Best reviews of 🔔 Aroma Housewares Aroma 6-cup (cooked) 1.5 Qt. One Touch Rice Cooker, White (ARC-363NG), 6 Cup Cooked/ 3 Cup Uncook/ 1.5 Qt 👏

2 reviews for Best reviews of 🔔 Aroma Housewares Aroma 6-cup (cooked) 1.5 Qt. One Touch Rice Cooker, White (ARC-363NG), 6 Cup Cooked/ 3 Cup Uncook/ 1.5 Qt 👏

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Atma Weapon – December 13, 2013

   Background. I’ve always hated dealing with cat boxes and have gone through several normal ones (that I would rate as one star) and one special ‘automatic’ box, the one where you roll it over on the side (that I would rate as two stars). So, I’ve never really been satisfied, but then I saw this model, and it made me curious because it uses the blue crystals and I had never tried a rake system before. I’ll go through my impressions chronologically, then I’ll go over the specifics, and finally I’ll present my analysis and reason for my score.1st Week Impressions. The cat is reluctant to use it at first, but eventually does. The unit is very large and the rake keeps the crystals very evenly spread. I’m happy. This may be the solution I’ve always needed. There isn’t much spillage outside the box, which is positive, and it’s easy to see the blue crystals that do spill making it easier to clean them up.1st Month Impressions. Doesn’t last 30 days. On Day 14 had a *very* foul odor when I was stirring it up. Then, the replacement cartridges doubled in price on me, throwing off my calculations as to how affordable this would be in the long run. Plus, I’m thinking it needs to be replaced at least every 20 days in reality based on that odor at Day 14. I’m upset that it’s going to cost me three times as much as I thought it would. The box is so large it’s hard to fit in a plastic garbage bag and there’s nothing to keep the lid closed so it spills out when doing the transfer. I end up using a second garbage bag to be sure. I also get the privacy hood partly for my cat and partly to see if it cuts down on the litter that spills out of the box or cuts down on odor.2nd Month Impressions. OK, maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought. This is very hassle-free. The foul odor is only a problem if I stir up the crystals to examine the bottom of the tray. If I just don’t do that, there’s no odor problem. The duration may be fine then since it’s a matter of how fast the front bin fills up, not how bad the odor gets. So, I’m thinking 30 days again. I did notice in the first month that some white fungus or something was growing on the poop when I pulled back the bin to look at it. I’m not sure if this is a problem or not. I don’t want spores to affect the air quality in my house. In fairness to the unit, it may have been the air quality in my house that caused the fungal growth in the first place: I have mushrooms outside my house frequently. I’d like to run my air filter when I change the litter next time to start from a blank slate. The privacy hood is a bust. I don’t know why, but my cat actually throws out more crystals with the hood on vs. off. It’s thrown in a straight line, yes, but it’s a lot more crystals. I don’t think there’s any noticeable difference with the odor with it on or off. Mostly I’ve learned not to stir the crystals and so far I haven’t had that really foul odor again. I can get a whiff of something kind of bad which I think is the poop but that’s also another issue where if I keep my distance, it’s not a problem. I do kind of wish the partition more fully closed off the poop bin. It’s not completely sealed off from the open air. I’m noticing some poop is baked on the rake, something I’ve read other people say happens sometimes. I’m not sure if that will become a problem or not, but so far I’m willing to overlook it.SpecificsSize/Shape. This is much bigger than I imagined. I guess that’s good for the cat and may be good for keeping litter inside. There is a drawback, though, which is that the cartridges (the box you dispose of) are also very large. If you’ve ever tried to put a large pizza box in a plastic garbage bag, you know how annoying that can be. This disposal box is even bigger than a large pizza box. Mostly the problem is that it’s very long, making it hard to pull the garbage bag closed around it. I wish it could have been a few inches shorter.Operation. The unit works fine and makes about as much noise as you’d expect (which fascinates the cat, by the way). The rake pushes the poop to a front compartment and when it gets near, the purple bit lifts up a cardboard separator (it’s attached with magnets) and allows the poop to come in. The weird thing is that the separator doesn’t seem to close 100%. It’s one of those ‘close enough’ things. I suppose that’s fine but it makes me wonder about air quality (maybe it helps the poop to dry out but it also means the odor particles can travel freely back and forth). I would not recommend the fancier version (ultra) that goes off after only five minutes because even with this version (normal), my cat’s poop has gotten baked on to the rake in a few places. My cat’s diet is dry food and treats.Replacing Cartridges. The main box is so big and bulky that it’s not a trivial matter to lift it up to get the cartridge out. The commercials show it looking easier than it is. I’m a bit surprised there is no better way to do this. It’s a minor nit to pick, but anything that’s ‘automatic’ should know those sorts of touches are important to the consumers of ‘automatic’ stuff.Crystals. I’m undecided on this whole concept still. The crystals do soak up moisture fairly well, but I can still see yellowish coloration sometimes. Also, as previously mentioned, be careful stirring up the crystals. I did it out of curiosity and what I found was that as the crystals absorb moisture, they become smaller and end up sifting to the bottom of the tray. However, when you stir it up and expose the bottom of the tray, you also aggravate a lot of the urine odor which isn’t 100% absorbed/locked in, just 95% absorbed. The 5% was really foul, though, and made me almost retch. In a way, though, it’s clever to let the urine