ShamNO! This product is ridiculous. “Sham” is the operative word. Unless Billy is coming back from the grave to do the work for you, these won’t make life easier.
On the other hand, these ShamWows are good for helping dry underwear, bras and jockstraps – and the various anatomical parts being held by those items.
I second your opinion. They suck – and I don’t mean they suck up water. Durable, yes. But super-absorbent? That’s the sham.
A few years ago I did have an artificial chamois that was incredible. Could dry my dog in no time after a swim. I wish I could find more of it, because this stuff is nothing like it.
Actuslly, ShamWows were being pitched by Vince Offer, not Billy Mays. And Vince is alive and well. Billy Mays sold a similar product, Zorbeez. Popular Mechanics found ShamWows superior to Zorbees, and Consumer Reports verified that ShamWow do indeed hold 10 times its own weight in water.
The below excerpt is from Wikipedia.
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Consumer Reports reported that the infomercial for ShamWow! initially featured Offer claiming that the product held “20 times its weight in liquid”. Later, the infomercial was changed to Offer claiming the ShamWow! held “12 times its weight in liquid”, then again to “10 times”. Consumer Reports did its own test on the product and found that it does indeed hold 10 times its weight in liquid but no more.[13]
Offer says that he has sold millions of the towels.[11] Notwithstanding his infomercial success, Offer says that “this is not my career” and that he considers himself to be in the film business.[11]
Pitchman Billy Mays had been promoting a similar product called Zorbeez two years prior to Vince Offer’s ShamWow! product. Mays noted that the ShamWow! commercials use many of the same product demonstrations as the earlier-produced Zorbeez commercial. In February 2009 while on the Adam Carolla radio show, Billy Mays publicly challenged Offer to a “pitch off” between their respective absorbent towel products.[14]
Popular Mechanics tested the absorbency of the two towel products and declared ShamWow! was the more effective of the two, but noted “If you have reusable cloth rags (and a roll of paper towels for backup), then neither product is necessary.”[15]
This result had been hotly contested by Billy Mays before his death, and was a major part of the season finale of his Discovery Channel show PitchMen.
During the episode, it was suggested that the Popular Mechanics tester did not use the Zorbeez correctly
These are great! I bought a few boxes last time they were on woot. I use them all around the house. Having kids this helps a lot with the spills and they are very absorbent. Also a lot of fun to tell the kids go get the “ShamWow!” when there is a need.
