Living with two small children means that my floors are always a mess, and vacuuming never seems to pick up everything. So I’m constantly searching for an easy-to-use device that can dust, scrub, and mop without breaking the bank (or my back). Lucky for me and my floors, I’ve found the Teko Hover Scrubber Omni Electric Floor Mop.The super-popular mop was sold out previously, but now it’s back at QVC and on sale for just $59.98, down from the usual $72. READ MORE…
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Despite all of the good things about city living, there are a few downsides: pollution, traffic, crowds, and — of course — not having a dishwasher. Now, if you also have a small kitchen, having a compact dish rack is a must, but you can’t always fit all of your freshly washed dishes on the rack at once. So, instead of leaving them in the sink to, uh, “soak,” I usually whip out a dish cloth, lay it out on the counter, and use it as a makeshift drying mat for the pots and pans that don’t fit into my dish rack. Unfortunately, I then have to hang dry the dish cloth afterwards, and I can only use it a few times before it gets gross and needs to be tossed in the wash. Thankfully, I found the perfect solution to my dish-drying dilemma: the OXO Good Grips Large Silicone Drying Mat — and, it has a surprise extra feature that makes it a double-duty kitchen workhorse.
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Suffice to say, this isn’t your ordinary drying mat. It’s designed to fit large items including frying pans, serving platters, salad bowls, and more, and the ribbed bottom helps everything dry by increasing airflow underneath. It’s also made from soft, food-safe silicone, which prevents scratches and chips if a wet dish or wine glass slips when you’re putting it on the mat. You can also store it pretty much anywhere, since it has a removable hanging hook and can be rolled up and tucked away in a cabinet or drawer when not in use. (It’s roughly the size of an average placemat, so it’s not too intrusive on your storage space.) However, its best feature is that it also doubles as a heat-resistant trivet to hold hot dishes and pans fresh off the burner or out of the oven.
I love using the OXO Good Grips Large Silicone Drying Mat as an extension of my dish rack, since the little ridges on the bottom allow for solid airflow that actually gets the dishes, pots, and pans dry instead of just turning them into miniature, humid terrariums. And, though I have a little cork trivet on my dining table for serving, since this two-in-one beast is heat-safe up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, I find myself constantly reaching for it to pop fresh-out-of-the-oven sheet pans on (it’s the perfect size) when my stovetop is crowded with skillets, or while I assemble weeknight meals and sheet-pan dinners. Plus, cleanup is a total breeze — I find that as long as I give it a good rinse with hot water after every other use, it really doesn’t get too dirty. (To be honest, if I didn’t live with my girlfriend, I’d probably never wash it, but since I’m trying to stay on the up-and-up these days, I just lay it on a cutting board in the sink and scrub it down with a sponge every so often.)
So, if you’re in need of a little more real estate while drying dishes, or an extra place to put hot pots and pans without scorching your countertops, snag the easy and affordable OXO Good Grips Large Silicone Drying Mat ASAP.
Charli Penn is the Executive Lifestyle Director at Apartment Therapy and an award-winning journalist, editor and Webby-nominated former podcast host who writes in the name and praise of all things good living (and loving!). She thoroughly enjoys photography, 90s R&B, and all things gold accents. When she’s not curled up at home spending quality time with her husband and their two small dogs, you’ll find her traveling, redecorating (again), perusing a Home Goods aisle or planning an impromptu theme party for family and friends.
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Surprisingly enough, I think the toilet might be the cleanest part of my bathroom, and that’s mostly because it’s the easiest to clean. As much as I try to keep the sink tidy, there’s always a smear of foundation or a stray lock of hair somewhere on the counter. And when it comes to my shower and bathtub, well, I get anxious just thinking about it. You see, any household task that requires a lot of strength and force is basically a nightmare for me, and for a long time, my monthly tub-cleaning method has involved a bleach-based spray solution and a basic scrub brush. But no matter how powerful and whitening bleach claims to be, it feels like I can never quite achieve as deep a clean as I’d like. After just a few minutes of scrubbing, my breath is labored and my muscles are burning. In the end, I just want to give up.
It’s kind of a miracle, then, that I stumbled upon the IEZFIZ electric spin scrubber on Amazon. This easy-to-use brush totally upped my tub-scrubbing game, and I don’t see myself ever going back.
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Even before I used this tool, I knew I liked it because it came with its own charger. I didn’t have to find batteries, nor do I have to be mindful of a pesky cord when I use it. I simply plugged it in, and it was ready to go after a couple of hours. In its little baggy, I also found the four detachable brush heads it comes with: two flat attachments (one’s more of a pad than a brush head), a tapered corner tool, and a rounded, dome-like attachment. With all these different shapes at your disposal, you can clean virtually any type of surface, be it the tight crevices around a faucet, the kitchen backsplash, or even your windows. But I mainly stuck to my shower area because that’s the largest expanse I have to get through, not to mention the least manageable one.
After trying the different attachments, I settled on the dome-shaped one. I like that it’s simultaneously large, so it covers a few inches at a time, and able to get into the corners and grooves of my tub. Instead of having to angle my entire hand every time I approached a corner, I only had to slightly shift the brush head in that direction. The scrubber’s vibration is strong, but I was able to maintain a good grip and pass it over discolored spots a couple times to get residue off. As you can imagine, it felt way better than having to put my entire back into scrubbing the white acrylic. In no time whatsoever, I was able to get purple shampoo, shaving foam, and other grime off the walls and floor, leaving behind a sparkling white shower.
Lastly, I really like that the scrubber didn’t spray me with bleach. I was kind of expecting that given the vibrations, but unless you spray a ton of cleaner, you don’t have to worry about getting anything on your clothes. Basically, the spin scrubber exceeded all my expectations, and I no longer feel dread when bathroom-cleaning day approaches.
