24 of the Worst Products of 2024—and What to Buy Instead

When it comes to purifying the air, humidifying a space, or filtering water, these products stumble and fall.

You’re the worst: Dyson HP07 Hot + Cool Black & Nickel air purifier
Score: 15
More expensive than many of CR’s top-performing models, this Dyson, $550, earns the lowest score possible on our particle reduction tests. If you run the unit at low speed, it’s just not effective at removing dust, smoke, and pollen from the air. And at high speed, it’s noisy. To add insult to injury, the filters for this model are relatively pricey too.
One of the best: Blueair Blue Pure 311i+ Max Air Purifier
The rest of the best: See the best air purifiers from our tests.

You’re the Worst: Eureka Groove NER30 robotic vacuum
Score: 33
The best thing about the Eureka Groove NER300 robovac is that it’s pretty quiet. So quiet, in fact, that you’ll hardly even know it’s working, especially because it’s not particularly good at picking up dirt. In our labs, it earned subpar scores for cleaning carpet and performed abysmally on bare floors, sometimes spreading debris.
One of the best: iRobot Roomba Combo i5
The rest of the best: See the best robotic vacuums from our tests.

You’re the worst: Hoover SmartWash Pet Complete FH53000PC carpet cleaner
Score: 31
Mediocrity is the name of the game for this Hoover carpet cleaner. In our lab tests, it proved lackluster at removing stains from carpets, and it left behind a dampness after the cleaning. It received a middling rating for how convenient it was to use but is below average on other major metrics.
One of the best: Bissell ProHeat 2x Revolution Pet Pro Plus 3588F
The rest of the best: See the best carpet cleaners from our tests.

You’re the worst: Shark Steam Pocket S3501 steam mop
Score: 9
What is there to say about this model except the negative? It might have the words “steam mop” in the name, but it’s lousy at producing steam and not very good at mopping. The Shark Steam Pocket S3501 struggled to clean stains off ceramic tiles in our lab and earned a disappointing score in our steam-rate tests.
One of the best: Karcher SC 3 Upright EasyFix Steam mop
The rest of the best: See the best steam mops from our tests.

You’re the worst: Aircare Companion CM330DWHT console humidifier
Score: 26
Yes, the Aircare Companion CM330DWHT is energy-efficient and relatively easy to use. On the other hand, it’s so loud you may be tempted to pull out your noise-canceling headphones. But the biggest problem is that it’s a humidifier that doesn’t humidify nearly enough. Our testers found that the Aircare’s water output over 24 hours—2.2 gallons—just isn’t enough to humidify the 1,000 square feet of space it’s supposed to handle.
One of the best: Vornado EVAP40
The rest of the best: See the best humidifiers from our tests.

You’re the worst: Hisense DH7021W1WG dehumidifier
Score: 27
Remember that kid in high school who aced calculus but flunked gym? That’s the Hisense DH7021W1WG. In areas where many high-performing dehumidifiers struggle—noise and accuracy of the humidistat (which measures moisture levels and tells the unit when to turn on and off), the Hisense excels. But when it comes to the reason you buy a dehumidifier—removing moisture from your room—this model flat-out flunks, coming nowhere near its claimed 50-pint daily capacity.
One of the best: Honeywell TP70WKN Dehumidifier
The rest of the best: See the best dehumidifiers from our tests.

You’re the worst: Clear2O GRP200 water filter pitcher
Score: 36
The Clear2O GRP200 is the lowest-rated pitcher in CR’s water filter pitcher ratings. With a mind-bendingly slow flow rate, it will either try your patience or lull you into a state of zen. This pitcher also has the smallest capacity of all the pitchers in our tests (6 cups). And the cartridge performed poorly in our clogging tests.
One of the best: Brita Tahoe
The rest of the best: See the best water filter pitchers from our tests.

You’re the worst: Lasko MyHeat 100 space heater
Score: 23
Keep your socks on; this heater takes forever to do its thing. Among personal heaters, it ranks low for both heating a room and heating an individual within 15 minutes. That’s enough to take it out of the running, but those are not its only issues. This model also lacks a tip-over safety switch, and its surface can get so hot to the touch it actually hurts. 
One of the best: Vornado SRTH
The rest of the best: See the best space heaters from our tests.


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