filter down into crystals while only raking the poop forward. The problem with clumping litter (clay) is that it would clump and make a mess for the rake to push through. So, I can kind of accept this solution, imperfect as it is, when looking at the bigger picture.Cat Compatibility. My cat seems to be okay with this box. I think he is hesitant to pee in it, though, and I think it’s because when he gets ready to go, he claws/digs into a bit. It’s possible this stirs up the odor the same way it did for me and that might signal to him that it’s not a clean spot to go in. I’m not sure what to do about that, though. I have no way to tell him ‘don’t stir it up’. I may layer on extra crystals and lightly stir it up to help further bury the odorous layer but it says not to add extra crystals, so I’m not sure.Dust. The blue crystals do cut down significantly on dust. If you have problems with dust in your house from clay based litters, then this may be of interest to you. My mom has a traditional (non-automatic) litter box for her cat, but she is a convert to the blue crystals and swears by them. All because of the dust. The dust issue has never been a big deal for me, but I can attest that the crystals have basically zero dust to worry about. The drawback is you lose the clumping aspect and maybe lose odor control to some degree. My mom has never complained about odor so I’m not sure why our experiences are so different. Anyway, if you’re just looking at the dust angle, you have to score the blue crystals as the winner.Recommendation. I think it depends on your priorities. If your priority is odor control, beware of stirring and rogue whiffs of foul odor. I’ve found the traditional mix of clay and crystals in a normal (non-automatic) box to be good on odor control. If your priority is hassle-free, then you’re in my shoes and the key issue is then what’s the lesser of all the different evils when it comes to automatic cat boxes. I had the rolling kind and found it not ‘hassle-free’ enough for my taste. Now, I’m trying this rake system with the blue crystals. I think it’s better and I’ll stick with it for a while since I’ve invested so much into it (the cost of the box and six months supply of the replacement cartridges). I may consider taping up the disposal box somehow instead of bagging it (or getting bigger bags) and it’s still an open question how often I should clean the rake (or whether I can just keep scraping off chunks with my scoops and letting it clean itself by rubbing against the blue crystals). I can tolerate a little odor and this unit doesn’t produce too much unless you mess with it. I cannot tolerate hassle, though, and this seems good on that front (with the caveats as noted). Is this the perfect solution or ultimate/best design for an automatic cat box? No, probably not. But it’s the best I’ve found so far. Also, note that you can buy generic blue crystals and a permanent cartridge if you don’t like the replacement cartridges for whatever reason. I may explore that option in the future once I run out of the cartridges.Explanation of Score: I took off one star because the surprise price hike in the replacement cartridges and I took another star off to indicate various imperfections (such as the foul odor from stirring). I know nothing is perfect, but I hate surprises. I hope this review will help you make an informed decision whatever you end up deciding.Update: July 2017. Originally purchased in October 2013.Corrections/Clarifications1. I probably overstated the foul odor problem. I am careful not to stir it up and no longer have that problem at all.2. The boxes do fit fine in garbage bags now that I have practiced it, it’s not a problem at all.3. My cat is totally used to it now.Issues Not Mentioned Before4. The blue crystals will be tracked out of the box and around the house. I’ve used the hood and mats and all that jazz but in the end some crystals will inevitably be found around the house. Since they are bright blue, they’re easy to spot and clean up if you’re so inclined. I got a Roomba and it works like a charm, but you may still find crystals on the stairs or other annoying places. This wasn’t a big deal to me but just a friendly heads-up. Also, stepping on them barefoot is not as bad as stepping on LEGOs, but it is annoying.5. I’ve gotten some comments saying that you need to clean the litter box more often than I have been. My cat hasn’t gotten sick, but I don’t want anyone to make their cats unhealthy based on my (bad) example. I was a horrible slob back then so for me it was better than the alternative of a regular litter box that I severely neglected. However, I’ve changed my ways and so I can probably afford to pay extra attention to the little box and clean it more often.6. This unit has been a real workhorse, but recently the motor is starting to sound different and the rake struggles a little bit to make its passes. It still works, though. If it ever stops working, I’ll add another update.7. It’s true that the replacement trays were originally about half the current price. However, I’ve noticed that it has stayed relatively stable now for a few years (about $90 for a six pack or about $45 for three pack). Also, I used to get the six packs but now that I’m living in a smaller area and have to walk a long way from the office where the mail is held, the three packs seem more practical. The six pack is moderately heavy.8. If I could have one wish for a feature to improve the physical design, it would be to give it two handles projecting forward from the front or side of the box on each side to make lifting it up easier and more sanitary (I don’t like to touch so close to the poop bin). The magnet system could also be a bit better for the same reason (not wanting to touch so close to the poop bin).So, I mostly maintain my initial opinion on the product. There were a few points that I think, in retrospect, were blown out of proportion/easily avoidable. However, there were also the sorts of issues that you only appreciate after years of using the product, and hopefully I’ve filled in that gap now with the update.

