There are certain infomercials that seem to take on a life of their own, and the ShamWow is one of them.

The hyped-up cloth promises to wow you with its ability to clean spills.

Consumer Reports wanted to put it to the test. But the first dilemma… which claim to test?

"ShamWow holds 20 times its weight in liquid."

That’s what the infomercial used to say, but not anymore.

"ShamWow holds 12 times its weight in liquid."

Not so fast!

"The ShamWow holds 10 times its weight in liquid."

So which is it? Before the claim changes again, here's what tester Bob Karpel discovered. He dunked the ShamWows in cola and in water. Then he weighed them and did the math.

"We found that it held ten times its weight," said Bob Karpel.

Consumer Reports also ran 14 cent sponges through the same tests. And just like ShamWow, they held about ten times their weight. Testers found the ShamWow doesn't mop up spills as well as its infomercial shows.

"Here we are going to test by adding a little bit of water as though it were spilled on the floor. And we're going to try wiping it up. I think you can see there are quite a few droplets left," said Bob Karpel.

And while wiping up water on a counter, the ShamWow left lots of tiny droplets behind, too.

And then there's the price. An order of eight ShamWows adds up to about $28 with shipping and handling.

So Consumer Reports' take on the ShamWow - you may not want to swear off paper towels and sponges just yet.

The ShamWow claims to last 10 years and is machine washable. Contrary to what the infomercial suggests, sponges can be washed, too. And while they won't last 10 years, they do cost a lot less.