Home Cleaning

Brush Hero detail cleaning brush review

When I was in high school, my dad asked me to detail his Bronco. It took me all day, but his truck looked better than the day he bought it. I remember having to really work at it to loosen up the grime, grease and brake dust. I still love the sense of satisfaction from really cleaning my cars, so the Brush Hero detail brush looked like it might make getting into the nooks and crannies easier.

What is it?

The Brush Hero uses water pressure from a typical garden hose to spin a cleaning head, making loosening dirt easier and more fun.  It’s intended for cars, patios and grills, gutters, garden tools, pools, pets and even people (with some caveats.)

Hardware Specs

  • Heavy-duty plastic construction
  • Approximately 13-1/2” long, with cleaning brush attached
  • 2-1/2” at its widest
  • 8.1 ounces

What’s in the box?

Brush Hero wand
Two removable brush heads, one firmer for “serious muck”, and one softer for “sensitive surfaces.”
User manual
Card inviting persons having trouble with the Brush Hero to call “customer service rock Star Julie.”

Design and features

Brush Hero comes in a transparent plastic box, adorned with their logo, a list of objects suggested to be cleaned and several usage photos including a happy dog being washed.

The user manual is fun to read. I got several chuckles and appreciated the humor, particularly the “Brush Hero is for external use only” comment (use your imagination here 😉 ).

The Brush hero feels tough. I started by attaching a brush head. It goes on with a hefty push and stays on quite securely. The handle is ergonomic, with a grooved surface that will help prevent dropping it when one’s hands are soapy. A thumb-operated off switch/pressure control allows the Brush hero to be turned off without having to return to the water valve. I gave the wand a number of twists and bends and determined it should hold up reasonably well under normal circumstances.

The middle of winter in upstate New York’s snow-belt isn’t a great time of year to give the Brush Hero a proper shakedown, but I gave it the old college try. Firing up a 50,000 BTU kerosene heater and performing a bit of plumbing to give me hot water in my garage, I made an attempt to give my 2008 Smart Car a much-needed bath.

The Brush Hero started spinning as soon as water was flowing. Out of the box, the brush head spins freely, but when in operation, there is a surprising amount of torque, even with my home’s moderate water pressure. Concentrating first on my rims, the Brush Hero cut through brake dust, road salt, and mud effortlessly, fitting into the tightest places, even behind the valve stems. The brush spins relatively slowly, but with ample force to dislodge stubborn dirt. Three nozzles at the base of the brush it clean and prevents the brush from trapping debris that might damage my precious vehicle’s paint. Water flow is well controlled so I didn’t get soaked in my 45-degree garage.

The brush head fits into places that would have been challenging.  I was able to clean the openings around the wiper arms, the air intakes and under the gas door without mucking about finding different brushes. Cleaning the door frames without spraying water all over the interior of my car was a bonus.

The pressure/shutoff switch worked flawlessly, completely cutting off the water flow. I noticed little difference in rotation speed, but this may be more pronounced with higher water pressure than my house can provide.

Here’s the before and after of my little chariot.

What I like

  • Well-constructed
  • Brushes clean well
  • Excellent torque
  • Doesn’t leak
  • The valve cuts water flow completely
  • The brush head fits into places fingers can’t
  • The user manual is a hoot!

What needs to be improved?

  • The manual says a hose quick connect is included, but it wasn’t in the box
  • Add an extra external shut-off valve and a few additional quick connect couplings allowing the Brush Hero to be removed and other tools to be installed without the need to turn the water off at the spigot.

Final thoughts

I was initially thinking this was going to be one of those “as seen on TV” type gimmicks. Pleasantly, I found it’s well-constructed works as described, and genuinely fun. I’m looking forward to warmer weather when the Brush Hero will definitely be used more often.

Price: $34.99
Where to buy: Brushhero.com or Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Brush Hero.

Brush Hero detail cleaning brush review

When I was in high school, my dad asked me to detail his Bronco. It took me all day, but his truck looked better than the day he bought it. I remember having to really work at it to loosen up the grime, grease and brake dust. I still love the sense of satisfaction from really cleaning my cars, so the Brush Hero detail brush looked like it might make getting into the nooks and crannies easier.

What is it?

The Brush Hero uses water pressure from a typical garden hose to spin a cleaning head, making loosening dirt easier and more fun.  It’s intended for cars, patios and grills, gutters, garden tools, pools, pets and even people (with some caveats.)

Hardware Specs

  • Heavy-duty plastic construction
  • Approximately 13-1/2” long, with cleaning brush attached
  • 2-1/2” at its widest
  • 8.1 ounces

What’s in the box?

Brush Hero wand
Two removable brush heads, one firmer for “serious muck”, and one softer for “sensitive surfaces.”
User manual
Card inviting persons having trouble with the Brush Hero to call “customer service rock Star Julie.”

Design and features

Brush Hero comes in a transparent plastic box, adorned with their logo, a list of objects suggested to be cleaned and several usage photos including a happy dog being washed.

The user manual is fun to read. I got several chuckles and appreciated the humor, particularly the “Brush Hero is for external use only” comment (use your imagination here 😉 ).

The Brush hero feels tough. I started by attaching a brush head. It goes on with a hefty push and stays on quite securely. The handle is ergonomic, with a grooved surface that will help prevent dropping it when one’s hands are soapy. A thumb-operated off switch/pressure control allows the Brush hero to be turned off without having to return to the water valve. I gave the wand a number of twists and bends and determined it should hold up reasonably well under normal circumstances.

The middle of winter in upstate New York’s snow-belt isn’t a great time of year to give the Brush Hero a proper shakedown, but I gave it the old college try. Firing up a 50,000 BTU kerosene heater and performing a bit of plumbing to give me hot water in my garage, I made an attempt to give my 2008 Smart Car a much-needed bath.

