Bath

Anyone who has a cat -- or knows even the slightest thing about kitty behavior -- knows that the idea of washing a cat is a bad, bad, baaaaaaad idea. Unless you have death wish. Luckily, cats are kind of self-cleaning anyway. But when a bottle of Vet's Best Natural Formula No-Rinse Foam Waterless Cat Bath came into the office, I knew we had to test it. If there was a way to get a cat cleaner without trying to actually bathe him, I thought folks would be interested.

One of the first conversations my fiancé and I had after the spastic, electric dust settled from our engagement was about our registry. I am a slob, wannabe chef and part magpie, so getting presents to help me organize, cook and fulfill my need to see sparkly stuff seemed awesome. It didn't occur to me at first that we wouldn't register -- until Rob (my fiancé) suggested something radical. No gifts. Just wine. We're moving into a new home and hope to build a wine cellar in the stone basement.

It's no secret that the days of the drab, 5 foot by 7 foot bathroom are long gone. Once the most neglected room in the house, the bath has gone through a dazzling transformation into a luxurious spa full of Sybaritic comforts.Modern baths are larger, lusher and more personal, often becoming extensions of bed and living areas. Dressing areas, exercise equipment, innovative lighting, saunas, Jacuzzis, and oversized fixtures are reference points that declare a personal .. style.And if price is no object?

Anyone who has a cat -- or knows even the slightest thing about kitty behavior -- knows that the idea of washing a cat is a bad, bad, baaaaaaad idea. Unless you have death wish. Luckily, cats are kind of self-cleaning anyway. But when a bottle of Vet's Best Natural Formula No-Rinse Foam Waterless Cat Bath came into the office, I knew we had to test it. If there was a way to get a cat cleaner without trying to actually bathe him, I thought folks would be interested.

Q: We're thinking of turning a small bedroom adjacent to the master bedroom into a combination bath and exercise room. Besides a whirlpool tub for two, the thing I really want is a fireplace. My husband says forget it, it's not practical. What do you think?A: I think you'd adore the fireplace. The double whirlpool is the thing I'd reconsider. Interior designers all over the country these days are reporting chronic disuse of giant-size whirlpools. The reason: In our time-pressed and environmentally distressed world of the '90s, those big tubs take too long to fill, use too much water and require too much synchronization from couples who're too busy to schedule a tandem soak.

Despite all the problems of central cities -- not just in the United States, but throughout the world -- many people still consider an urban apartment preferable to a house in suburbia.One of the advantages of city living is the availability of architecturally interesting residences. Sometimes, too, these older homes are more affordable than a place in a recently built development. At the same time, however, a move to a pre-war apartment usually means doing without many of the technological conveniences introduced during the past 50 years.

Q: I have decided to follow some advice from your column and enlarge my bathroom by breaking down the wall to a small adjacent guest room. The idea is to create a combination bath and dressing room right off my bedroom. Now I need some advice about what sort of cabinets to use in this new space. How do I choose the right kind?A: Uh-oh. Since you're following my advice so closely, I certainly hope the end result will meet your expectations. And I'm a little worried, because what you're embarking on can be a very ambitious project.

Bathroom designs range from supremely simple to devilishly complex, but even the most rudimentary three-fixture layouts can involve a lot of thought and can benefit from a little imagination.Like kitchens, which also have a lot of large, heavy, immobile elements, bathrooms need to be right from the beginning. A world of annoyance awaits you if, for instance, the tub is positioned so the door hits it every time it's opened.Putting new baths in old houses can be tricky. The space may not be ideal, and there are plumbing imperatives that have to be taken into account.

A ritual bath, steeped in symbols of Judaic faith, will remind those who immerse and pray in its waters of a young rabbi and his wife killed in a terrorist attack in India a year ago. On the tiled walls of its mikvah, a deep, warm-water bath that promises spiritual purity to Jewish women, the Lubavitch Center in Pikesville will hang a marble plaque that reads, "May their merit be a blessing for all those who immerse in these waters." At 11 a.m. Sunday, in a public ceremony, the center will rededicate its Mikvah Mei Menachem in homage to Rabbi Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg.

When remodeling magazines and home-improvement television programs feature mega-baths that occupy 200 square feet of floor space and carry price tags of $20,000 and up, the goal is often to inspire homeowners to achieve similar results. But how many people have that kind of room and budget for a bathroom remodel? Most residential bathrooms sport a footprint only a third that size, often matched with an equally modest checkbook balance when it comes to renovation. Neither of those factors, however, should deter you from creating a dream bath.

