Bleach

Q. What can I put on my red bricks to make them brighter? Some of the flagstones on my patio are cracked and others have cracks in-between. Can I put my outdoor rug down or do I have to repair the cracks first? A. Red bricks arrive from the stone store very bright but not shiny, which is the way they are supposed to be. Bricks on patios and sidewalks in sunny areas will stay bright for decades. If the patio and walks are shady half to three-fourths of the day, they will get moldy (black)

Prosecutors have accused a Washington state woman of repeatedly putting bleach into her daughter's eyes, causing permanent vision loss in the toddler's right eye. Jennifer Mothershead was arrested Friday and was charged with assault after a lengthy investigation. Authorities say her daughter was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in May 2011 after sustaining a serious head injury. The girl, who was 14 months old at the time, also had an eye infection. Doctors called the Pierce County Sheriff's Department because they suspected the head injury was a result of...

A case of vandalism on one of the greens didn't affect play Saturday at the RBC Canadian Open. Grounds crews discovered bleach had been poured on the grass on the eighth green, a par-3 hole at the Shaughnessy Golf and Country. "When they found it, they did all they could to wash it out," said Bill Paul, the tournament director. "We are investigating it right now with Vancouver police. That's all there really is. " The damage was discovered at around 6 a.m. when superintendent Rob Barr was inspecting the course.

Q. What can I put on my red bricks to make them brighter? Some of the flagstones on my patio are cracked and others have cracks in-between. Can I put my outdoor rug down or do I have to repair the cracks first? Elynor Kelly, by e-mail A. Red bricks arrive from the stone store very bright but not shiny, which is the way they are supposed to be. Bricks on patios and sidewalks in sunny areas will stay bright for decades. If the patio and walks are shady half to three-fourths of the day, they will get moldy (black)

Prosecutors have accused a Washington state woman of repeatedly putting bleach into her daughter's eyes, causing permanent vision loss in the toddler's right eye. Jennifer Mothershead was arrested Friday and was charged with assault after a lengthy investigation. Authorities say her daughter was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in May 2011 after sustaining a serious head injury. The girl, who was 14 months old at the time, also had an eye infection. Doctors called the Pierce County Sheriff's Department because they suspected the head injury was a result of...

A Providence infant who fell into a bucket of water and bleach last week has died. WPRI-TV reports ( http://bit.ly/vJziNg) that a spokesperson with the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families said the baby died at Hasbro Children's Hospital over the weekend. The station reported that the department has ruled the death an accident. Police Maj. Thomas Oates III said last week that the bucket was in a kitchen that the 11-month-old's mother had blocked off so she could clean.

Q. I have a small air conditioner in a south-facing window, which is very hot when the sun comes around, and I know is losing a lot of its cooling ability. I can't move the air conditioner, nor can I install an awning. Is there something I can put on the unit to keep the heat down? ANTHONY McKEEN, Hampton, N.H. A. Just why can't you install an awning? I ask that because it will be the best protection against the sun and its heat. The only other thing to try is to glue 1-inch Styrofoam panels on the top, sides, and possibly bottom of the air conditioner.

Q. I have been told to keep my windows closed in spring, summer, and fall due to allergies, and to use my air conditioner, but to keep it free from mold. How do I do that? I don't mean the filter because that is removable, but I can see black building up on grates and other plastic areas. CECELIA ARTINO , Albany, N.Y. A. At least by now the allergens mostly are dormant. To clean the visible black stains treat them with a mix of 1 part household bleach and 3 parts water.

Q. I have several old doors paneled in the Cross and Bible style (four panels in the frame). When they dried out and contracted, the frame pieces separated quite a bit on some of the doors. It was the frame, not the panels, that separated. I am reluctant to caulk. What should I do? One of the panels is cracked, too. None of the doors has lost its integrity; all are rigid and unbending. DAVID VINCOLA , Wenham A. Normally this will happen in winter, when the doors are at their smallest.

