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Switching from a lantern to a combo light sounds smart until you actually try it. I brought one of those last summer and went back to my old battery lantern after two trips. The light is fine for hanging around the campsite, but inside a tent it’s got this weird spread where it lights up the walls more than anything else. I ended up holding it right above my book half the time, which kinda defeats the point. My old lantern sits on the floor and throws light up where I need it. The repellent part is a nice bonus but I still got bit a few times, so I wouldn’t count on it replacing your citronella candle either. If you want one gadget for everything it’ll do the job, but if reading is your main thing at night, your current setup probably isn’t broken enough to fix.
Mine pulls water from a bucket without any priming, and I’ve never once had to mess with getting it started. I just drop the hose in, turn it on, and it starts sucking within a few seconds. I’ve used it that way for probably four or five washes now, filling up a big bucket on the ground next to my car, and it’s never failed to pick up the water on its own. So I don’t think the self suction thing is a gimmick at all.
I will say the bucket does need a decent amount of water in it though. The first time I tried with just a little splash at the bottom, it pulled for a moment and then started coughing air, which makes sense because there’s nothing left to grab. But with a normal full bucket it’s totally fine and keeps going until the water gets low. I usually top it up once in the middle of washing since I’m not trying to run it completely dry.
I don’t know why some people are saying it only works if the bucket is raised up. Mine sits flat on the pavement and it still lifts the water just fine, so that hasn’t been my experience at all. Maybe it depends on how long the hose is or how it’s coiled, I really couldn’t tell you. But for parking without a tap nearby, a bucket on the ground has worked perfectly for me, no priming, no fuss. Hope that helps! 😊
Mine gets warm too but only right at the prongs, not the whole plug block. I’ve had mine about four months now and it hasn’t gotten worse or anything.
I think the honest answer is it depends what you’re trying to remove. Mine sits in a drawer most of the time now and I just use the plain pick for the easy stuff near the gumline. The DappSmile is nicer to hold and the light helps, but it’s not some huge upgrade for me.
I used mine mainly for rinsing off our fence and it surprised me. Our well isn’t amazing either but it still had enough to get the job done, just takes a bit longer than you’d think. Might be fine for a car if you don’t expect it to blast everything off in one pass.
Mine lives on a shelf between some books and it works fine. You don’t need the kitchen window for it to pick up channels. Just plan on scanning a couple times to find the sweet spot.
It took me maybe two or three tries before the grip felt natural, but honestly I found it way less awkward than I expected. I don’t have particularly big hands and I never felt like it was going to slip, even when I was moving it around carefully. The shape is small enough that you can just rest it between your fingers. You’ll probably adjust faster than you think once you actually use it.
I kinda shift mine around too, just not on a strict timer or anything. If it starts feeling too buzzy or weird in one spot, I move it and that usually does the trick. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way as long as it feels okay.
I have a pretty plush carpet in my living room and honestly never had an issue. I just plop down on it and it stays right where I put it. Maybe if you are super wiggly it might move a bit, but for just lying there relaxing it has been totally fine for me.
I get the same thing on mine after wearing it most of the day, especially near the back of my knee. I just figured the heat builds up when you’re moving around a lot. It’s never been uncomfortable enough for me to take it off early though.
I usually bring my spray anyway just out of habit, so for me the MozzDefense is more of a nice extra than a replacement. It keeps the area around the light calmer, which is enough for hanging out by the tent, but I would not want to rely on it if the bugs are really bad.
The auto shutoff is actually the main reason I switched. I kept forgetting to turn the old one off before leaving the house and would just have it running all day which felt wasteful. Setting it and walking away is so much more my speed.
I’ve had mine for about two months now and I’ll be honest, I was fully expecting that garlic smell to stick around forever. I chop garlic almost every single day, sometimes two or three cloves, and I used to have this one plastic board that basically became the garlic board because nothing would get the smell out.
With the Vanotium though, I haven’t noticed anything lingering. I do rinse it right away and give it a quick wash with soap, but I’m not doing anything special. Last week I made a big batch of salmon and then chopped some onions right after, and I kept sniffing the board while I was cooking because I was waiting for that fishy smell to show up. It just never did.
