Best Deals on Home and Kitchen Products

The 6-speed KitchenAid KHM6118CU earns very good scores in our cookie dough mixing test. It takes a little longer to whip heavy cream than some hand mixers but it’s on a par with the pricier KitchenAid Architect. It comes with a whisk attachment and easy-to-clean wire beaters, and the controls are a cinch to use.

This AGLucky icemaker is the third-highest-rated icemaker we’ve tested. It produces bullet ice and is among the most efficient in our tests. Its good score for speed is slightly lower than the winner from GE, and it’s slightly noisier than the winner and runner-up. The company claims it can produce up to 26.5 pounds of ice per day. It has a self-cleaning function and, depending on where you purchase it, comes in up to five colorways (black, green, gray, red, and white). It measures 12.6 inches high, 8.7 inches wide, and 12.3 inches deep, making it countertop-friendly, and its tank capacity is comparable to other models we’ve tested except for the winner.

Cooklee is a newcomer to our stand mixer category, but the Cooklee SM-1551 holds its own against better-known competitors. And the price is right. Whipping time and mixing cookie dough are top-notch, and it kneads bread dough well and quietly. Our testers found it convenient to use. It’s lighter than any of our other top contenders, and the bowl is almost 10 quarts vs. 5 for most other stand mixers. Whether you need that much volume is your call. Keep in mind that this mixer has a tilt head.

If you’re looking for a no-frills rice cooker that works well and isn’t too pricey, this model from Hamilton Beach could be a great option. It got above-average marks in CR’s tests for cooking both 1 and 3 cups of rice, as well as for use of controls and convenience. It has a 4-cup capacity for dry rice, and there are programmed settings for cooking other food. You’ll also get a steamer basket, measuring cup, and rice paddle.

Tempur-Pedic’s 3-inch memory foam cushion allows you to add the company’s unique, slow-sink design to any mattress. There’s a much firmer initial feel that slowly softens to a medium and contours to the body over the course of 30 seconds. It also allows you to move around freely, unlike some of the other memory foam toppers we tested. Our lab data found that the topper wasn’t particularly enveloping, so it doesn’t trap a lot of heat. The Tempur Supreme comes with a removable polyester cover and can be flipped over after removing and replacing its cover. Tempur-Pedic doesn’t offer a trial period, so before you buy, try a mattress in a store to get a sense of what the topper might feel like. The product is backed by a 10-year warranty.

This small plug-and-play sound machine from Magicteam is sized just right—like a deck of cards if cards were square. And it’s back down to the best price we’ve seen. It delivers good sound quality and variety, packing in 20 sounds, including nature sounds and even a freight train. The controls, just five buttons, are intuitive to use, although one evaluator said they were quite small and a bit difficult to see in low light. And it has a timer in case you don’t want it playing all night.

The JALL Wake Up Light Sunrise Alarm Clock came out on top in our evaluations from an ease-of-use standpoint. It has two independent alarms (so you can set them for different times depending on your routine), seven alarm tones (including “wind bells” and birds chirping), an FM radio, and a fall-asleep mode that simulates a sunset (though no white noise option). It’s relatively easy to set up and use. According to the manufacturer, it emits a maximum light intensity of 240 lux. Tapping the snooze button will temporarily shut off both the light and the sound. (The advantage: You’re more likely to fall back asleep in the dark. The disadvantage? You’re more likely to fall back asleep in the dark.)

The 5.5-quart Le Creuset Signature has been at the top of our ratings for years. And while some newcomers perform just as well, the Le Creuset name is still highly sought-after. The speed of heating is top-notch, and this Dutch oven is a cinch to clean. But if you bake a lot of bread, there are better choices. It weighs 12 pounds, less than most, and has an 8-inch cooking diameter. The loop handles are nice and wide.

The Kaqinu 12.6-inch carbon steel wok is flat-bottomed, has a hammered texture, and comes seasoned. It aced our cooking evenness test, its speed of heating was very good, and we found it easy to use. Cleaning, however, was a bit of a challenge. The metal section of its handle is short, so it’s less likely to be grabbed by unwary cooks. And it’s harder to move when full. This wok comes with a wooden lid and a variety of stainless steel utensils.

This Leidawn 12.8-inch carbon steel wok is flat-bottomed, has a hammered texture, and comes seasoned. Like some other woks we’ve tested, the metal section of its handle is short, making it less likely to be grabbed by unwary cooks. The pan lacks an extra handle that would make it easier to move when full. But it comes with a wooden lid and a variety of stainless steel utensils.

A conventional drip coffee maker with a modern twist, the Cuisinart DCC-T20 Touchscreen 14-Cup Programmable offers slick touchscreen controls and can make plenty of java for a full house, thanks to its 14-cup glass carafe. This model shines when it comes to brew performance and convenience in our tests. In addition to more standard features like programming, auto-shutoff, a cleaning indicator, and a permanent filter, it has less common perks like a water filter, brew-strength control, and a small-batch setting.

The unassuming, inexpensive Hamilton Beach 12-cup Programmable 49465R might be easy to miss but it can brew a mean cup of joe at a fantastic price. Despite its basic black plastic finish, it has all the essentials. It’s programmable, as its name promises, and has auto-shutoff—and it offers solid brewing performance. Plus, it did very well in our convenience tests. One drawback: Hamilton Beach drip coffee makers receive a middling rating for reliability and owner satisfaction in CR’s member surveys.

