15 Affordable Dollar Tree Home Items You Should Leave On The Shelf

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Many Dollar Tree products outshine popular retailers in price and quality. They're only a fraction of the cost but serve the same purpose, making it easy to decorate and stock your home with essentials on a budget. However, there are a few bad eggs in the bunch. While many Dollar Tree home items work just fine, there are a few that you should leave on the shelf.

Below are 15 Dollar Tree home products you should pass up on your next visit. These items have attractive price points, but many are ineffective and flimsy overall. They break and need to be replaced so often that customers end up spending more than if they'd just bought an expensive, reliable product. Other items simply don't do the job well or have risky downsides that make even the biggest penny pinchers think twice. We sought out items with poor online reviews and disparaging testimonials on social media to confirm that multiple people agree they're not a worthwhile investment. We also included ways to make these products work if you do buy them and affordable alternatives found at other popular retailers. Read on below to learn more about these dollar store items.

Disposable foil pans are a godsend for potlucks, family dinners, meal prepping, or any situation in which you're transporting food. The Dollar Tree foil pans are too good to be true. A pack of three is under $2, while other retailers sell smaller quantities for a higher price. The dollar store cost is low for a reason because the thin foil is not supportive and folds under too much weight. One online review claims these pans have to be used on top of a sturdier, non-disposable baking sheet.

This is a kitchen essential you should never buy at Dollar Tree unless you have a backup plan to make it work. If you're baking a heavy dish, double up on foil pans to make them sturdier. Keep in mind that Dollar Tree's regular pans are the same price as the disposable foil ones and are a better long-term investment. Even if that dish is forgotten and left behind at some point, you're not spending more money than you would on a disposable version. When buying disposable, you're guaranteed to have to buy a new one each time. If the reason for using foil pans is solely to make cleanup easier, you should always tuck one into a sturdy metal pan so it doesn't fold out of shape. Of course, at that point, lining a metal pan with aluminum is cheaper.

Horrific smells can waft out of a bathroom, and BowlFresh toilet bowl deodorizers seem like the perfect solution. They catch the odors before they escape, overpowering them with a cleaner, fresher scent. This is the fantasy; the reality is that the BowlFresh deodorizers release powerful smells reminiscent of porta-potties and public restrooms. For some, the odor is so overpowering that it causes headaches and has to be bagged several times when thrown away to mask the scent.

From personal experience, I'll say this toilet deodorizer might be a better fit for larger homes with large bathrooms. With more space and ventilation, the smell won't overpower a room too quickly. It may also be a better solution if no one in your household is sensitive to strong fragrances. However, you should know that indoor air fresheners are linked to diminished air quality and health; the best way to control toilet odors is by using natural solutions like borax and vinegar.

When comparing dish detergents, you may be inclined toward the cheaper option with ingredients similar to those of expensive brands. In many cases, this is the practical choice, but not when it comes to Oxydol Ultra dishwashing solutions. This is one of the Dollar Tree cleaners you should avoid, as many reviewers imply it's cheap because it's watered down. You have to use several times more soap to create suds, meaning you'll go through these bottles far more quickly than you would pricier options.

The bottle may be cheaper, but users go through it two or three times faster. It ends up a worse deal than Dawn dish soap, which only takes a dab to get you results. Most reviewers recommend purchasing the smaller bottle of Dawn, which is the same price as the Oxydol jug. The bottle looks like less, but the solution is mostly soap, not water.

Dollar Tree has a section of broom handles and heads, making it easy to replace parts as they break or wear down. Although this seems like a perfect system, professional cleaning service owner Justin Carpenter told Featured that, "As someone who runs a cleaning service, I've learned the hard way that Dollar Tree's brooms, mops, and scrub brushes don't hold up under daily use ... [T]hey bend, break, or fray quickly." Everyday people corroborate this sentiment, agreeing that the thin metal broom handles bend too easily and are only good for light use.

Bearing this in mind, those who clean regularly and want to power through it without worrying about a fragile broomstick should skip these brooms and mops. They aren't budget-friendly or convenient long-term because they require constant replacement. On the other hand, they're adequate options if you're looking for backup brooms or mops to clean up small messes.

Nobody wants to splurge on garbage bags and essentially pay more for trash to hold more trash. Although Dollar Tree sells its Essentials brand bags at a tempting price, it takes several of them to equate to one normal-priced bag. According to reviews, the plastic is too thin, tears like tissue paper, and sometimes even double-bagging isn't enough.

