From bedding to power tools and appliances, here are the best products we tested in 2024.
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.Learn more.
The Best Products We Tested in 2024, According to Family Handyman Editors
Published on Dec. 05, 2024
Our Product Testing Team, DIY pros and expert editors evaluated thousands of products in 2024. From leaf blowers to firewood racks and bed sheets to sectional sofas, we tried everything related to home improvement.
Our testing team and experts weighed dozens of criteria, including delivery, assembly, performance and value. We spent hours, days and sometimes months testing products to identify the top picks worthy of your hard-earned dollar.
As the year ends, we’re looking back at everything we tested. We’ve rounded up our all-time favorite home and DIY products of 2024, including top sellers and overall winners. Whether you’re looking for home goods, a last-minute holiday gift or a new appliance, the products below earn our “Best of 2024” approval.
Best Cleaning Product
Bissell Little Green Machine
This handy, portable carpet and upholstery cleaner can tackle everything from new spills on furniture to set-in carpet stains. Like a wet vacuum, the Bissell Little Green Machine has a 48-ounce tank to hold cleaning solutions and a dirty water receptacle. The machine sucks up the liquid as you clean.
This cleaning machine’s footprint is compact, and it weighs just under 10 pounds when the tanks are empty, so it’s easy to move around the house. Plus, it accommodates a variety of detachable cleaning tools to help you treat any mess. Product Tester Sheri Kaz tested the cleaner for her Bissell Little Green review. Spoiler alert: Freshly spilled coffee on Sheri’s cream-colored sofa was no match for the green machine.
On Sale
Best Dehumidifier
Gocheer Dehumidifier
We tested the best small dehumidifiers in the humid U.S. South, and the Gocheer Dehumidifier provided impressive relief from excess moisture. “I realized the Gocheer air dehumidifier is the best small dehumidifier just minutes after plugging it in,” says Anthony O’Reilly, who tested it.
With a 68-ounce tank, the compact humidifier can extract moisture in spaces up to 800 square feet. However, it’s small and lightweight enough to fit on a nightstand. Of the seven small dehumidifiers we tested, it was the quickest at dehumidifying a 600-square-foot space.
Best Leaf Blower
Ego Power+ 56-Volt Cordless Leaf Blower
When it came time to test the best cordless leaf blowers, lawn care expert Tyler Graham picked the EGO Power+ cordless leaf blower as the best option overall.
Tyler has personally tested over one hundred leaf blowers and says, “The EGO leaf blower is my favorite handheld leaf blower—period. I like this blower better than every gas leaf blower I have used and the dozens of other electric/battery-powered options I have tested. It is an absolute beast, has super high-quality construction, and is part of one of the best battery-powered lawn tool lines in the world.” Read more at his full EGO Leaf Blower review.
Best Hose
Flexi Hose
Lifelong gardener and Product Tester Sheri Kaz deems the Flexi Hose the best expandable garden hose overall. “If you’ve never experienced an expandable hose, you’ll love the kink-free feature that Flexi Hose offers. No more struggling, tugging and wasting time winding it up,” she says in her Flexi Hose review.
Flexi Hose expands up to three times its length and is soft to the touch. It comes with a rotating spray nozzle with eight settings. With the 3/4-inch diameter and brass connectors, expect great water pressure. If you’re looking for lightweight, this 50-foot hose weighs less than five pounds. It’s also available in 25, 50, 75 and 100-foot lengths.
Best Cooling Mattress
Cocoon Chill Mattress by Sealy
For a cooling mattress that’s easy on your back and your wallet, I highly recommend the Cocoon Chill, a mattress from Sealy. It’s one of many box mattresses I’ve tested over the years and one of my all-time favorites.
The innerspring-slash-memory foam mattress is wrapped in a cooling cover, and extra chill technology is available for super-hot sleepers. The mattress is easy to set up and fully inflates in about 30 minutes. The coils provide support and airflow, while upper layers of memory foam help relieve pressure and reduce motion transfer. Read more about how the Chill hybrid mattress helped my back pain in our Cocoon Chill mattress review.
On Sale
Best Pet Product
Rocco & Roxie Spray
The Rocco & Roxie spray is a Family Handyman staple for cleaning messes with the best pet stain removers. While testing the top pet stain removers, we noticed that the best products have one thing in common: natural enzymes that break down ammonia crystals in urine and fecal matter.
The Rocco & Roxie stain and odor eliminator is beloved among our staffers and pet parents all over because it doesn’t just cover up pet odors; it gets rid of them for good. The Family Handyman team tried the spray for a Rocco & Roxie review and can confirm the solution is top-notch for getting dog pee out of carpet and hard floors.
Best Space Heater
DeLonghi Dragon Radiant Heater
We asked a licensed electrician for the three safest space heaters, and the De’Longhi Dragon was among them. In fact, the DeLonghi Dragon digital heater was named the safest for bedrooms because the heating mechanism is fully contained. It’s an oil-filled heater that emanates heat like a radiator instead of blowing hot air. An oil-filled space heater is generally considered safer than other heaters because it has no exposed heating elements.