MIT's Endicott House has replaced the hundreds of gallons of chemical products it uses annually with one cleaner it hopes will be less toxic and more economical - water. The water is charged with an electrical current, creating two chemical-free and nearly odorless cleaning solutions. Instead of using Windex, Ajax, and Spic 'n Span - which can be harmful in large doses, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that specializes in toxic chemical research - the Endicott House now uses two forms of electrolyzed water: hypochlorous acid and sodium...

Newburyport police say two women used counterfeit $100 bills in a Newburyport supermarket earlier this month that were made from bleached $5 bills with the image of a $100 bill reprinted on top. Police say the two women walked into the Newburyport Market Basketcq on Feb. 3cq and each bought about $6 worth of merchandise. Both women paid the cashier with a counterfeit $100 bill and got about $94 back in change before leaving the store. Police said the women's bills had identical serial numberscq, but they were not indicated as phonies...

A Providence infant who fell into a bucket of water and bleach last week has died. WPRI-TV reports ( http://bit.ly/vJziNg) that a spokesperson with the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families said the baby died at Hasbro Children's Hospital over the weekend. The station reported that the department has ruled the death an accident. Police Maj. Thomas Oates III said last week that the bucket was in a kitchen that the 11-month-old's mother had blocked off so she could clean.

A Providence infant is in critical condition after falling into a bucket of water and bleach. Police Maj. Thomas Oates III says the 11-month-old boy fell into the bucket on Thursday afternoon. He says the bucket was in a kitchen that the infant's mother had blocked off so she could clean. Oates says the barrier the mother put up was somehow removed and the boy ended up in the bucket. He says there's no evidence that the baby was intentionally harmed. Oates says the mother was home with her son and three of his young cousins.

The town has issued another advisory on its drinking water, and is considering a plan to clean the system's water tower. The Water Department issued a statement Tuesday after its staff detected coliform bacteria in the water supply in a routine test conducted Dec. 7. The department had detected coliform at levels that triggered advisories every month from June through October. According to Ken Feeney, the town's public works superintendent, coliform bacteria are not considered harmful but they can be indicators of other potentially harmful organisms.

Q. I have been told to keep my windows closed in spring, summer, and fall due to allergies, and to use my air conditioner, but to keep it free from mold. How do I do that? I don't mean the filter because that is removable, but I can see black building up on grates and other plastic areas. CECELIA ARTINO , Albany, N.Y. A. At least by now the allergens mostly are dormant. To clean the visible black stains treat them with a mix of 1 part household bleach and 3 parts water.

MIT's Endicott House has replaced the hundreds of gallons of chemical products it uses annually with one cleaner it hopes will be less toxic and more economical - water. The water is charged with an electrical current, creating two chemical-free and nearly odorless cleaning solutions. Instead of using Windex, Ajax, and Spic 'n Span - which can be harmful in large doses, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that specializes in toxic chemical research - the Endicott House now uses two forms of electrolyzed water: hypochlorous acid and sodium...

NEW YORK - One year after bleach maker Clorox Co. started selling a line of natural cleaning products, it has reached the top of the market for eco-friendly cleaners. The company plans to announce today that its Greenworks cleaners, made with coconut oil, corn, and lemon - and without bleach - have become the top sellers among natural cleaners. Clorox now has 42 percent of the total market, estimated to generate more than $200 million in revenue per year. Clorox Co. launched the Greenworks line in December 2007.

SAN ANTONIO - A former nurse has been charged with injecting 10 patients with bleach, killing five of them, at a Texas dialysis clinic that temporarily closed last year after deaths mysteriously spiked. Since the deaths over a four-week span last April, Kimberly Saenz had been the focus of the investigation at the DaVita Inc. clinic in Lufkin. She was charged in May with aggravated assault involving bleach injections in two patients who survived, but she had not been charged in any deaths until late Tuesday.