The Brush Hero started spinning as soon as water was flowing. Out of the box, the brush head spins freely, but when in operation, there is a surprising amount of torque, even with my home’s moderate water pressure. Concentrating first on my rims, the Brush Hero cut through brake dust, road salt, and mud effortlessly, fitting into the tightest places, even behind the valve stems. The brush spins relatively slowly, but with ample force to dislodge stubborn dirt. Three nozzles at the base of the brush it clean and prevents the brush from trapping debris that might damage my precious vehicle’s paint. Water flow is well controlled so I didn’t get soaked in my 45-degree garage.

The brush head fits into places that would have been challenging.  I was able to clean the openings around the wiper arms, the air intakes and under the gas door without mucking about finding different brushes. Cleaning the door frames without spraying water all over the interior of my car was a bonus.

The pressure/shutoff switch worked flawlessly, completely cutting off the water flow. I noticed little difference in rotation speed, but this may be more pronounced with higher water pressure than my house can provide.

Here’s the before and after of my little chariot.

What I like

  • Well-constructed
  • Brushes clean well
  • Excellent torque
  • Doesn’t leak
  • The valve cuts water flow completely
  • The brush head fits into places fingers can’t
  • The user manual is a hoot!

What needs to be improved?

  • The manual says a hose quick connect is included, but it wasn’t in the box
  • Add an extra external shut-off valve and a few additional quick connect couplings allowing the Brush Hero to be removed and other tools to be installed without the need to turn the water off at the spigot.

Final thoughts

I was initially thinking this was going to be one of those “as seen on TV” type gimmicks. Pleasantly, I found it’s well-constructed works as described, and genuinely fun. I’m looking forward to warmer weather when the Brush Hero will definitely be used more often.

Price: $34.99
Where to buy: Brushhero.com or Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Brush Hero.

Nellie’s WOW mop will help you power through cleaning

This cleaning tool isn’t a robot, but the WOW mop from Nellie’s is a rechargeable, powered mop.  A powerful motor oscillates two pad holders on the bottom of the mop up to a thousand times a minute to make short work of dry or wet mopping your floors.  It’s safe for hardwood, tile, and ceramic and other floors.

The rechargeable mop has a built-in 2000 mAh, 35 W lithium battery that keeps you cleaning for about 55 minutes between charges.  (Recharge time is 3-5 hours.)  The long grip handle helps save your back, and two LEDs on the front help illuminate the area to be cleaned – especially helpful under furniture.  And speaking of under furniture, the handle is attached to the powered mop with a joint that pivots to all angles so the mop fits under most every piece of furniture.

The WOW mop comes with a set each of dry cleaning and wet cleaning cloths; the cloths are machine washable and can be reused up to 100 times.  A 200ml reservoir holds cleaning solution for wet mopping.   Of course, Nellie’s recommends you use their Floor Care cleaning solutions with the WOW mop.  And just like Nellie’s laundry products, their plant-based floor cleaners are environmentally-friendly.

The WOW mop (with cleaning cloths) is $189.00; a mop bundle adds two bottles of Nellie’s Floor Care cleaning solution and other products and is $229.00, and replacement pads and additional cleaning solution is available from Nellie’s website.

Add a faucet to your laundry room when you buy a new clothes washer

Having a sink in your laundry room would be ideal because it would allow you to start pre-treating stains before laundering without having to then carry soaking wet fabric through the house to the washing machine.  In many space-conscious homes these days, there’s hardly room for a washer and dryer, forget about having room for a laundry sink, too.  The 4.8cu. ft. HE Top Load Washer with Built-in Water Faucet from Whirlpool has a faucet built in, so you don’t need a separate sink.

You can easily pre-wash a piece of laundry using a stream of water from the faucet inside the machine’s stainless drum.  The machine has lots of other features, too.  It has a dispensing system that can hold a supply of detergent, bleach, and fabric softener and dispense the right amount for your selected load.  It has auto load-size sensing, to select the right amount of water, and intuitive touch controls to make selecting from the 27 selectable wash cycles, 4 soil levels, and 5 wash/rinse temperatures easy.  MSRP is $899.00 for the 4.8 cu.ft HE Top Load Washer with Built-In Water Faucet and Intuitive Touch Controls.  Learn more about the features of this clothes washer and locate a vendor in your area at Whirlpool’s website.

Bissell makes bathing your dog as easy as cleaning a carpet

The Bissell BarkBath machine looks like one of Bissell’s small spot-cleaning machines for rugs or upholstered furniture.  As a matter of fact, there is even a BarkBath accessory that can be added to some of your small Bissell machines for bathing your dog, but this BarkBath system is for people who don’t already own a small Bissell.

The BarkBath Portable Dog Bath & Grooming System consists of a Bissell base unit, a BarkBath unit, and Bissell rinse-free dog shampoo.  You’ll also receive a microfiber mat to place under the base unit, and a microfiber towel for washing faces and paws.  You add some shampoo to the BarkBath unit, then you use the dispensing nozzle to spray water through the fur down to your dog’s skin.  As the shampoo solution sprays out, there’s also a gentle vacuum pulling it back out through the fur.  The dirty water collects in one side of the base unit for easy disposal.  The BarkBath unit can be switched to spray either clear water or a water/shampoo solution.

Bissell says you can clean an 80 pound dog with about 40 ounces of water, where a traditional tub bath for the same dog can take up to 19 gallons.  Using the BarkBath system saves water, and it saves clean up of a messy, hairy tub.  It’s so clean, Bissell says you can clean your dog anywhere in your house without making a mess.

The Bissell BarkBath Portable Dog Bath and Grooming System is on sale for $119.99 at Bissell right now;  it’s also available for the full price of $149.99 at Amazon.