Don't write off these bags completely. They are a good fit for mini-wastebaskets in bathrooms and offices. Many people use them to scoop up cat litter, clean up gift wrap paper, or hold recyclables. They simply aren't a good fit for standard kitchen garbage cans that get weighed down with all kinds of refuse. And you can still use them for this purpose in a pinch, just make sure they're triple-bagged. Instead of using the under $2 Dollar Tree pack, try Walmart's Great Value 40-pack 13-Gallon Drawstring Tall Kitchen Trash Bags. They're several times the price but come with five more bags and don't rip or tear as easily. Therefore, they're the better budget option in the long run.

The Cooking Concepts Black Plastic Grip Can Opener looks like a higher-quality can opener with its padded handle and grip. In fact, it looks almost indistinguishable from similar devices sold at Target, Walmart, and other popular retailers. However, this kitchen tool has a score of issues that don't make it worth the dollar store price. Many reviewers report the handles slipping off or breaking within the first few uses. The mechanics slip out of place, and the handle spins without rotating the blade, rendering the tool useless.

With over half of reviewers leaving one star, this cheap can opener isn't worth its plastic. Amazon's Professional 3-In-1 Multifunctional Manual Can Opener costs about $6 more but lasts for the long haul. We also advise avoiding Dollar Tree's other can opener option. The reviews aren't quite as damning, but still warn people away, claiming that its weak metal snaps after a few uses.

There are dozens of Dollar Tree products that are great for kitchens, but the Cooking Concepts pizza cutter falls short. Surprisingly, the blade works just fine; in fact, it works a little too well. The blade is sharp and positioned too close to the handle. It slices through the plastic handle and food, shedding tiny microplastics along the way. This tool is also missing an important safety feature. There's no finger guard to stop your hand from sliding into the blade as you roll it, making it unnecessarily dangerous to use.

Protect your fingers and your food by investing in a different budget-friendly pizza cutter. Walmart's Mainstays Ergonomic Lightweight Wheel Stainless Steel Pizza Cutter only costs $2 more than Dollar Tree's version. It has far better reviews and a small plastic guard to keep your fingers safe from its spinning blade.

Dollar Tree's battery packs are unbelievably cheap compared to most retailers. This is for a reason, and many reviews attest that these "super heavy duty" batteries barely last for a day. One person even says you can go through a whole pack in a week.

In Dollar Tree's defense, the front of the package warns that these batteries are for low-drain devices. Even with this warning, their performance is almost laughably bad. In a CBC Marketplace study, several batteries were tested and compared. The Dollar Tree brand, E-Circuit, carbon-zinc batteries lasted the shortest amount of time. You're better off buying just about any other off-brand. If you want the best possible battery deal, invest in rechargeable batteries like Amazon Basics 12-Pack Rechargeable AA NiMH Performance Batteries. Each battery costs the same as a whole pack of Dollar Tree batteries, but you can recharge and reuse them for years.

The standard for a good lint roller isn't that high. Most people want a smooth roll and enough paper to de-fuzz a few outfits. There are a few Dollar Tree lint rollers to choose from, and the reviews are consistent. The lint rollers are so flimsy that the sticky half falls off the handle, especially when brushing vigorously. Online reviewers on social media report that the handles aren't sturdy, and the sticky sheets get stuck together. It's an overall frustrating experience that makes it hard to clean up your clothes quickly.

To be fair, many generic lint rollers from big-box stores are just as bad. There aren't many sheets, and they run out of paper and stickiness quickly, especially if you have to remove lint often. One place that has cheap lint rollers that work as intended is Amazon. The Swihauk 600 Sheets Extra Sticky Lint Rollers cost more but work better and have more sheets per roll. If you take a look at the bigger picture, they're the better deal in all respects.

A stud finder is a must-have if you intend to mount anything heavy on your walls. When homeowners or renters don't know where the studs are, they run the risk of drilling through pipes and wiring or mounting an item on a surface that can't support it. Use a reliable stud finder for that task, not the under-$2 option from Dollar Tree. Most reviewers can't pry the battery cover off to set up the stud finder in the first place. Those who do manage to remove the battery cover say that the stud finder doesn't work correctly.

As appealing as it is to cut costs, you shouldn't take the cheapest route for this tool. Stud finders are relatively cheap elsewhere. For example, the DEWALT Stud Finder is $20 on Amazon. Keep in mind that using a reliable stud finder makes it easier to mount a brand-new TV correctly. It saves money in the long run by reducing the risk of damaging a home and the mounted object.

