Mangano is a named inventor of 71 patent families and 126 distinct patent publications for her inventions. "I think my products have been successful because they have mass appeal," she has said. "I'm just like everybody else out there. I'm a mom, I work, I have a house to clean, things to organize. We all have similar needs, and I address them."
Miracle Mop In 1990 after growing frustrated with ordinary mops, Mangano developed her first invention, the "Miracle Mop", a self-wringing plastic mop with a head made from a continuous loop of of cotton that can be easily wrung out without getting one's hands wet. With her own savings and investments from family and friends, she made a prototype and manufactured 1000 units. Early assembly was done in her father's body shop in
Peconic in 1991. After selling the mop at trade shows and in local stores on Long Island, she sold 1,000 units on consignment to
QVC. It sold modestly at first, but once QVC allowed Mangano to go on-air to sell it herself, she sold 18,000 mops in less than a half hour. Mangano incorporated her business as Arma Products, later renaming it Ingenious Designs. She sold Ingenious Designs to
USA Networks, the parent company of the
HSN, in 1999.
Other products •
Huggable Hangers – velvet-flocked, no-slip hangers whose thin profile conserves closet space. Endorsed by
Oprah Winfrey, Huggable Hangers were HSN's best-selling product , with more than 1 billion sold. •
Forever Fragrant – a line of home odor neutralizers including sticks, wickless candles, scent stands, finials, spheres, drawer liners, and shoe shapers. Mangano broke an HSN record on January 31, 2010, by selling 180,000 units in one day. The Forever Fragrant line has earned the
Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
Television Soon after she began appearing on
QVC in 1992, she began appearing regularly on
HSN and is considered the network's most successful purveyor, with annual sales of more than $150 million. Mangano has also appeared in shorter commercials and infomercials for her company's products. ==Awards and distinctions==