What the three labels mean
Every review says how we know what we know. You’ll find it in the review’s “How we evaluated this” section.
Researched. We read the maker’s own documentation, federal sources and named independent testers, plus what owners report. We did not use the product. Every figure is credited to where it came from.
Bought for review. We paid for it and we use it. We describe what we’ve seen, but we don’t claim measurements. We have no published test protocol yet, so a number in a Bought review is the maker’s or a named tester’s, not ours.
Gifted / provided. The maker sent it at no cost. We say so, and the same rules as Bought apply. A free unit never changes what we write.
We don’t publish our own test numbers yet. If we ever do, that review will say “Bought & tested”, link to the protocol we followed, and the numbers will describe our unit on that day only.
Which sources we trust, in order
- The maker’s documentation, for specs. The product page or manual for the exact model, never a search snippet.
- Federal agencies, for safety figures: the CDC, Ready.gov, the EPA and the FDA. We name the agency, link the page we read, and quote a figure as the agency states it.
- Named independent testers, for how gear behaves in use. We say who tested it.
- Owner reports, for what breaks and when. We paraphrase, and we keep any quote short and credited.
SEO roundups and other affiliate sites are never citations. We go to what they cite instead. Every Researched review ends with a “Sources we consulted” list.
What we never claim
- Testing we didn’t do. If we didn’t use it, the review says so.
- That a CO alarm, water filter or heater works, from our own use. We can’t test life-safety gear to a standard at home, so those claims come from the maker’s certifications and named testers, credited.
- “Best.” We don’t call anything the best unless we bought it and tested it against alternatives, and that hasn’t happened yet.
- Star ratings of our own. If a review ever shows an owner rating, it will say whose it is and when we checked it.
- Prices on products linked to Amazon. Amazon allows a shown price only when Amazon supplies it, so we don’t type one in.
How affiliate links pay for the site
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Some store links earn us a commission when you buy. It costs you nothing extra, and it doesn’t decide what we recommend: a product gets into a buy box for what it does, not for who sells it. When two stores sell the same item, the one that pays us is listed first. We don’t run display ads. The full version is on our affiliate disclosure page.
How we handle changes
Every review shows the date it was last updated, and we keep a record of each change and when it was made. A safety figure is never edited quietly. When a product is discontinued or its listing dies, we say so on the page or take the review offline, and we repoint every link to it first.
Found a mistake?
Tell us. We’d rather fix it than defend it.