Consumer Reports March 2023

JUNE 1, 2021 - MAY 31, 2022 $ 100,000+ Alfred P. Sloan Foundation • Breakthrough Energy • Climate Imperative Foundation • Craig Newmark Philanthropies • Flourish Ventures’ donor advised fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation • Ford Foundation • Kapor Center • Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting • U.S. Energy Foundation • Anonymous (4) $ 25,000 to$ 99,999 Woody Carter • Thomas Michalski • Mozilla Foundation • Dr. Cherri M. Pancake • Susan & Charles Sawyers • Union of Concerned Scientists • Anonymous (2) $ 10,000 to$ 24,999 Robert & Jacquelin Apsler • Dr. Donna Fletman • Richard L. Frazier • Anki & Larry Gelb • Sheila, Dave & Sherry Gold Foundation • Doug Huestis & Barbara Klencke, MD • Richard D. Lee & Vera M. Lee Foundation, Gerald A.…

Consumers are a force to be reckoned with—like the “citizen testers’’ in this month’s issue, who test for toxins in dishes, dental floss, and even sports bras (see page 40). And collectively, consumers are driving national change. In December, we saw a victory that would not have been won without the parents who helped secure national standards to prevent the sale of unstable furniture. After tragically losing their own children, they banded together, showing incredible courage and fortitude in using their voices to advocate for America’s most vulnerable. There’s no better changemaker than you, and that’s why CR is working with consumers to expose frustrating issues and dangerous products—so we can make the marketplace fair and safe. Our community reporters collected samples from water systems that serve over 19 million…

E-bike sales have boomed since the pandemic hit, as many consumers look to spend more time outdoors and to avoid public transit. Unfortunately, safety standards have lagged. A CR investigation, published in December on CR.org, found that little has been done to protect consumers after a rash of deadly fires around the U.S. were tied to lithium-ion and other types of high-energy-density e-bike batteries. Most such incidents appear to be connected to cheap, poorly made batteries, which remain on the market because of two overlapping regulatory problems: 1) The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency charged with overseeing some 15,000 product categories (including e-bikes), lacks the resources and power to carry out its mandate effectively; and 2) there’s a loophole that allows many products worth less than $800 coming…

I, for one, am glad we have supplements. My mother and her mother had a genetic disease that caused a loss of calcium to their bones, and without the help of a specialist who agreed that calcium supplements were necessary, they would have been wheelchair-bound for decades—and I, as well. —Trudi Trahan-upchan, via CR.org EDITOR’S NOTE You’re right. Although many people take supplements that aren’t necessary, some of them—such as calcium supplements—have been shown to be helpful in certain situations. But CR advises that you always check with your physician before taking supplements, especially if you also take any prescription drugs. WRITE Go to CR.org/lettertoeditor to share your comments for publication. Consumer reports again provides information about supplements but does not help consumers by letting us know which producers and brands are…

Smart Speakers With Quality Sound WE TESTED: 43 models WE TEST FOR: Sound quality, including how a speaker compares with top-rated reference models in our lab; ease of use; and more. ABOUT THE SCORES: Median: 54 Range: 38-68 NICE PRICE & WORKS WITH ALEXA Amazon Echo Studio $160 68 OVERALL SCORE WORKS WITH BOTH GOOGLE & ALEXA Sonos Move $400 68 OVERALL SCORE SUPER EASY TO USE (WORKS WITH ALEXA) Bose Home Speaker 500 $380 65 OVERALL SCORE Hand Mixers WE TESTED: 10 models WE TEST FOR: How fast a mixer can make whipped cream, how well it mixes cookie dough, its noise level, convenience of features, and more. ABOUT THE SCORES: Median: 64 Range: 47-79 WONDERFUL AT WHIPPING KitchenAid KHM926 $100 79 OVERALL SCORE TERRIFIC AT MIXING Breville Handy…

Two of the most common over-the-counter drugs you can take if you suffer from occasional tension headaches are acetaminophen (usually known by brand name Tylenol) and ibuprofen (sold under the brand names Advil and Motrin). While both will help ease a headache, a few studies show that ibuprofen may be more effective in treating tension-type headaches, says Lauren Natbony, MD, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. In one 1996 study, patients who took 400 mg of ibuprofen experienced more (and quicker) pain relief than those who took 1,000 mg of acetaminophen. And because it has an anti-inflammatory effect, ibuprofen may also be more effective for those experiencing neck pain. People who have cardiovascular disease may want to avoid ibuprofen because it can increase…