Bought a $50 moisture meter for my houseplants, total scam

I got one of those moisture meters with the long metal probe off Amazon thinking it would save my overwatered plants. Thing read 'dry' on a pot I had just drowned with water two hours before. I tested it in three different plants, then stuck it in a glass of water and it still showed 'moist' instead of 'wet'. Wasted $50 and nearly killed my fiddle leaf fig trusting that thing. What finally convinced me was sticking my finger in the soil and realizing I could feel dampness way better than the meter could read. Now I just use a chopstick and my finger like my grandma always did. Anyone else fall for those fancy gadgets and learn the hard way?

3 comments

3 Comments

lilyp3719d ago

My mom still uses a toothpick to check her bread dough and it works better than half the kitchen gadgets out there.

ninaowens19d ago

Not sure why people act like a toothpick is some kind of breakthrough. It's just a stick. If your mom bakes a lot, she probably knows what she's doing without a gadget anyway. These 'life hacks' get blown way out of proportion. Honestly, a toothpick telling you if dough is ready is basically the same as a human poking it with their finger, neither one is exactly rocket science. People get way too nostalgic about this stuff.

rubyk2619d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain on this one! I bought a similar gadget for my succulents because I kept killing them with love and water. Stuck the probe in soil that was literally dripping wet from a recent rain and it said 'dry'. What a joke. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker for a whole month until I caught my cat knocking it off the shelf and it broke. Now I just lift the pot to feel the weight or poke my finger in, grandma style too. It's wild how we pay for stuff that's worse than what people have been doing for centuries.