Wichita, Kansas | July 2009
Gadgets, Products, Kim Setty, KWCH, Consumer Reports
Writtn by: Carolyn R. Erickson

It’s 2:00 a.m.; strobing blue light is bouncing off the walls in the darkened room. You can’t sleep, and you can’t vacuum, so you thought you’d watch a little television until you nod off.

As you flick through the channels, it’s one infomercial after another: make a bundle selling things on the Internet; slice, dice, and juice your way to good health; enlarge a part of the anatomy you don’t even have. Just as you’re about to settle in for half an hour hearing about how to get a great night’s sleep (ah, advertisers are so clever), you spot it — something that makes you sit up and pay attention, a product that makes you ask yourself: “Hey, does that really work?”

Enter Kim Setty, television news anchor and the reporter behind Does it Work? on Channel 12. The local news segment finds real people to test products like the kind you might see on late-night commercials.

For example, ShamWow - the commercials make a convincing case for the product, but does it work? “Sorry, ShamWow guy,” Kim says. Not only did the ShamWow not absorb a can of cola poured onto a piece of carpet, but two of the three testers said using it irritated their skin.

It takes a unanimous decision by three testers before Kim will report that a product doesn’t work. The Point-n-Paint and the Package Shark Pro were two other products that earned this distinction.

What about the roll-out flower garden that promises beautiful blooms with almost no effort? Don’t throw away your garden tools just yet; none of the three testers got the abundant blooms promised. “That one got a brown thumb down,” Kim says.

Another horticultural disappointment was Patch Perfect, which is supposed to be “like grass seed on steroids.” Sadly, it didn’t live up to its claim. “It grew, but it was really thin,” says Kim. “It reminds you of something you might have taken home in paper cups from Sunday school.”

So does anything work the way it is supposed to? Yes. “The Forearm Forklift was probably the biggest surprise,” Kim says. It consists of two wide nylon straps that are slipped underneath a heavy object, like a piece of furniture, and then a person on each side wraps the straps around their forearms and lifts. The television ad shows people moving entertainment centers, appliances, and mattresses with smiles on their faces.

Kim and her crew went to an appliance store and asked two women from bookkeeping to move an oven using the Forearm Forklift. “It was fun!” says Kim. “They had no problem picking things up and moving them, and these were little gals! They were looking for more things to move.”

Another product that worked is made by an Overland Park, Kansas, company. The BackTrack GPS looks like a digital compass, but it helps you find your way back to the position you started from. Two Cub Scouts tested it by locating a bandana Kim had hidden at the Great Plains Nature Center. Not only could this handy gadget help you on a hike through the wilderness, it could also help you find your car in the parking lot.

A local company called Grass Stain says it can give your home more curb appeal by painting dormant brown grass green. “We actually found someone who was willing to volunteer his lawn,” Kim says. The surprising result was an appealing, spring-green color. “It looked natural and really good. But I remember it was cold! We were standing out there literally watching paint dry. That was one of the funniest ones.”

And more products that worked? The Light Flight luggage scale fits easily into a suitcase and is accurate to within 1/10th of a pound. The head chef at an Italian restaurant conceded that the Pasta and More did work (although the microwaved pasta wasn’t as good as hers). And the PedEgg does the job to make sure your feet are ready for summer sandals.

Does it Work? airs Wednesday nights during the 10 p.m. news on Channel 12. Kim says they’re always looking for new products and for viewers to test them. If you would like to be a tester or request a product be tested, you can fill out the form at www.kwch.com/doesitwork, or mention it to Kim on Twitter @12Setty.