This heater is attractive and quiet, and during testing, it provides a gentle, consistent warmth.
On Sale
Best Firewood Rack
Solo Stove Station
Ranking as our #1 best firewood rack, the Solo Stove Station has a flexible, low-profile design and dual shelf that allows you to store firewood logs two rows deep or your Solo Stove fire pit with your wood. When we tested this firewood rack, we were more than impressed, not only with its aesthetics but also with its superior construction, durability and versatility.
This firewood rack features a roll-down, outdoor-rated fabric cover and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coating to protect against the elements. Plus, the Solo Stove Station is also backed by a lifetime warranty.
Best Wet-Dry Vacuum
Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Plus
The Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Plus is an all-in-one machine that cleans up wet and dry messes on hard and soft floors. Its features are designed to handle big messes and daily dirt and debris.
We sent the CrossWave to tester Allison Robicelli to test in a house with three dogs and six cats. It did an outstanding job cleaning the accidents of a potty-training puppy and areas around cat litter boxes without leaving a trace behind.
One of our favorite features of this unit is that you can dispense cleaning solution only as needed, which allows you to easily suck up messes without adding more liquid to the problem and spreading it further. Get a more in-depth look in our Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Plus review.
Best Couch
Lovesac Sactional
Our shopping editors tested the best sectional sofas in 2024. The result? 13 of the best sectional sofas used in real homes, including our adored Lovesac Sactional.
The Sactional is an entirely modular piece of furniture, meaning every piece—from the seats to the sides—snaps together in an endless array of configurations.
Even more impressive? Every inch of fabric is removable—and thus machine washable. Wine stains, muddy paw prints and day-to-day are no match for the Sactional.
“With the Sactional, I can relax knowing it’s easy to simply remove the cover and toss it in the wash when I need a refresh,” says Senior Shopping Editor Katie Bandurski in her Lovesac Sactional review. “Plus, if I ever move or redecorate, I can order new covers for a fresh style rather than buy an entire new couch.”
On Sale
Best Washer/Dryer
LG WashTower
LG is one of the most reliable washer/dryer brands out there. The LG WashTower, a stacked washer and dryer unit, connects to the LG ThinQ app. Among other things, the app can alert you to problems with your machines, find the best washing and drying cycles for special fabrics, and let you know when your laundry is done.I personally tested the set for my LG WashTower review fell in love with the space-saving, stackable design.
Best Bed Sheets
Rest Evercool Cooling Sheet Set
I spent a lot of time this year testing the best luxury cooling sheets to see which are truly worth the money. And after testing dozens of sheets for several months, I determined that the Rest Evercool Cooling Sheets were the absolute best.
When I opened the Rest Evercool cooling sheet set, I immediately felt how lightweight and cool the sheets were to touch. They’re super breathable and stretchy, too, so airflow from a fan or open window will be felt through the sheets.
I also love that these sheets are made with an anti-microbial material, so I can feel good about snuggling into a clean bed at night.
Best Chair
Beautiful Drew Chair by Drew Barrymore
This budget-friendly reading chair is the perfect upgrade to your home office or bedroom. For under $300, the chair seemed too good to be true. Shopping Editor Emily Way tested the chair to let us know what it’s like in person. “This chair is absolutely stunning,” she says. “It adds such a fun, cozy vibe to my office, especially in the light sage color. Plus, the oversized look is so inviting.”
Emily says the chair looks and feels expensive despite its affordable price tag. It also comes with three pillows and has a smooth swivel base. There’s no question why it landed on our list of the best reading chairs.
On Sale
Best Garage Upgrade
Samsung Counter-Depth Top-Freezer Refrigerator
A garage refrigerator may seem like an unnecessary appliance. However, if you need extra space to keep your food cold for a large family, the best garage fridge is the perfect solution. The Energy Star-certified Samsung counter-depth top-freezer refrigerator is an affordable option for quality, energy-efficient garage fridges.
Product tester Caroline Stanko likes this counter-depth refrigerator because it allows for easy access in and out of her garage. But that’s not the fridge’s only space-saving feature. It also has an interchangeable door, which means you can switch the direction it opens.
Best Mattress Topper
Saatva Graphite Memory Foam Mattress Topper
I’ll be honest: I was skeptical if a mattress topper could make much of a difference in my sleep. But after testing several, I discovered that a good mattress topper can alleviate morning body aches and pains—even if you’re sleeping on an older mattress. However, the Saatva Graphite memory foam mattress topper immediately helped with my back pain and soreness.
The Saatva topper is a three-inch memory foam topper infused with cooling graphite. The memory foam helps relieve pressure and tension while reducing motion transfer, so it’s great for those with back pain and side sleepers.
Learn more in my Saatva mattress topper review.
