My family has been shopping at Aldi for years. Overall, we have a lot of success with products from the discount grocer. There are a few products, however, that haven’t stood the test of time.
Huntington Home Memory Foam Bath Mat
Thoughts: I bought two of these bath mats – one for each bathroom in my house – and they initially looked and felt great. However, they were terrible lint magnets. Every little fuzzball or speck of tracked-in grass clung to these mats. I ran them through my washing machine regularly, but that didn’t help much. About the only way to get all the bits off the rugs was to hand pick them. After a while, I just threw the rugs away.
Full review: here
Easy Home Robotic Vacuum
Thoughts: I loved this vacuum because, while it didn’t have the powerful suction of my Eureka upright vacuum, it helped to clean my house without me really trying. Unfortunately, the vacuum stopped working all together after I’d owned it for about six months. It was the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought at Aldi, with a price tag of $100. Fortunately, it was under a one-year warranty, and I received excellent service and speedily got a replacement vacuum. I’ve had the replacement for about a year, and it works fine, although the front bumper got caught on a piece of furniture and got half ripped off, with no way to really reattach it.
Full review: here, plus my experience with the warranty here
Bauhn Foldable Headphones
Thoughts: We really liked these headphones. They were comfortable to wear and had excellent sound quality. About six months after purchasing them, however, a short developed in the 3.5 mm cable, which made the sound in the left ear go out if the cord wasn’t bent a certain way. The headphones have a two-year warranty, and while we weren’t able to get a replacement part, we did receive a full refund.
Full review: here, plus our experience with the warranty here
Gardenline Fairy Garden Kit
The fence layers are separating after a few months of use.
The box planter started coming apart after a few weeks of use.
Thoughts: I bought this fairy garden last spring for my kids. While the fairies and most of the accessories have been fine, the box that holds the garden kit leaks badly and has warped. While the packaging claimed the garden kit was for indoor or outdoor use, it’s really only made for indoor use and with fake plants that don’t require watering. After a few months, the fence that came with the kit began to peel apart as well.
Full review: here
Gardenline PRO Series Thumb Control Adjustable Nozzle
Thoughts: We really liked this nozzle for our garden hose … until it stopped working about six weeks after we purchased it. At first, the nozzle lost pressure when the thumb control was pushed past a certain point. Then, it stopped working regardless of where the thumb control was pushed. Unfortunately, it did not come with a warranty.
Full review: here
What Aldi products have not held up over time for you? Let us know in the comments.
We bought a Gardenline bench for the deck with wooden slat seat and rod iron back. We bought on sale at end of summer so left in garage unopened until this summer. Much to our chagrin, the metal back had already rusted and of course we don’t have the receipt so my husband had to spray paint.
A cap was missing, and the arms are terribly designed which we could not tell in the box. They have a somewhat indented curve that holds water when it rains so I am sure they will rust next. The seat is too narrow to be comfortable and wasn’t finished well so we had to varnish it. Overall, very poor product so not worth the sale price.