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   DanieG Gaming – November 26, 2017

   I’m going to start by saying this product is great, it just doesn’t work like as a miracle solution product, at least not for all cats. It’s not going to last you a month without upkeep, I guarantee it. That doesn’t mean it isn’t well worth it after some adjustments. I purchased this just before the adoption of my first cat, a fully grown and litter boxed trained before she got to me, adult cat. I work 9 hours a day and live in a one bedroom apartment, with a roommate, where the smell would be terrible if left untamed for long. So I thought this would be worth the investment to ease the burden of owning my first cat, having never had to clean a litter box before in my life.***SIDE NOTE: I invested in a permanent plastic tray. They are far too expensive for what they are, but worth every cent after you realize how much you are saving with the disposables. ESPECIALLY if you plan on going with actual litter instead of crystals.First off, my cat adjusted easily, it was almost remarkable. She figured it out with in 2 hours of being placed in a brand new home and didn’t put up even a little fuss. However, she is a uncommonly tolerant cat when it comes to change, which is why I was able to go through the experiment I am about to share. I am sharing because I know some cats aren’t this tolerant and if you are one of those people who can’t mess around with different litters, I did it for you and you can see what might work best for you!The first 2 weeks of using the product, I used as directed with the crystals that came with the product. I knew it would be expensive and all that jazz to replace the trays, but the product said for one cat it should need monthly changes. That just was not true at all. By 1 week it began to smell, by halfway through that next week it began to turn to sludge and the smell was gagging-ly bad. It quickly became apparent that my cat was not going to work well with these crystals. She pees in one spot, and will not change it up. Even with frequent stirring of the litter, it just turned to sludge and smelled like death through the whole apartment. I nearly puked when trying to dump the litter out, and it was the grosses thing I had even seen. Scrapping that sludge off the cardboard tray was just… nope. My roommate was not pleased in the least. He also did not like that smell of the crystal litter, even before it was urinated on. That, AND it tracked all through the house and, it must be made in a lego factory or something, because it HURT to step on.So, needless to say after just one round, I was done with the crystals. My cat didn’t really like them (she wouldn’t cover up her poo because I think it hurt her paws), my roommate didn’t like them, I didn’t like them and heaven forbid my landlord ever came in for a sniff! That and to replace those throw-away trays weekly would be financial suicide. I considered returning it and getting a regular litter box, because it would probably be better than this! I don’t give up easily though, and I researched if I could use real litter, and mostly the consensus was ‘No’. But I am stubborn, and my cat is one of the few that doesn’t mind if I change things up, so I decided to go nuts with different litters and test each one for a week. I bought a Litter Works permanent tray and decided to get some real litter. (There is also Forever Tray but this one was cheaper and I haven’t yet noticed a reason why it would be worth the extra 20 bucks.)Basically: Non clumping litter of any kind was a no. She pees up a storm and it’s over saturated in a matter of days and I have to switch out the whole tray of litter. Wasteful! So I moved up to clumping. First, knowing nothing about litter, I bought a rather cheap version of Fresh Step at Walmart for 8 bucks. A hopeful feat to think the cheapest would work, but I didn’t know if it would explode my machine or anything yet, so I started cheap (With some of the reviews I read, it sounded like it might explode my machine if I put clumping litter in it!). The Fresh Step was the first time I began to think this product might actually work well for me. After 3 days it was looking pretty good. On the 4th day it began to look dreary as the rakes began smushing the clumps and they were getting stuck behind it and on it and ew. It took some cleaning to clean off the rakes and it was a little gross, but it was still better than the crystals since it wasn’t dragging around my house and it was getting rid of the urine. (Be aware, the tray fills up faster when it is being filled with pee clumps and poo clumps) It also smelled like febreeze which was a big upgrade. (Roommate was still unhappy with that smell, though) This is the Papa bear of solutions.I wasn’t convinced this was as good as it gets, so I dumped that and moved up the price list to Arm and Hammar, as recommended to me by my boss