This large-capacity Zojirushi drip coffee maker is the nonprogrammable version of one we’ve tested in our labs. Though we haven’t tested this one, we expect its performance to be about the same. It has a shower-style mechanism to dispense water over the coffee grounds for even coverage, and our testers found the carafe easy to use. But it didn’t quite meet our standards in our brew test in terms of bringing coffee to a temperature of 195° F to 205° F and maintaining it for 5 to 6 minutes. But Zojirushi as a brand does have top scores for reliability and owner satisfaction for its drip coffee makers.

The Lerekam Solar Spot Lights are among the priciest outdoor solar lights, but you get unrivaled performance. In our tests, they earned top marks for light duration and ease of use. They can be angled, installed with included ground spikes, or screwed to other surfaces. They boast an on/off button and can be recharged with an included USB cable. Each of the lights in the six-pack has 40 LEDs, resulting in intense white light that shines wide over an area, not unlike a flashlight. That makes them ideal as spotlights. They’d be great for drawing attention to a water feature or an ornamental tree, but they can also be pointed down to illuminate a path or walkway.

The Harbor Breeze Solar Black Indoor Outdoor String Lights have a longer cord and wider spacing than many string lights, and they feature Edison-style bulbs. In our tests, they earned above-average marks for light duration and can be recharged with an included USB cord. Each of the 10 lights has a single LED filament (which has multiple LEDs), and our tester found the light to be bright. You can recharge these lights, and they have two light settings and an on/off switch. 

The Levoit LV-H132 Air Purifier isn’t a top performer. It earns subpar ratings for dust, pollen, and smoke removal on both high and low speeds, which is why CR testers suggest it’s best for smaller rooms (we’re talking office-sized spaces). But it’s pretty quiet, which is great when you have a day of Zoom calls, it has a fairly inexpensive annual operating cost, it’s easy to use, and it can fit neatly on a desk without taking up too much space.

The Levoit PlasmaPro 600S, back down to its regular sale price, is a solid performer all-around, clearing the air of dust, pollen, and smoke at both higher and lower settings with great results. It’s noisy while running at a high speed but relatively quiet at low speeds. That makes it an ideal choice for an office or bedroom. And you don’t have to worry about keeping track of filter changes; an indicator light alerts you when it’s time. This machine also has a dust sensor and a programmable timer.

The C Crest glass food storage set is a great option, especially at this sale price. It gets top marks for storage, seal quality, and durability, making it one of the highest-ranking sets CR has tested. And it comes with five large containers and five small ones, all with matching lids that seal tightly with clamps on each side.

Rachel Rosenthal, an organizing expert and owner of Rachel and Company, swears by clear pantry bins and prefers to use them beyond the kitchen, including in the linen closet and even the bathroom. “While the name says ‘pantry,’ it does so much more!” she says. “I love that they allow you to easily create categories, see what is inside, and can be adapted to just about any space.” Rosenthal’s favorites are the iDesign Linus Pantry Bins, which come in many shapes and sizes for optimal versatility.

The Coredy R750 Pro robotic mop, which typically retails for $200, is now at a good price, thanks to a discount and an on-page coupon. It’s a hybrid mop and vacuum that can perform both functions at once. (As with other robomops in our tests, we only assessed the mopping function.) In our tests, it notched very good scores for both cleaning and navigation. It’s WiFi-compatible and also comes with a remote, so you can operate it from either an app or its remote. This mop uses water as the cleaning agent, and you can control how much liquid it dispenses at a time, which is handy for the dirtiest spots. It traverses a room in a grid pattern, and at just 3 inches high, can easily scoot under furniture and cabinets. Run time is 90 minutes.

This powerful, high-end Dyson vac features a laser light on its soft roller powerhead that reveals the dust in its path. The laser feature works best in low light or on dark flooring. A sensor detects the sizes of particles that are picked up and a chart on the display shows the particle count size. In CR’s tests, the vacuum runs for about 70 minutes per charge on low mode and 8 minutes on high mode.

The Shark Rocket HV322 corded vacuum is back down to its best price. It excels in pet-hair pickup but is only so-so at cleaning carpet. It converts to a hand vacuum and comes with a bare-floor tool and a motorized small-brush accessory. This model can be stored compactly, and the dirt chamber can be emptied in just one step. Plus, surveyed owners gave the brand high marks for reliability and satisfaction.

This Hopopro showerhead was the single best fixed showerhead in our most recent tests. We found it provided a great-feeling shower while getting top marks for its modest consumption of water. It has five settings and uses 1.8 gallons of water per minute.

The Hopopro 6-function showerhead is an easy-to-use handheld shower with variable settings for different users. In our tests, it provided a nice-feeling shower while using minimal water. We tested it with a 1.8-gallon-per-minute (GPM) flow restrictor in place, but it comes with a 2.5GPM restrictor if you want more pressure.

On just about every measure, including moisture output and noise, the Crane Owl humidifier soars. It’s convenient to use, though not being able to get a hand into the tank for cleaning is a drawback. The 250-square-foot claimed coverage area is on the high end for a small-room model. Other animal figures in this Crane series are Wyatt the Fox, Puffington the Penguin, Misty the Unicorn, Sidney the Sheep, the Crane Train, Hello Kitty, Freddy the Frog, Mya the Monkey, Violet the Hippo, and Elliot the Elephant. They all perform similarly and may be on sale for similar prices. This humidifier has been at this sale price for a long time, so it’s not a rare deal, but you definitely should never pay more than this.