No one wants to pay an arm and a leg for toilet cleaner. Fortunately, Dollar Tree has several low-cost options. One of those options is the Scrubbing Bubbles Drop-Ins Toilet Cleaning Tablets. They make toilet cleaning easy. Just drop one in, leave it be, and replace it when it finally fades away. However, one reviewer warns that the stains don't go away. This warning is corroborated by Zapata's Cleaning Services' Instagram, which says it deodorizes your bathroom but leaves blue stains in the tank and bowl that are difficult to remove. Especially if you let it sit for too long.

Unless you want to add a deep toilet scrubbing to your monthly cleaning routine, Zapata's recommends other affordable Dollar Tree products. The Power House Toilet Cleaning Gel Ocean Fresh and Mess Free Stinky Bowl Cleaner with Bleach help keep toilets clean without leaving vibrant stains behind. Also, check out other top Dollar Tree toilet cleaners that have far more favorable reviews.

The Dollar Tree USB-C Charging Cable seems great in a pinch, especially with the claims plastered on the package. They say they perform high-speed charging and data transfers, but YouTuber Ians Tech ran tests that proved otherwise. The cables do connect just fine, but they're slow to charge and transfer data. This testing is backed up by reviews, where past customers say it performs at two extremes. Some claim that it overheats and literally melts a phone's charging port, while others say it doesn't provide any power at all. In either case, it's not worth the money or the risk.

There are plenty of other reliable options that are under $10. Amazon has multiple best sellers, sometimes in packs of two or more, that aren't much more expensive than Dollar Tree's. There are many more ratings and reviews supporting these cords, as well as a wider selection. If you need a charger as soon as possible, Walmart's Onn USB-C to USB-A Charging Cable isn't the best-reviewed on the market, but it should last until you can invest in a better cable.

The biggest appeal of fabric towels is that they're usable over and over again, saving the environment and money. The Dollar Tree towels don't meet these standards, according to reviews. Many say they fall apart after a wash or two, or they shed so much, they're only salvageable as spare rags. These claims are echoed across several dollar store options, from small kitchen hand towels to full-size bath towels. These towels are as cheap as a roll of paper towels for a reason — they're borderline disposable.

Fortunately, there are dozens of affordable towels out there that will last a few washings. Walmart and Amazon are easy go-tos. However, retailers like Marshalls, Ross, and T.J. Maxx carry good-quality home goods at a heavy discount. The slashed prices are because they're out of season or from a discontinued line, not because the towels are inferior.

Before reaching for the affordable plastic cooking utensils scattered across Dollar Tree's kitchen section, know the risks of plastic kitchen items and what safer alternatives to choose instead. Black plastic utensils are especially dangerous, and studies have revealed they release chemicals when heated. Those released chemicals are linked to health issues. Seeing as cooking utensils are often used to stir, scoop, and slice through hot food, plastic isn't the safest choice. Keep in mind that studies on plastics aren't extensive at the moment, and even if they're free of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), they can pose long-term consequences.

However, don't write off plastic utensils entirely. They are safe to use if made of plastics approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in good shape without any chips or cracks, and not exposed to heat. When plastic utensils start to fall apart and shed microplastics, they become a concern. A perfectly intact spoon is no problem as long as you replace it as needed. To avoid these risks entirely, opt for metal or wood utensils instead. These utensils generally last longer and present fewer risks.

Instead of dishing out a small fortune for a trendy Stanley or Owala, Dollar Tree's selection is much more fiscally responsible. Like plastic cooking utensils, these mugs aren't as appealing if you do a deeper dive. To begin, they aren't labeled BPA-free (at least online), and harmful chemicals may leach into drinks. Exposure to certain foods and heat increases this risk. Because these containers look like coffee cups and thermoses, it's only natural for people to assume they can use them with warm liquids. In addition to the potential health risks, there are also surface-level complaints. One review mentions that these cups don't hold temperature.

Because the details about the materials in these plastic travel mugs aren't easy to find, the best route is to be cautious. You can still drink from them, but stick to cold or room-temperature drinks that don't heat the plastic. When choosing a hot drink container, we recommend ceramic, glass, or stainless steel. In a perfect world, there's as little plastic as possible touching the hot beverage. It's hard to avoid plastics without sacrificing price, so at least choose a mostly nonplastic bottle that actually retains heat, such as Amazon's Orebigo Stainless Steel Tumbler with Lid.