and avid cat owner. He swears by Arm and Hammer. So I bought a middle priced version that say ‘Hard Clumps’ on it. Hard clumps sounded great. Maybe they wouldn’t smush into the rakes! So I filled the tray up with that and Kitty seemed to like that even better. She didn’t even let me put the lid on before taking a nice dump in it. Lucky me. So I let that run for a week and it did, well, okay. It still blocked up the rakes a bit although not nearly as much, but it didn’t smell at all (Until I lifted up the lid of the poo trap… then phew it was not pleasant!)This was the mama bear solution, If you are on a budget, this is what I suggest you go with. It’s not too expensive, and it work with little upkeep. About every 30-40 rounds or so you need to go in and clear out the trap, takes 5 minutes. It smells for a few minutes then goes away and doesn’t smell again, I would wrap a scarf around my nose and it wouldn’t be bad. Sometimes I had to do a rake cleaning after 4 days or so, just to keep it looking pretty. (I suggest getting a Litter Genie trashcan. They are magical and I’ve put 4 rounds of trap cleanings in mine and it’s still not full for the first time!) This is a good place to stand if you are like me and my cat and you hate crystals but already put 160 dollars into the device. It’s not the monthly hands-free promise, but it’s still very convenient and stop it from smelling while away at work.Now for those of you who really want the good stuff: I suggest Arm and Hammer Slide litter. It IS pricey, but it’s worth it. I got a 19lb box for 12 dollars are Target, and often it is on sale (I predict it will last me 3 weeks or so). However vs. the 8 dollar 24lb box I started with, it is a financial jump (Still a boat load less than 13 bucks a week for the disposable crystals from hell!). Some places offer the bigger box for a good deal less than 2 of the small boxes but they are pretty hard to find (Petco.com is one of the few I’ve spotted). If you have the money to spend on it, it is worth it! I threw this stuff in, my cat loved it, I loved it, it has a small unnoticeable fragrance that she doesn’t seem to mind and I can’t smell unless I put my head in the box. The best part is, it requires almost NO UPKEEP for a week at a time. After 1 week, it is at about 40 scoops and I need to go in and clear out the poo trap which fills quickly with the big rock hard urine clumps. But that is a million times better than dealing with urine sludge every 3 days. I scoop all of it into my Litter Genie, takes 5 minutes AND HAS ALMOST NO SMELL. I personally don’t like the way the litter smell too much, and once it mixed with urine it gets a little pungent, but NOTHING compared to the sitting poo smell of the other liters when I took off the lid and as mentioned, I can’t smell it unless I get close. I didn’t gag once or need to turn away while cleaning it. My roommate mentioned that he smelled it when clearing the trap, but it wasn’t too bad and then I realized he hadn’t complained once about the litter box smell since I put this litter in it. It does not get stuck in the rakes much at all. Once every few days I will go in and move the rake forward and clean out any small bits that got tuck behind it, but that’s most for esthetic reasons and would probably be fine left untouched for a week. After I dump the poo trap, I throw in a bit more litter to top it off and it’s good to go for another week. I’ll go in a stir the litter and even it out when I walk past, if I think about it, daily. Mostly because of her need to pee in one area, that spot gets bare quicker.The only issues I’ve seen is that her one pee spot gets a nice pancake of litter on it after about 2 days. It doesn’t stop the rakes, but it does go into the trap either and sticks to the tray a little. Luckily the litter does what it says it does and it comes loose with a good scrape from the scooper and I toss it in the trash and it’s good to go. Minor problem.Final conclusion: This product is good, but in order to be GREAT you need to make it work for your cat and life style. Chances are it isn’t going to be upkeep-free for a month at a time, even with one cat, especially if she’s a big pee-er like my baby is. BUT It’s not hopeless and clumping litter does work if you can get the good stuff. Get a Forever Tray or similar, some good Arm and Hammer clumping litter, a Litter Genie, and a willingness to clear it once a week and your in for a much easier time than daily cleaning.I think it is a 5 star product with Arm and Hammer Slide, but I remove one star because it took me and arm, a leg, 2 months and a particularly patient cat to get there. Plus they seem to go out of the way to convince you that nothing but crystals will work, and that’s not true at all. If it weren’t for the Arm and Hammer Litter and the Litter Works tray, I’d have returned the product after 2 weeks.Hopefully this will help another struggling cat parent!