When I first saw a commercial for the Space Bag I was amazed; the before and after pictures were dazzling and for someone who lives in a small house with minimal storage, like I do, truly mouth-watering.
I bought a set, which contained a variety of sizes. I watched the UPS deliveryman come and go daily until, at long last, my Space Bags appeared.
My first thought was disappointment. Only the extra large size was truly capable of actually containing anything of substance. The large size appeared only minimally capable of holding anything (certainly no big, bulky blankets or anything useful) and the medium size even more useless.
I set about filling my two extra large bags. I filled only to the fill line, carefully sealed the top of the bag tightly, per the instructions, and sucked the air out. Impressive! There, flat as a pancake, were two down comforters, a duvet cover and a thin blanket. With the Space Bag slightly redeemed in my eyes, I contentedly stored the package away in Elisabeth’s closet.
That impressiveness soon ended. The next day my flat package was… puffy! Air seeped in. Where, I know not. So, I carefully sealed it up again and vacuumed. Again, the air somehow trickled in.
I’ve repeated this process numerous times and although I have, on rare occasions, been lucky enough to actually have the Space Bag work as it’s supposed to, it’s been a rare occurrence.
The seal at the top is just plain cheap and it’s easy to see even with my untrained eye why the closure doesn’t seal well. I’ve seen Ziploc sandwich bags constructed with more care.
The point of my post is this:
1) Avoid the Space Bag. The idea is great, but the bags are cheap and don’t work well.
2) I’m seeking a product that performs the same task, but is well constructed. Is there such a product?
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
The Space Bag
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4 comments:
I have done this successfully with regular heavy duty plastic garbage bags and a vacuum cleaner hose. Just stuff the bag with things like out of season clothes (sweaters, snowsuits, etc), blankets, comforters, pillows, whatever. Then insert the vacuum hose and suck out all the air while holding the top of the bag tightly over the end of the hose. Then, as you remove the hose, QUICKLY close the bag with a good twist and then close with a strong twist-tie thingie. Use the heaviest ply bags you can find for this, preferably the ones labeled "contractor" type.
Does any of those Seen on Tv items actually work??
sixty-five: You have done this???? I'm trying to picture it.
Yes! I have done this. A corollary to this is to use a straw to create an air-tight environment when freezing things in ziploc bags. In this case, YOU create the suction. 1. Put food in bag. 2. Insert straw 3. Suck out all the air. 4. As you remove the straw, QUICKLY close and seal bag. (In case you ever noticed that random straw in the drawer under the stove burners that's what it's for.)
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