Cleaning the shower is one of the more dreaded household chores. But what if one had a cleaning business? That was the very thing that inspired two savvy business women to create QuickRinse. Cleaning a dirty shower looks like a whole lot less hassle because of QuickRinse’s funnel-shaped bag that is designed to fit over most shower heads. It’s made of a durable 10 ounce vinyl material and is ultrasonically welded around the seams and hose adapter. It also has an extra long, double-sided Velcro strap and rubber hose to prevent kinking and bend memory. While it may still be necessary to do some scrubbing, rinsing does appear to make the job easier. Backers may also be interested to know that this particular campaign helps women trapped in a domestic violence situation to gain their freedom because part of the proceeds will go toward The Boise Women’s and Children’s Alliance (WCA). This campaign seeks to raise $25,000 by November 1. For $50, backers get one product with an expected delivery of December 2014.
Month: November 2014
Ask anyone that’s ever had to log their mileage for tax deductions and they’ll all say the same thing: the numbers they put on their taxes are usually just best estimations. Is it possible to protect oneself from an audit and still get the maximum deduction back?
With Car Footprints, it’s easy to get an accurate, easy mileage log for tax season. Connecting directly to the car’s ODB port, Car Footprints communicates via smartphone from the car to a service that tracks and logs all mileage driven to make calculating deductions even easier. Any driving for medical, business, or charity purposes can be deducted, adding up to an average of thousands of dollars per year.
Without using GPS services, Car Footprints is secure and doesn’t report any information other than mileage. Turning a step predicated on meticulous bookkeeping or pure guesswork and making it automatic will save professionals both time and money. The Car Footprints tracker and three months of service is available starting in March for $47, if inventor Ney Torres can raise $35,000.
Car Footprints may be a niche product only for those who deduct their driving miles, but for eliminating the headache tracking those miles creates, it should be a must-own product for those groups.
There’s always a caveat to the type of transportation you choose to reduce the length of your commute. With a car, there’s inevitably traffic. Most people opt for public transport to avoid this, but the problem lies in most stops not being close to home. You could cut down walk time by riding an electric scooter there, but then you’re forced to leave it. Likewise, bicycles make you the target of combined commuter hatred at the height of rush hour. Push scooters offer a great balance between the two, but can weigh a lot. PIGEON is a foldable push scooter designed to improve your commute. Consisting of just three parts made from aluminum and wood, the PIGEON can be folded into a thin profile with a single foot press and slung over the shoulder. Even if the price is bit bloated considering the materials, the portability of this product separates it from others like the ion Smartscooter or the Me-Mover that may offer the same, but still weigh a ton while doing so. Backers can expect their own in May 2015 for £135 (~$216). PIGEON hopes to raise a modest £2,000 (~$3,200) on Kickstarter.
Music is something everyone can enjoy privately, but all it takes is the right lighting to make it perfect for any party.
PLAYBULB color is another combination smart lightbulb and wireless speaker, offering multiple configurations of light shows, a spectrum of colors, and thumping sound to turn any room into a party room. Using Bluetooth 4.0, PLAYBULB color supports modern iOS and Android devices firmwares, and can also update its own firmware to allow for new features.
With a range of 30 feet, PLAYBULB color streams music from any smartphone or tablet and can change color on the fly or even every time a phone has been shaken, to create personal choreographed light shows. The PLAYBULB color can also be set up in any E26 or E27 lamp to stream ambient light and music for sleeping or as a wake-up alarm. Developer MIPOW only needs $10,000 to bring these bulbs to shelves, and backers can install one for $49 in January.
PLAYBULB color is neither the most innovative product on the market nor the most practical, as colored light often does very little illumination. That being said, it’s a great addition to any dorm room, bedroom, or any room where ambience is key.
Ever wonder if the lids for kitchen storage containers sprout legs and run away? Foil and plastic wrap can take their place, but they don’t lock in freshness and keep the refrigerator nearly as organized as a container that has a lid. So, the makers of Silicon Lids are offering an alternative that makes for an airtight seal, and can go from the freezer to microwave, or refrigerator to oven. The lids are heat resistant up to 460 degrees Fahrenheit, have a unique design to the eye, and an easy-to-grasp handle. There are also multiple sizes and colors from which to choose. And when it’s time to clean off that caked-on food from pots, pans and bowls, backers might also be glad to have KlampShell to make the scouring a little easier. This campaign seeks to raise $15,000 by November 18, 2014. For $15, backers get four lids that are four inches each. Expected delivery is December 2014.