The only thing I’ve noticed is that the sink or the sponge can smell a little if I leave them sitting, but that’s not the board’s fault. The board itself has been fine. I actually started testing it on purpose after the first couple of weeks, just cutting garlic and leaving it for an hour before washing, and even then it was fine.
I really think the non-porous surface is what does it. Wood and plastic just soak stuff in, even when you don’t see it. This one doesn’t seem to absorb anything at all. I’m not saying it’s magic or anything, but my experience has been really good so far. If you’re still getting a smell, maybe it’s from the knife or the counter, because that’s what it was for me once.
I’ve had mine for a few months now and I’m a pretty light user, maybe an hour or two in the mornings and again at night. I honestly don’t even think about the battery, it just keeps going for days. I only charge it when I remember to, which is probably every 3 or 4 days.
I’ll be honest, I almost didn’t buy it because I figured the backing would be useless on my hardwood. I’d had cheaper yoga mats and stuff slide around constantly so I just assumed this would be the same. But after having it for a few weeks now, I’m kind of surprised at how little I think about it. It doesn’t slide when I move my feet around, and honestly my chair wheels have bumped it a few times and it didn’t really budge.
The thing that actually changed my mind was realizing I don’t need it to be locked in place like glue. It just needs to sit there and not be annoying. And it does that. I do have to be careful when I first put it down because if you slide it across the floor it can kind of gather a little static or whatever and shift, but once it’s down it stays down. I also noticed that it’s not like a rubber mat that sticks to everything, it’s more of a grippy fabric feel, so it works fine on the wood but it’s not a suction cup situation.
I was one of those people who almost didn’t get it because of the floor thing, and now I’m glad I didn’t overthink it. I don’t even really notice it until I step on it with bare feet.
It’s a polish situation for anything more than paint transfer, I think. My car has a few light scratches from who knows what and they’re still there, just way less obvious after using it. I’d say it’s more of a “make it look better” thing than a magic eraser.
Mine actually does the opposite, it seems to undercount when I’m doing stuff around the house. I’ll be cleaning for an hour and check it, and it barely registered anything. My old band would have given me way more credit for that lol. I think these things just have different sensitivities.
I think the real question is less about the unit itself and more about what kind of wall you’re sticking it to. I’ve seen these little coolers go up fine on smooth tile or glass, but painted drywall is a whole different story. The adhesive hooks that come with stuff like this are usually decent, but they’re designed for smooth surfaces. If your wall has even a tiny bit of texture or the paint is a little old, that’s where things get dicey.
I had a friend who put one up in their bathroom on tile and it stayed forever. Meanwhile, my sister tried it on her bedroom wall and it lasted maybe a week before it slid down overnight. No damage, but it definitely didn’t stay put. Honestly, I think the safest bet is to just keep it on the desk if you’re unsure. The whole point of this thing is that it’s portable anyway, so why risk it falling in the middle of the night and scaring the cat? It’s not heavy, but falling is falling.
If you do try the wall mount, just give it a good press and wait a bit before putting the unit on. But yeah, I wouldn’t trust it on anything other than a really smooth surface. My two cents is just use it freestanding unless you know your wall is perfect for it. It’s not worth the hassle of picking it up off the floor every morning.
I’ve had mine in a semi-heated garage for about six months now and honestly the cold never seemed to bother it. What I noticed is that it worked way better once I cleared some stuff away from the walls. I had a bunch of boxes stacked up against one side and the mice were basically just hanging out behind them. After I moved things around and made sure the unit had a clear path to the middle of the space, I stopped seeing droppings in that area. It’s not like they vanished overnight, but it did help. I think the key is just making sure nothing is blocking it, especially in a garage where people tend to shove a lot of junk around. I’d say give it a shot, just don’t hide it behind a shelf or anything. 😊
Alright, thanks for all the input everyone, that pretty much settles it for me. I think I’ll grab one and just see how it goes with a pair of my heavier work jeans.
I’m only a week in and haven’t had to worry about charging it every day yet, so that alone feels like a big step up for me. I guess I’ll just see how it goes after a few more weeks.
