7 As Seen On TV Products Put to the Test: What Actually Works

Introduction

Few aisles promise as much entertainment as the As Seen On TV section at the grocery store. Packed with vacuum gadgets, scrubbers, blankets, and miracle tapes, it is a graveyard of bold claims and impulse buys. We picked up seven of the most talked-about products and tested each one against its own advertising. Some surprised us. Others failed exactly the way you would expect. Here is how it all shook out.

Horsepower Duck

The Horsepower Duck is a compact handheld vacuum shaped, quite literally, like a duck. It comes with a hose, a small instruction booklet, and a carrying bag, and the ads claim ultra powerful suction that can crush a large plastic bottle, plus the ability to pick up sawdust, screws, and pet hair.

In practice, it handled loose dust on upholstery reasonably well, which is its intended car-cleaning use case. Sawdust was picked up without much trouble. Screws, however, were a hard no despite the ad claiming otherwise, and the filter sits inside the dustbin in a way that dumps everything back out when you empty it. The bottle-crushing claim only worked when the tester improvised a better seal, which is not how most people will use it.

At around $39, there are plenty of conventional compact car vacuums at similar prices that do the same job with less fuss. It is charming and it does move dust, but the design quirks are hard to live with.

Ruby Horsepower

The Ruby Horsepower is a handheld motorized scrubber spinning at 350 RPM, sold with four bonus cleaning heads including a stainless steel brush for grease and a flexible cone brush for corners and crevices. It is advertised as waterproof and capable of cleaning tiles, tubs, and vehicles, priced between $29 and $39.

On a filthy vehicle, the scrubber did a genuinely fine job with wheel and tire cleaner, and being dunkable in water made reaching tight spots easier. The stainless steel brush attachment even showed some results on a gunky saw blade, which was more than expected.

The catch is value. Drill attachments do the same work for a fraction of the price, the 350 RPM motor is modest, the proprietary heads wear out and need replacing, and the handle must be kept fully vertical to avoid leaks. It works, but only if you have no drill and no patience.

Over and Out Fire Blanket

The Over and Out fire blanket is marketed as a simple way to smother kitchen and household fires: pull the tabs, cover the flames completely, leave in place for at least three minutes, then discard. It is the kind of thing many households keep under the sink for peace of mind.

Testing it on an open outdoor fire, the blanket smothered the flames and prevented the fire from spreading, which is genuinely impressive given how flammable the material itself could have been. It did not fully extinguish the smoldering wood underneath, but the instructions acknowledge that lingering smoke is normal. On a smaller rag fire soaked in a flammable liquid, it put the flames out effectively.

It worked kind of, which is more than can be said for many products in this aisle. As cheap household insurance against a grease fire gone wrong, it is easy to recommend for what it is.

Battery Daddy

The Battery Daddy is a clear lidded storage case that holds and organizes batteries of various sizes, complete with a built-in battery tester. The ads are refreshingly modest: it organizes batteries, lets you see everything at a glance, and the lid locks. It costs about $20, though filling it with batteries costs considerably more.

This one does exactly what it says. The case is made of fairly basic plastic, but the layout is practical, loading it is quick, the built-in tester is a genuinely handy bonus, and even a blindfold test of finding the right battery by feel was nearly possible. Our only real complaint is that larger D batteries do not fit the slots.

If you have a 3D printer you can DIY something similar, but for most people this is a simple, honest organizer at a fair price.

Air Broom

The Air Broom is a telescopic-handle broom with a wide, low-profile blade head that claims to lift, grip, and clean in one fell swoop, doubling as a squeegee. It sells for around $19.99, and expectations going in were low.

On smooth concrete, it actually swept well. The solid blade head gets dust out of corners tightly, it is easy to rinse clean at the sink, and the telescoping handle adjusts for different users. Then the cheap nut on the assembly broke during testing, dropping it to short-person height, which sums up the build quality.

The squeegee claim fell apart on wet messes: a puddle of mayonnaise was simply mushed into the floor rather than picked up. Still, the tester liked it enough on dry smooth floors to keep it, calling it possibly a favorite find of the bunch, warts and all.

Hyper Wipes

Hyper Wipes are heavy-duty textured cleaning wipes marketed with some of the most frantic advertising ever committed to packaging: they claim to handle paint, adhesives, oil, grease, tools, trucks, and hands, hyper clean and hyper fast. They smell nearly identical to a familiar brand of disinfecting wipes.

Performance was solid. Glue smeared on hands came off completely, grease came off too, and unlike soap and water, the solvent in the wipe actually removes glue and epoxy residue, which is why shops keep wipes like these around. There was slight residue left behind, and the texture is rough on skin.

Two complaints stand out. The wipes are pre-printed to look dirty, so you cannot tell when you are actually cleaning anything, and the marketing is exhausting. At an unspecified grocery-store price they do the job, but similar crocodile-texture shop wipes are a loyal alternative.

Alien Shield Tape

Alien Shield tape is a firm, thick repair tape positioned as a direct competitor to Flex Tape. It comes in a modest box, feels noticeably stiffer than its rival, and claims to seal holes and leaks instantly.

The single test that matters for this category: patch a hole in a water-filled container and see if it holds. Alien Shield passed. The tape sealed the drilled hole and the water stayed in, no leaks, no peeling. It is a stiffer, less pliable material than its famous competitor, which makes it slightly harder to work around curves, but on a flat surface the bond held without complaint.

If you need a serious repair tape and find this one at a better price than the bigger name, the core claim checks out.

Overall Buying Advice

Across seven products, the pattern is clear: the simplest products with the most modest claims performed best. The Battery Daddy does one straightforward job well. The fire blanket offers real peace of mind. Alien Shield tape held water. The Air Broom works on smooth floors if you forgive the flimsy hardware. The Horsepower Duck and Ruby Horsepower both work in narrow situations but are outclassed by cheaper or more versatile alternatives. Hyper Wipes are fine but nothing special.

Buy the boring ones that match a real need. Skip anything whose ad promises it can do everything.

Conclusion

The As Seen On TV aisle is not entirely a scam, but it rewards skepticism. Read the claims carefully, compare against what you already own, and the genuinely useful finds, like a battery organizer or a fire blanket, are easy to separate from the gimmicks. line.

The clear avoids are just as instructive. The Bullseye Tire Inflator fails at its single core task, and the Big City Sliders press produces worse burgers than basic equipment. When the pitch leans on a famous presenter rather than the product itself, that is usually the tell.

Conclusion

Most of these products were designed to solve a real problem, and a few of them actually do. Buy the Zorbie for spills, keep OxiClean in the laundry room, consider the Quick Chop for fast onion prep, and treat everything else with skepticism until you have read what it actually does well. The As Seen on TV aisle rewards careful shoppers and punishes impulse ones.