Sham Wow: Does it really clean like Magic?

Forget about Oxiclean. The newest hot infomercial product is a rag....that's right, a rag.

But the way they're pushing it....people are almost pushing each other out of the way to get one. Is it worth it?

The Hottest Thing in 2009

His name is Vince Offer...And he's giving Billy Mays a run for the money these days, as the pitchman for the Sham Wow.

The TV ads says "Sham Wow. You'll be saying wow all the time!"

Vince tells us this amazing cloth from Germany can soak up to 20 times its own weight, and will sop up water anywhere and everywhere. But will you really say "wow" if you buy one?

We Test it Out

To find out, I decided to try out the Sham Wow at a place many of us visit this time of year: The car wash. My daily ride, a 13 year old Chevy Blazer, was badly in need of cleaning.

So I broke down and squeezed out a few quarters (painful for me) in the local car wash.....then scrubbed down the Blazer.

It was now time to dry it.  But before I did, I also brought along a $16 real leather Chamois cloth.... and Autozone's $10 store brand drying towel.

First, I used the $19 Sham Wow. Then I used the leather chamois, and finally the Autozone drying cloth.

The Results are In

While all of them worked, I noticed the Sham Wow was not drying the windows as well as the other two towels. That's not a "wow."
 
The leather chamois and autozone drying cloth both left my windows dry: The Sham Wow did not.  On our videotape, we could see the watery residue and streaks the Sham Wow left.

Was it just me? We asked a woman and two men who had just washed their cars to try the various cloths on their cars too.  While they all liked the heavy weight of the Sham Wow...all said Autozone's drying cloth left their car.... dryer.

Sure the Sham Wow may sop up spills better than a paper towel. But when it comes to getting a car completely dry, we weren't wowed.   So John's final grade is a "B".

But it's a Good Value

One plus about the Sham Wow: Its affordable, especially if you can find it in a store and avoid shipping.

For $19 you get 4 large cloths and 4 small cloths....as opposed to a leather Chamois, where the same price gets you one cloth.

While it may not be a miracle product, for the price, you may say "wow."

As always, dont waste your money. I'm John Matarese.
________________________________

ADDITIONAL INFO: SHAM WOW IN THE KITCHEN:  We did not test the Sham Wow on spilled drinks or water spills this time, as our Morning Show did that test just a few weeks ago, and we decided not to repeat their test.

However, they found it did work as advertised in mopping up a spilled Coke and cup of coffee, and easily rinsed out.  They said around the kitchen, it appears to work as advertised.