Does a Spare Tire Expire?

If your spare tire is on the exterior of the vehicle, such as underneath an SUV or pickup truck, you’ll want to be extra vigilant because the tire is exposed to the elements. Bolts exposed to the weather, and especially road salt, can corrode, making it difficult to lower the tire. It’s smart to remove…

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Best and Worst Range Brands

To determine which brands make the best ranges, CR created a statistical model that incorporates the Overall Scores for every gas, electric smoothtop, electric coil, and induction range in our ratings. Our calculations reflect lab performance, available features, predicted reliability, and owner satisfaction scores. We also looked at prices: Brands get credit for delivering high…

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7 Best Shower Filters of 2026 Are WIRED-Tested and -Approved

Compare Our Top Shower Filter Systems Honorable Mention Shower Filters Photograph: Matthew Korfhage HigherDose Red Light Shower Filter for $599: The HigherDose Red Light Shower Filter (6/10, WIRED Reviewed) is, in some ways, the most intriguing shower filter idea I’ve encountered in the past year: It incorporates a ring of lights, delivering dual red and…

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Bluesound Pulse Cinema Review: A Pretty Sonos Alternative

If you’re looking for a top-notch Dolby Atmos soundbar, it’s hard to beat the Sonos Arc Ultra. But Sonos is still recovering from its self-imposed 2024 software fiasco, and many of its once-loyal customers have sought refuge with the company’s competitors. Chief among these is Bluesound, a wireless, multiroom audio ecosystem from the Great White…

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Best Treadmills That Don’t Require a Subscription

If you’re interested in buying a treadmill that doesn’t require paying more for access to its entire workout ecosystem, you’ll have to look beyond the most recognizable brands and do a little digging. Or you can let us do the digging for you. The most important thing to know while you shop is that there…

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Things to Never Put in Your Washing Machine

Leather, suede, silk, and linen: These are all items that should be dry-cleaned and not machine-washed to protect the fabric, says Sarah Armstrong, new product brand manager at the home appliance maker Maytag. Shoes: Leather, wool, velvet, silk, and shoes with cork soles or any kind of beading on them would be damaged if you…

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Ikea’s New Blow-Up Chair Was Tested by Cats

A blow-up chair? Ikea has been here before. It attempted to make inflatable furniture in the mid-1990s, when designer Jan Dranger came to the Swedish company with a revolutionary idea to solve one of its biggest challenges: how to squish sofas into its preferred flat-pack format, simplifying transport and cutting costs. It sounded like the…

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