5 Home Depot Products You Should Steer Clear Of (According To Owners)

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Home Depot products fit within a deep catalog. The outlet has long been a source of all things home improvement, and both professionals and DIYers alike rely on the retailer for gear and materials. Home Depot stores can be found all over the country, and these locations offer lots of integrated benefits ranging from credit card options to rentals of the kinds of tools and equipment that you might not even know about. But not every product available from this company hits the mark. While there are many Home Depot finds that users swear by, some products on its shelves don't perform as well as they ought to, or simply don't work at all on occasion.

These five products from Home Depot are particularly problematic. Users who have bought them frequently provide negative feedback on their product pages, with all manner of issues being listed within reviews. Unfortunately, these products are duds, and should probably be avoided by shoppers seeking a new gadget or piece of equipment from within their respective corners of the Home Depot stock list.

Car owners should consider checking their tire pressure regularly for best results. At first blush, the Husky 5-in-1 Digital Tire Pressure Gauge looks like an ideal tool for doing just that. This handheld unit can easily be tossed into the top drawer of your toolbox or slip into the side pocket of a mobile toolkit you keep in your trunk. The pressure gauge features a large, easy-to-read LCD screen that's underpinned by a blue backlighting element for added versatility in low light situations. It also offers four other integrated tools beyond the pressure check solution. These include a safety hammer and seat belt cutter, both of which can help you evacuate a vehicle in the event of a crash or other emergency situation. The pressure gauge features an accurate measurement with a tolerance of +/- 1 PSI.

While there is a lot of feature depth in this tool, users report a variety of issues in its practical application. First of all, many buyers note that the battery life on the unit is not up to snuff. Combine this issue with the tool requiring specialty coin cell batteries, and the cost to operate the unit might be higher than you like. However, this is assuming the tool continues to work as intended for a lengthy period of time. Many one-star and two-star reviews of the product suggest that it is not well made, noting that the tool simply fell apart on them after just a couple of uses. Other issues, like problems with fitting the gauge to different valve stems and a poorly-located function button that's easy to press accidentally, are also listed as negatives. This all leads to a 4.4 star average rating across 278 reviews and just a 59% customer recommendation rate.

Home Depot is an excellent source of numerous tools and equipment, and the outlet also carries a range of smart home implementations that can help enhance the comforts of your living space. One product that aims to deliver this upgrade is the Link2Home Wireless Indoor Remote Control Outlet Switch Combo. This combo kit features a "wall wart"-style plug and a remote control. With smart plugs high up on the list of smart home gadgets that you should be using, this product seems like a no-brainer.

Home Depot's product listing says this smart plug offers a remote with a 100-foot reach and is pre-programed for easy plug-and-play functionality. It notes the unit is capable of remotely controlling all manner of connected appliances with the push of a button from across the room. Unfortunately, buyers don't share the same experience that's outlined on the product page. The product has a 4.3 star average rating across 603 reviews and sports a 77% recommendation rate. Of the 75 one-star reviews the product received, many note that it either provides spotty coverage and works intermittently, or that it doesn't function at all even after receiving a replacement unit.

With a 4.3 star average rating from 74 total reviews and a pedestrian 74% rate of recommendation from buyers, the MetalTech Jobsite Series 31-Inch Adjustable Work Platform is a relative weak spot in the Home Depot catalog. The platform features a 30-and-¾-inch by 11-and-¾-inch deck with adjustable height settings, making it capable of acting as a makeshift workbench or a step stool for access to ceiling areas or other heights. The platform weighs 15 pounds, too, making it relatively lightweight and easy to maneuver.

For comparison, the one I personally use weighs roughly 23 pounds and it sits just on the other side of bulky in my mind. However, where my own platform differs from this one is in a much more robust leg construction. While this work platform can hold up to 300 pounds and features rubber feet for a good grip, users complain that it feels a bit flimsy, with many one-star and two-star reviews pointing out a notable wobble when in use. It may not ultimately be a problem for some or even most users, but the mental image created by this wobble makes it feel notably precarious. With safety being such a common refrain in user reviews for this product, you might be better off by selecting a different unit altogether. SlashGear found a highly-recommended work scaffold in its list of five Home Depot finds for expert DIYers that might be an excellent alternative. 

A tool like the Husky 30-Inch Double Blade Weeder Cutter is an interesting find that is sure to catch the eye of many home improvers and lawn maintainers. Weeding is one of the most time consuming and physically demanding tasks you'll encounter while tackling standard yard work. It's not that this is a particularly difficult job, but rather that it involves repetitive bending and interaction with plants that have adapted frustrating defenses, like deep roots or thorns, to dissuade removal. A weed cutting solution that removes the need to get down to ground level and reduces physical contact with these nuisance plants is therefore fairly intriguing.

The tool's product description boasts a 30-inch hardwood handle and a 12.8-inch double-sided head made of carbon steel. The serrated blades provide cutting in both directions, allowing you to swipe either left or right to hack away at even tough vegetative growth. The unit enjoys Husky's lifetime warranty for added peace of mind, too. Unfortunately, many buyers say that the product's handle broke too easily, further noting that the attachment point for the blade suffers from poor, inherently weak design. The serrated edge is also a point of contention, with some reviewers saying it isn't sharp enough to do the job. All this makes the tool a weed cutter that isn't particularly good at cutting weeds. This results in a 3.5 star average rating from 197 viewers, with only 14% of buyers recommending it. If you're looking for powered weed-cutting alternatives, SlashGear's ranking of every major gas-powered string trimmer on the market may be a good place to start.

Ladders come in many shapes and sizes, and the Louisville Ladder 12-Foot Fiberglass Pinnacle Pro Platform Ladder is one that promises great things with ample height built into its frame. It features a load capacity of 375 pounds and an enlarged platform area for better storage and mobility at height. Additionally, the top of the ladder has multiple tool slots to minimize the need to return to ground level to grab something you may have forgotten to bring up with you. Numerous other design elements aim to make this a premium elevation experience, including a slip-resistant boot, impact absorbing features, and wide back braces for enhanced stability.

However, buyers note that the ladder is fairly wobbly in actual use. They additionally warn that it's extremely heavy, making it difficult to move and position. It's also worth noting that many reviewers who purchased the tool online have stated that it arrived severely damaged from the rigors of shipping. If you want to avoid delivery-related damage, buying one of these ladders in-store is likely your best bet when making such a significant investment. As of this writing, this product has received 53 buyer reviews with a somewhat underwhelming 4.1 star average. While Home Depot states that 100% of buyers recommend the ladder to others, this may not be accurate, as 10 of those 53 reviewers (almost 20%) left just one-star or two-star ratings.

Each one of these products have notable flaws that are pointed out in abundance within user reviews left on Home Depot's online store. Issues referenced regularly include build quality, but some products are frequently noted to simply not work at all or perform the job they're designed to do poorly. They all have a minimum of 50 user reviews, and the best score among the bunch is an average rating of 4.4 stars. These products generally also feature notably low recommendation rates from previous purchasers.