How We Test And Review Our Gear

The inside of a dishwasher with the lower rack removed and the filter exposed — The dishwasher guide starts here, at the filter, because that is where the manufacturer service interval starts.

Two tracks, two evidence standards

Almost everything on HomeNerdy is one of two things, and they are not held to the same bar. Knowing which one you are reading is the single most useful thing this page can give you.

	Guides and how-tos	Nerdy Reviews
Built from	Manufacturer documentation, industry standards, professional consensus, documented user outcomes	Hands-on use of a product we bought ourselves
Claims hands-on testing	No, and says so	Yes, and says how long for
Typical language	“per manufacturer guidance”, “commonly recommended”, “widely reported”	“we ran this for six weeks and…”
Label	Category badge	Nerdy Reviews badge

When one of our writers does have direct hands-on experience with a method inside a research-led guide, we say so in the guide, at the point it is relevant. We never imply it site-wide.

Track one

How a guide gets made

Research, before a word is written
Product manuals, safety data sheets and official manufacturer recommendations first. Then the standards: EPA, OSHA and the relevant trade associations. Then what licensed professionals (plumbers, electricians, cleaning specialists) actually recommend. Last, the documented real-world outcomes, including the common mistakes.
Diagnose before you prescribe
Every guide opens by helping you identify which problem you actually have. A limescale mark and an etched surface look similar and need opposite treatments; a guide that skips the diagnosis will damage something.
Order methods gentlest first
You should never open with the nuclear option. Methods escalate, and each one names the materials it is safe on and the ones it is not.
State the limits
Every method carries what it cannot do. If a popular hack has limited effectiveness, that goes in before you waste an afternoon on it.
Editorial review against the checklist
Nothing publishes until it clears the checklist below.

The gate

The publishing checklist

Every guide clears all seven before it goes live. This is the same list our editor works from.

Safety warnings present, prominent, and above the method they apply to
No absolute claims: no “always works”, no “guaranteed”
Sources cited for every technical and safety claim
Limitations stated for each method, not just the article as a whole
A “when to call a professional” section, with a real threshold
Materials compatibility verified against manufacturer guidance
The evidence basis is labelled: research-led, or hands-on

Track two

How a Nerdy Review gets made

We buy everything ourselves. Every product is purchased at retail price from an ordinary shop, online or in person. We do not accept free products, manufacturer samples, sponsored placements or copy approval. If we recommend something, it is because we would spend our own money on it again.

We use it in the conditions you would. Cleaning products go on real stains and real surfaces, not lab swatches. Tools are used on actual jobs rather than unboxed and described. Appliances do everyday cooking, not one demo run. Durability is judged over weeks, because first impressions are the least reliable part of a review.

Criterion	What we are actually asking
Performance	Does it do the thing it claims, and how does it compare with the obvious alternative?
Value	Is it worth the price? Where a cheaper option performs nearly as well, we name it.
Durability	How is it after weeks of regular use, not after the first afternoon?
Ease of use	Can an ordinary person use it without frustration, and what is the learning curve?
Safety	What can go wrong, and what protection does the job need?

This track is deliberately small. We would rather publish few reviews we stand behind than a catalogue we do not.

The refusals

What we will not do

Accept payment, free products or samples in exchange for coverage
Let a brand see, approve or influence a guide before it publishes
Claim hands-on testing we have not done
Publish an absolute claim, however good it would look in a search result
Recommend a method we would not use on our own home
Quietly re-date an old guide to make it look current

When we get it wrong

Corrections

We will get things wrong. When we do, the correction goes on the guide itself, dated, saying what changed. We do not delete the error quietly and we do not bury the note at the bottom of an unrelated page.

If you have found something wrong, especially anything with a safety consequence, tell us and we will look at it. That is the fastest way to make this site better and we treat it as a favour, not a complaint.

Found something on this site that fails the standard above?Safety problems go to the top of the queue.

Report it to the editor