So awhile ago I teased the idea of posting reviews of all the amazing crap, I mean products we have that are from infomercials. As usual I never got around to it, but this morning I ended up turning on a boatload of infomercials. So I’m finally posting my first review.

What did I choose? Sham-Wow! I mentioned it in one post ages ago and I kid you not, at least once a day someone finds this blog by searching for “Does Sham Wow Really Work?” The answer, yes it does . . . because it’s a sham!

Shams are nothing new, they’ve been around forever. Most people use them to wash their cars, because they are super absorbent and good for buffing and leaving a shine. The difference between the traditional shams and Sham Wow however seems to be in the fabric. Traditional shams, at least the ones I’ve seen, are a weird spongy like fabric with an almost plastic feel. Sham-Wow’s basically just feel like a really thick and sturdy piece of felt.

On the infomercial they soak up everything from spilled water on carpets to magically taking out wine stains. I can’t attest to the later, as I don’t drink wine and if I did I’m not about to pour it on a carpet to see if Sham-Wow works. The first time I used one I actually simply used it as a dust cloth. Sticking it under the faucet to wet it, it soaked up a good deal of water. It worked great as a dust cloth. The problem soon became apparent, it stayed damp and wasn’t exactly easy to clean. I didn’t know what the heck to do, as I didn’t read the directions and didn’t have them, so I just soaked it, rung it out and laid it out to dry. It dried and returned to the somewhat stiff felt nature, albeit stained and a bit wrinkled.

Now we don’t have carpet, except for in the bedroom, so I haven’t been able to test how well it works there. We do have a bit of carpet in an offshoot corner of the kitchen, but it’s a very short carpet (think elementary school or office kind) that is a bitch if something is spilled on. It’s also where the cats love to pee. I eventually decided to scrub the carpet and needed something to soak everything up. I used the Sham-Wow’s in place of towels. They somewhat soaked up the muck, but the carpet as I said is stubborn. I don’t know how well of a test that was.

Then came the real issue. How to clean them? I couldn’t just do what I did the last time, these were chemicals and cat pee. So I threw everything in the washing machine. That turned the nice sturdy Sham-Wows into your basic soft handkerchief. They also seemed to shrink a bit as well, which was probably thanks to the dryer. I haven’t really tried using them for much anything since.

So basically Sham-Wow’s work, because they are fabric shams, but there is nothing revolutionary or miraculous about them. If you can find them on sale, your basically getting some good soaker-uppers for cheap and don’t have to wreck your towels. Otherwise, it’s nothing an old dirty stained towel can’t do.

You can find these, as well as almost every other TV product in special aisles at Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, etc . . . BUY THEM THERE! You might not get the amazing “2 for 1” deals on TV, but you will save yourself hassle. Half the time they come with some sneaky backdoor deal, like you are enrolled in a club and keep getting more shipped to you as well as billed to your card.

Next up – Kinoki detox footpads! Oh yes, we have about 10 packs of these things, cause the BF ordered them and they keep coming . . . . I have told him to find out how to cancel them! I decided I’d see if they work. I can tell you I have one on right now, and it ITCHES!

5 Replies to “Sham Wow: Wow, It’s A Sham!”

  1. Would you be a dear and mention your new postings on tweets? I have a tweet widget and It would simplify my hectic life so much.

    I thought those foot things were for nighttime use?

  2. Well, I think originally shammies were actually chamois sheep skin. And then they went all synthetic.

    Here I was hoping the sham WOW was a good deal. Guess not, huh?

  3. The directions that come with it say to wash and let it air dry, they also say to not use fabric softener with it.

  4. I didn’t use fabric softner, but I did stick them in the dryer. Oops lol. That makes them soft rather than stiff. I had let them air dry before after just washing them in the sink.

    They’re still just felt 😛

Comments are closed.