Insider Reviews: How we test the best home products

By Robert Thompson January 31, 2024 5 mins read 81 Views

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As part of testing for the best air conditioners, home reporter James Brains tests how loud a window AC unit is during operation using a decibel meter.

James Brains/Insider

From soft-yet-durable sheets to powerful vacuums, the Insider Reviews team rigorously tests and reviews a wide variety of items for the home. For nearly five years, the team has tested hundreds of products, including mattresses, sheets, vacuums, home-office furniture, cleaning products, and many more.

What types of home products we test

Mattresses: We test the best mattresses for all types of sleepers from a wide range of brands, including Casper, Helix, Leesa, Tempur-Pedic, and more. And yes, our sleep reporter sleeps on every single mattress he tests for at least two weeks.

Bedroom furniture and bedding: Our reporters review and test bedroom products, including the best bed frames and linens, all price points and climates. They've tested practically every fabric and have tried sheets, duvet covers, pillows, and comforters from Brooklinen, The Company Store, Crane & Canopy, L.L.Bean, and more.

Vacuums: From the best robot vacuums to cordless to upright, we use benchmark and objective tests for vacuums and recommend products from Bissell, Dyson, Roborock, Shark, and more.

Bath linens and laundry care: It's important to keep your bathroom free of mold and mildew, so we test bath mats and towels to make sure they dry quickly. We've developed tests for clothes steamers, hangers, and drying racks, and have also evaluated laundry detergent for efficacy.

Air conditioners, fans, and heaters: We've tested space heaters, air conditioners, and fans to ensure they provide great climate control without being too noisy or difficult to use.

Furniture and large appliances: These are some of the biggest investments you'll make for your home. We use expert sources, in-depth research, and hands-on testing to review the best sofas, dishwashers, bathtubs, and more.

Home office: From office chairs to standing desks, we put home-office furniture through the paces to ensure it's sturdy and easy to use while still being stylish and affordable.

Home improvement tools: We methodically research the tools and equipment you need to care for and repair your home. We interview industry experts and do extensive research and testing to review the best lawn mowers, best paint, best drills, and more.

Home accessories, decor, and services: We believe your home should be a safe and comfortable place to be. To help you find the best smoke detector, trash can, compost bin and more, we extensively research and test a wide variety of home accessories, decor, and home services.

Author James Brains laying on the 11 inch nolah natural mattress set atop a bed frame. — Our sleep reporter, James Brains in his testing room where he's slept on more than 60 mattresses.
James Brains/Insider

How we test home products

We test home products by using them every day for weeks and months. We develop original testing methods and use benchmarks to evaluate home products and objectively compare them. We sleep on pillows for weeks, wash and rewash sheets, run cordless vacuums until their batteries run out, and assemble office chairs and standing desks. We take factors like price, durability, style, and other factors into consideration to offer quality options for all budgets.

What sets us apart from other review sites

Instead of testing in labs, we use products in our own homes in real-life conditions. We test products as professionals to evaluate how each item meets industry standards, but we don't stop there. Where other sites may evaluate a mattress based on performance in lab tests, our reporters sleep on every mattress for a minimum of two weeks. Every product we test becomes part of our daily routines, so we know if a vacuum can keep up with heavy shedding or if an air conditioner is loud enough to keep you awake at night.

Though we earn commission on products purchased through our stories, no company can pay us to be included. All of our top picks are researched, tested, and then compared to our previous experience.

Meet our expert home team

Our home team has years of experience testing and reviewing products. Each editor and reporter is an expert in their beat, having reviewed dozens of products from their categories. Meet the home team below:

Our writers	Bios
Lauren Savoie, deputy editor Lauren Savoie	Lauren is deputy editor of Insider Reviews and chair of Business Insider's editorial standards board. Lauren leads the home, kitchen, and pets teams and is deeply involved in all editorial decision-making, with a particular focus in strategic content planning, career growth of reporters and editors, and strong journalistic standards for the Reviews team. She's also served as an on-air product expert for news programs, including Good Morning America and CBS Money Watch. In 2022, Lauren attended The Poynter Institute's Leadership Academy for Women in Media, a prestigious program that recognizes leaders in the journalism industry. Lauren joined the Insider team in 2020, first as kitchen editor and soon after as senior home & kitchen editor, where she pioneered original testing methodologies for buying guides and built a diverse team of freelancers and reporters with deep expertise. You can see some of her work in our guides to the best flower delivery services, best pillows, and best sous vide machines.
Jaclyn Turner, senior home editor Jaclyn Turner	Jaclyn is senior home editor at Insider Reviews, where she oversees home content, reviews and guides spanning mattresses to vacuums, an organization to smart home, and more, though she has a particularly soft spot for decor and interior decorating. She joined the Insider team in October 2023. Her work spans from scoping out the best candles to meticulously evaluating the best vacuums. Jaclyn previously held editorial and ecommerce roles with Homes & Gardens, Real Homes, Livingetc, The Spruce, MyDomaine, and Apartment Therapy. Jaclyn received a dual bachelor of arts in Journalism and American Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. Jaclyn currently resides in Atlanta, GA.
James Brains, senior reporter James Brains	James is a Senior Reporter for Insider Reviews, specializing in sleep, HVAC, vacuums, and kitchen appliances. He has tested more than 80 mattresses from startups like Casper and legacy brands like Tempur-Pedic, using his background in experimental psychology to develop objective tests and evaluate comfort, support, motion transfer, and more. He authors our guide to the best mattresses. In addition to being Insider Reviews' mattress expert, James has extensively covered vacuums, air conditioners, space heaters, air purifiers, and more within the HVAC space. He's tested more than 40 vacuums from brands like iRobot and Dyson and is no stranger to keeping his house at a chilly 60 degrees Fahrenheit for weeks on end, all in the name of testing air conditioners.