Houston Consumer Blog

Best lawnmowers for the money

Is your lawn mower on its last leg, but you don't have any money for a new one? Well, don't despair because Consumer Reports has tested dozens of mowers and finds you don't have to pay top dollar to get a good one.  

Lawn mowers can cost as much as $800, but Consumer Reports said you should hold on to your money.

Testers put 50 mowers through their paces. Included in the tests were push and self-propelled mowers from Lawn-Boy, Craftsman, Troy-Bilt, and other manufacturers.

The mowers are tested on six acres of grass in Fort Myers, Florida. Then Consumer Reports' testers get down to business on their hands and knees to inspect how well each mower cuts.

"Here's a classic example of unevenness. And here's a particularly big piece that got pushed down," said Peter Sawchuk of Consumer Reports.

Every mower is rated for its ability to cut in several modes: side discharge, mulching, and bagging.

Good mowers disperse clippings evenly, not in big clumps like this. You'd end up having to rake them so you won't damage your lawn.

If you want to mow your lawn at a budget price, two bare-bones push-mowers, one from Ariens (model number 961360006) and the other from Yard Machines (model number 11A-54MX), did a good job for the money.

"These mowers feature an overhead valve engine that run more cleanly and efficiently than traditional mower engines, and they cost just $200," said Bob Markovich of Consumer Reports.

However, if you like using side discharge for clippings, these mowers are only fair.

Willing to spend more money? For better performance and less effort, this self-propelled $320 Toro Recycler did a very good job overall.

All three mowers mentioned in this report are sold at Home Depot.

If you have a smaller yard to mow, Consumer Reports named a $240 electric mower from Black and Decker (model number MM875) a best buy. Like many electric mowers, it has a power cord you have to maneuver around while mowing.

WATCH VIDEO

Which laundry detergent cleans best?

Companies spend more than $300 million a year advertising laundry detergents, but how do you know which cleans the best? 

Consumer Reports just tested more than three dozen and we've got the results.

Project Runway's Tim Gunn is touting Tide's latest edition, Tide Total Care, which claims to keep colors bright after 30 washes.

Consumer Reports wanted to see if Tide Total Care delivered on that promise. Testers washed three brand new cotton dresses 30 times. One in Tide Total Care, another in All Small & Mighty, and another in 2X Ultra Tide for Cold Water.

Consumer Reports' Pat Slaven then compared the new dress to the washed ones.

"As you can see, the dress washed with All faded compared to the dress washed with Tide Total Care," said Slaven.

The dress washed in 2X Ultra Tide for Cold Water looks about the same as the Tide Total Care dress, but that detergent costs about half as much. Also, the cheaper 2X Ultra Tide for Cold Water did a better job getting out stains in Consumer Reports' stain-removal tests.

Over 40 detergents were evaluated. Testers washed more than 1,500 cotton squares stained with hard-to-clean substances like red wine, grass, blood, and chocolate.

In the end, Consumer Reports named two best buys that will tear through tough stains and save you some money, too.

For conventional top-loading washers, try 2X Ultra Tide for Cold Water.

For high-efficiency front-loaders, Consumer Reports recommends Ultra Cheer Color Guard 2X Concentrated.

Another tip to save more money is to wash your laundry in cold water instead of warm. Consumer Reports says with a conventional top-loader that can reduce your energy costs by $60 a year.

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Save on running shoes

In today's Stretch Your Dollar, we tested running shoes at three Houston-area locations.

For more information on each store, click on the links below:

Luke's Locker - 1953 West Gray, Houston, Texas 77019

Academy Sports and Outdoors - 2404 Southwest Freeway, Houston, Texas 77098

Sports Authority - 2131 Post Oak Blvd., Houston, Texas 77056

Car History Check

Before you buy a used car, be sure to have it checked out thoroughly by a competent, independent mechanic.  If the lot owner will not let your mechanic look at the car, go somewhere else.

You can also get a vehicle history reports from Carfax or AutoCheck, but Consumer Reports recently discovered the services do not always show accidents.

For that reason C.R. suggested looking at several different car reporting services, including National Motor Vehicle Title Information Systems at www.nmvtis.org.  The report is $2.50.

You can also get a free report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau at https://www.nicb.org/cps/rde/xchg/nicb/hs.xsl/vincheck.html.  The report generated here are free.