
Steam Iron
It’s probably not your favorite chore, but ironing can be far more unpleasant with a cheap device. For one, it can damage your clothes, and poor quality irons are known to leak water and fail to reach the proper temperature. Quality irons start at around $75 and have the following key features: fast heating and an anti-drip seal. Also look for stainless steel or ceramic-sole plates, which glide best over a variety of fabrics. It doesn’t have to have a lot of steam holes to be effective. A $75 iron used twice a week will pay for itself in about a year, at just 72 cents per use.
Vacuum Cleaner
A smart budget here is between $200 and $400. As for the best kind, Consumer Reports says a full-size canister vacuum, while more expensive than an upright, does tend to last an average of two years longer.
While you’re shopping, look for a model with a suction control switch, which will allow you to clean different types of floor surfaces. An edge cleaner picks up dirt and debris under the entire area of the cleaning head so you can vacuum right up to the wall. And for deep cleaning, pick a vacuum with manual carpet height adjustment. A top-notch vacuum should last about seven years. If you spend $300 and clean once a week, that breaks down to just 82 cents per use.
To read the entire article from Farnoosh Torabi | Yahoo! Finance:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-household-items-worth-the-splurge-153338172.html
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