I purchased these to supplement other absorbent materials to make sure I had enough during recent rains on the East Coast. I used four or five in a cellar and they barely absorbed an inch of water in an hour or more. I replaced them with gel absorbent materials and the water was gone in a matter of minutes. For me, I needed quick removal of water, these were a waste of time and money. I would not purchase them again and will only use them in addition to other types of absorbent products such as gel

We had some minor seepage in the basement after a massive ice storm and I got tired of wringing the towels while waiting for the thaw to fix the problem. So I bought a pack of these. So here are my observations.

1. First of all, if you need something to throw down on the ground to keep a sudden gush of water from spreading, these will definitely help.

2. Each doesn't take up that much water before water goes through it. Part of the problem, I suspect, has to do with the fact that these "socks" are filled more than they should--perhaps the people who make these didn't want to be accused of skimping on filling (I have read some complaints that these aren't filled). Well, when they get wet, the water-absorbing material expand, and you'd better hope it has space to expand or else it can't take in water! When the "socks" got full, they looked they were about to burst--I wished there was space or the filling to expand further.

2. They take FOREVER to dry. For this reason, they aren't good for quick-turn-around repeat use, as in a leaky basement that one isn't going to fix anytime soon. Or else you need boxes and boxes of these to rotate through. I lightly squeezed saturated "socks" and put them out--some on a clothing line and some on a picnic table. Turned out those on the clothing line dried up faster (dripping action plus evaporation). Then I loosened up the ends of the "socks" where the filling settled into hard damp lumps. It took several warm, sunny days before they were more or less dry--by which I mean the filling was freely moving, though I could still feel a bit dampness in sections of the "socks" now and then.

3. When I got these, I appreciated the good value and thought I'd use a few first and would have the rest in reserve. Well, we used all of them-you do need a whole box of these, even for a minor problem we had that lasted less than a week. After the first day, I realized I had to stagger two or three of these so that when water goes through one, the others could stop it (and mind you, our problem was a seepage--we could't see the water coming in, though overtime it pooled. I can't imagine how these would perform in a flooding situation.) It may be worth the effort to compare the capacity of these with other products that may be thicker (bigger diameter), less filled. Or perhaps mix these thin "socks" with bigger products.

I have ongoing issues with a place in my unfinished basement that leaks when we get a lot of rain. Had previously just used old towels, but they don't really soak up much and are an absolute mess. These New Pig socks work great!! Where I used to put four towels I just fold one New Pig sock in half and push it tight to the wall. I've yet to have any water get past the first half. When it feels wet I swap it for another dry one and hang the damp one to dry. I've also laid a New Pig sock under each basement window, just as a precaution. These things are great!

The absorbent socks work great. My garage door doesn't seal completely on the sides due to the way the floor slopes. I just double one of these and place it close to where the door doesn't seal and now I don't get water in the garage. When it does get wet, I lay it in the sun to dry. They also make great draft stoppers too.

Absorbs loads of water. Basement floods during the rainy season and this made clean up as easy as possible. I lay them down to absorb the water and replace with another sock. No longer do I have to mop and bleach the floor every time it rains thanks to these.