According to Noel Dalton, “kitchens are like fashion -- constantly changing, constantly morphing.” And to help Howard County homeowners keep their kitchens outfitted in the latest fashions, Dalton and his business partner, Jeff Myers, have opened Kitchen and Bath Creations. Setting up shop in Columbia was a strategic move, since the area has what Dalton calls “savvy consumers” and a growing number of aging homes in need of being refurbished. The company can take a well-worn kitchen and help the homeowner choose what's necessary to get it up to speed with what's new and now in home remodeling.

Five substances known as "bath salts" were added to the list of Schedule 1 Controlled Dangerous Substances list in Maryland through emergency regulations Tuesday. The move codified an order issued this summer by Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, whose office had conducted a study and determined that the synthetic substances aren't yet widely available in Maryland but they could become a threat to health here. Sharfstein said the move gives law enforcement more power to enforce the earlier ban on bath salts, which can be inhaled, ingested, smoked or injected and can cause cardiac and circulatory problems as well as paranoia and psychosis for days or weeks.

Public health authorities in Maryland are moving to impose a ban, starting as early as Sept. 1, on the sale of synthetic drugs known as "bath salts. " After a six-week inquiry, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, on Thursday declared the drugs "dangerous" and asked for emergency regulations to add them to the state's Schedule 1 Controlled Dangerous Substances list. DHMH investigators also found that, while the drugs are dangerous, their availability in Maryland is "low.

Maryland health authorities have launched an investigation that could lead to a statewide ban on the sale or possession of synthetic stimulant drugs being marketed as "bath salts. " The probe is expected to last a month, followed by a decision on whether to add them to the state's list of "Schedule 1" controlled dangerous substances. In the meantime, "Marylanders should avoid these 'bath salts' products," said Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

— The storage facility just past the quaint frame houses and antiques shops pressed against this town's Main Street held more than furniture and heirlooms that could no longer fit into people homes. Authorities say Unit 3019, steps from the main office, was being used to package the latest fad in designer narcotics — synthetic drugs sold as benign bath salts and herbal potpourri, with names such as "Snowblind Bath Salts," "Zombie World" and "Dark Night Sampler. " A recent arrest in Howard County led federal drug agents to the town this month.

Archaeologists peeling back layers of history beneath the historic Lloyd Street Synagogue in East Baltimore have uncovered what is believed to be the oldest Jewish ritual bath complex in the United States. Hints of the presence of the 1845 bath, or "mikveh," were first detected during excavations in 2001. But further digging this winter has revealed about a quarter of a five-foot-deep wooden tub, and linked it to a related cistern found in 2008, and to remains of a brick hearth once used to warm the bath's water.

BEIJING -- When an icy Siberian wind sweeps down from the steppes of Mongolia, a gray fog of pollution enshrouds China's capital and northern China's long, dry winter sucks the moisture out of every living thing, what can be done?For many Beijingers, the only answer is to take a bath. Soak their chilled, parched bodies in the luxury of hot water. Steam this city's ubiquitous coal dust from their pores and throats.Trouble is, Beijing's apartments are drafty and underheated. TC Most residents don't have their own bathing facilities with running hot water.

Americans seem to think that Christmas was invented right here in England by Charles Dickens," the cheery pub owner told us over a pint of ale. "You were raised, like we were, on the story of Tiny Tim and the family gathered around a table with a huge Christmas goose."

"Calgon, take me away" became the catchphrase for stressed-out people everywhere during an advertising blitz for the bath products in the 1970s and 1980s. Commercials featuring haggard moms escaping to soothing bubble baths seemed to resonate with anyone who ever had a bad day. Even as the products slipped in popularity, the slogan continued to span generations of pop culture as musicians from Mariah Carey to Snoop Dogg sampled it in songs and TV shows used it as a punch line. Now, a Baltimore private equity firm hopes to make Calgon bath and lotion products once again as well-known as the iconic name itself.

Earth Day came and went this year with a lot of the usual hand-wringing and lofty rhetoric. Cleaning up the environment demands more than that: It requires a plan of action and the resources and commitment to implement it. The Healthy Harbor Initiative unveiled Wednesday by the Waterfront Partnership could prove the first step in transforming the waters of the Inner Harbor from a murky urban drainage basin to something cleaner and more natural....