Nibbling around the edges of a few non-food issues

This one-ply toilet paper is so thin and narrow it is difficult to keep your hand clean unless you double and re-double it.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

Did I buy the Scott Tissue I've been cursing for the past few weeks?

Yes. I actually purchased a large package of this thin, narrow toilet paper at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

In the past, when I've purchased toilet paper at Costco, it usually costs more than the Kirkland Signature store brand.

I'm sure the Scott Tissue cost less, though I don't have the receipt in front of me.

This toilet paper may not even be good enough for prisons and mental hospitals.

I just looked at the package, described by Scott as "Our biggest pack ever!" Groan. There are plenty of the original 36 rolls left.

A Russell Hobbs electric kettle, right, and glass tea pot on a warming tray.

Makes me blue

Another terrible product is Clorox Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner Bleach & Blue, which shouldn't be confused with the regular, white tablet also sold as Automatic Toilet Bowl Cleaner.

On Dec. 16, I purchased two packages, containing two tablets each, when they were on sale at Target in Hackensack, and two packages of the white tablets ($4.49 each).

I found the Bleach & Blue tablet gave the toilet water an appealing color, but did a miserable job of controlling stains below the water line and odor.

The white tablet, which I bought for many years before Costco discontinued it, does a much better job on stains and odor.

I returned one package with one blue tablet and got a full refund, then discovered a second, unopened package, and will have to go back.

Great customer service

We love the Russell & Hobbs 1.7-liter Electric Kettle with Keep Warm Tea Tray I found on Amazon.com when another electric kettle started rusting inside after a dozen years.

But after a week or so of using the new electric kettle, I noticed a stain forming on the shiny interior bottom plate that eventually turned brown.

I called the company, and as I suspected, the stain was from minerals in our drinking water in North Jersey.

As the instruction booklet suggested, I used diluted vinegar and allowed it to soak inside the kettle for 30 minutes, but it didn't remove the stain.

I told that to the woman at customer service, and then asked if the company could send me another kettle. 

She agreed, and it showed up at our door two days later.

Then, we cleaned the original kettle with Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser & Polish, a terrific product we have been using for a few years to clean stains on our steel cookware.

The opening on the kettle is narrow, but large enough for a woman's hand, and my wife was able to remove all of the ugly brown stain.