Hefty UltraFlex: Taking "Clean" To A Whole New Level
Written: Nov 11 '09
Product Rating:
Pros: Super strong, comes with ties, odor guard, huge size.
Cons: Might be too large for most garbage cans.
The Bottom Line: Hefty UltraFlex "Clean Up" Trash Bags are a great pick if you have a lot of weekly trash but small families might see them as overkill.
Freak369's Full Review: Pactiv Hefty UltraFlex Clean Up Trash Bags, 39 Gal...
If you are like me, you like to get the most from the products you buy. Normally I get trash bags at a restaurant supply store because they are cheaper in price, thicker and I can fit more things in it when trash day rolls around. When I tried to use one of the industrial trash bags to cover my prosthetic to take a shower it was way too big and ended up coming loose when I was in the shower. The end result was a soggy shoe, drenched sock and a thoroughly ticked off amputee. Even though I love the industrial trash bags I knew that I needed something else to use for when I took a shower. So off I went, like Goldilocks looking for the best bed to take a nap in, I headed out to find the perfect trash bag for my leg. Now, before you think that the Hefty UltraFlex bags are used for only that purpose, I have used them for trash disposal as well as bagging up newspapers to take to the recycling center. If they can handle thirty pounds of newspaper without even a glimmer of ripping, surely they will be more than adequate for your household trash needs.
These are more than adequate for using outside for leaves and grass trimmings and because of the size and capacity that they have, you won't have to use a lot of bags to get the job done. A word of warning though, it is extremely easy to go a little crazy when packing these with garbage, trimming, leaves or clothing. Overload it and you will have one hell of a time getting it to the curb without it getting caught on a fence or post. I had that happen one time and one time only and I learned my lesson. While the Hefty UltraFlex Trash Bags are strong and will hold a lot of garbage it does have its limitations. These are comparable to the Force Flex bags but in my opinion are a little better with bulky items of medium weight.
Trash is messy so you don't want to have to spend an hour cleaning up a mess if a bag rips or if it leaks all over the carpeting. I would love to say that these have never dripped trash-goo all over the place but they have. I can't fault the bag itself because the hole probably resulted from something like a wooden skewer getting thrown in the trash instead of being up in a paper bag and then thrown out separately. I have also used these to bag up clothing for when the AmVet's have come to collect things for donation. Normally I would try to use something that was clear so they could get a general idea of what was inside the bags but they asked if people would use a "strong" trash bag so they wouldn't run the risk of having clothes break through thinner bags and end up all over the street.
For everyday trash these are great but they also work well for the outside metal cans that we have for food waste that would otherwise make the kitchen smell like the seventh ring of hell. Fish bones, chicken skin, watermelon rinds and other food remnants get wrapped in a few sheets of newspaper then put inside the metal containers. In the summer the bags get emptied every week on trash day to keep maggots and bugs to a minimum but in the cooler months they only get swapped when they are full. I used to use the huge industrial bags in the metal cans but that often meant that they would get changed a lot less frequently because everyone knew how strong they were and that they could "go another week". That came to an end when someone pressed the lid on super tight and when we had to use a screwdriver to pry it open there where thousands of maggots all over the bag and inside of the container.
As far as using the Hefty UltraFlex Trash Bags to cover my leg when I take a shower; they work well and keep my prosthetic dry. Taking a shower is a lot safer than getting in and out of the bathtub with the prosthetic off. When I take a shower I slip the bag over my prosthetic, wrap it around the top section then roll the silicone liner over it so it seals it up completely. So far I haven't had any leaks or rips with these and I can get about five to six showers from each bag before the tops start to get too haggard to slide under the silicone liner. They are an affordable alternative to the Air Cast Shower Cover that I used a few times, they were about $12.00 each and only lasted about four or five showers. So would I rather buy a box of these for four or five dollars and get sixteen of them or buy one specialty item for three times the price and get a hell of a lot less wear from them? Yeap, I'll even sing the song .. Hefty, Hefty Hefty!
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