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Icealot gives you balls of ice
Most people don’t know that the cloudy, white ice we pull out of our freezers to serve to guests on a hot summer day or to enjoy in our drink of choice isn’t really the best. Since the experience of having ice melt so quickly is such a normal one, most of us never really think twice about it. This leaves our beverages diluted and pretty much ruined by the time you reach mid-cup. iceälot is a system of ice molds designed to be used within a compact freezer box that creates beautifully clear ice free. The molds feature holes that allow impurities to be pushed down through into the water it floats atop, leaving users with smooth, clear ice in a variety of shapes: there are spherical molds, cubes, and sticks, amongst many others. An iceälot freezer box alongside four spherical molds goes for $75, with the option to get additional add-on molds as well, for delivery in March 2015. The campaign is looking for $25,000 to bring iceälot to production.
Getting used to the pounding heat of the sun and cold pouring rain is all a part of track and field. That’s why the best place for outdoor sports enthusiasts to train is outside. Hamtoner is another tool that sports lovers can use to help strengthen their lower body so they have what it takes to not just cross the finish line, but win the prize, too. Auger screws allow the unit to be anchored to the ground right next to the playing field so that strengthening buttocks, calves and lower back can be just as much a part of the training routine as other important aspects of building up the body for those winning moments. The unit is lightweight enough to be taken on the road for keeping up with workouts during travel, but it seems that the Auger screws may create a challenge for getting Hamtoner unanchored and packed into one’s vehicle. This campaign seeks to raise $4,750 by November 16, 2014. For $375, backers get one product with an expected delivery of December 2014.
Activity trackers are great ways to not only stay in shape, but improve a workout from the ground up. Plenty of devices handle this task easily, but for those that prefer to push themselves through swimming, there are a number of hurdles an activity tracker needs to jump beyond just being waterproof.
The Aqua-100 is a personal swimming coach that gives real-time information without interrupt the rhythm and motions of swimming. Worn by strapping it onto the back of the hand, the Aqua-100 monitors laps, distance, number of strokes, stroke rate, and even what direction the swimmer is moving in. Because it’s worn on the back of the hand, swimmers can see this data as they extend their arms forward in mid-stroke, keeping the swimmer afloat and active. The information displayed can be changed by twisting the wrist twice, keeping the device easy and intuitive to use.
With a standard digital LED display with backlighting, the Aqua-100 is as easy to read as it is to use. The data tracked using the device during swimming can be uploaded to a computer as well, allowing avid swimmers to track their performance over time. The Aqua-100 is nearly ready to go to market, but needs $40,000 to be prepared for production. Swimmers can get their hand in one for $129, shipping in February 2015.
Having a dedicated tracker for a specific kind of workout is a must-have for athletes at any level and those who are passionate about a particular form of fitness. The Aqua-100 is an extremely functional device great for those that prefer to swim laps or just enjoy the water, but aesthetically the device lacks the flair of what people expect from activity trackers. If function trumps form, and swimming is the preferred exercise of choice, then Aqua-100 will be a sure buy.
An overflowing bathtub or sink can be disastrous, requiring costly repairs by the time you realize what’s happening. Many have experienced it, from the elderly to the physically impaired to those who are just plain forgetful or distracted, making a solution to the issue an important one.
Level Minder is a small, compact sensor that attaches to the edge of a bathtub or sink with a suction cup. Once there, sensors at the bottom of the unit alert you with a loud alarm once water reaches them, with planned Wi-Fi capability to send a text message or even wirelessly turn off the water supply when you’re not in. The unit comes in three colors to match a wide variety of bathroom layouts and currently goes for $100, with an estimated delivery date of March 2015. The campaign needs a staggering $500,000 to make it all happen.
The Level Minder is a fine solution to a real issue, but the product is way too narrow in what it does. The inventor talks about how big the issue of water damage is, but ultimately doesn’t convince. Add its bloated cost and the Level Minder ends up being a lot less sensible than it initially seems.