Even The Simple Things - Best Coasters...Ever!

    What's the best way to keep your RV clean? Don't let it get dirty in the first place!. If you've been reading my articles over the last couple of years, you'll know I like ice cold drinks in the summer. If you've ever had ice in a glass in hot weather, you'll know about the dreaded condensation. This is the moisture that accumulates on the outside of your glass and always ends up on your table, or counter or whatever surface you've left it on. Forget to wipe it down and you end up with a nasty ring. Spill some and it's even got pretty colors. Coasters...yeah, that's the ticket! Simple, right. Yup, but you can do even better.

Thirsty Coasters! A While back I found out about microfiber bath mats. These things are soft and absorbent and non-slip. Some enterprising and brilliant soul figured out you could make coasters out of the same material! That's one of those "million dollar" ideas. You get four of them to a package, they're inexpensive at around 3 dollars and most department stores have them. (Yes, WalMart too!)
They come in a few colors. I saw Ivory and Black. The Ivory ones actually match my interior perfectly. Well at least the walls and ceiling anyway. At the price how could I resist?

I couldn't. As usual, when you see something like this you wonder...will it work in "real life?" Time for testing! I selected glasses and mugs that I use all the time. Some glass, some ceramic, some polycarbonate. I wanted to make sure no matter how sloppy I am (very) that a mess would not be the result. I was honestly a bit concerned that the coasters being...."puffy" would cause the glass to topple. Obviously causing a larger mess than they could prevent. I am happy to report every glass or cup placed on the coaster, stayed where it was placed. It definitely feels a bit odd when you first put a glass down on it, but you quickly get used to the somewhat "squishy" feeling.

I also wanted to find out if REALLY hot drinks would cause any melting or other problems with the  materials they are made of. Nope. They took everything I could throw at them. No, I didn't actually throw anything at them. You know, they are pretty light and soft...you could throw them around. Maybe a good way to pass the time with friends? Who knows!? At the very least, it kept my coffee from making a mess, even though I sloshed a bit on the coaster. According to the instruction, these are machine washable. Yup. They are. No coffee stains and no changes in texture or color after a wash.

All in all, I'd say this is a win-win-win product. I imagine there are a few other uses for it as well. (Mouse pillow anyone?) It's always refreshing to find products that, for a minimum of cost, provide exactly what they are supposed to. If only life, in general, were more like that!

Be Seeing You...Down The Road...

Rich "The Wanderman"
www.thewanderman.com