Detergent

Handmade quilts are the focus of a new shop in Historic Savage Mill, but they're not all that's there. You can find handcrafts of all kinds, including framed folk-art prints, architectural sculptures, baskets, rugs, quilt racks, ceramics and scented candles. In addition, there are handmade "Front Porch" pillows made of vintage fabric by shop owner Kathleen Branch. The store will celebrate its grand opening Saturday and next Sunday. The address is 8600 Foundry Road, Savage. The phone number is 301-490-5410.

Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins, 78, a longtime disc jockey known to jazz lovers as the creator of the Purple Grotto, a fantasy underground that was the backdrop for his radio show, died Tuesday in San Francisco of prostate cancer.Nobuo Fujita, 85, the only Japanese pilot to drop a bomb on the U.S. mainland during World War II, died of lung cancer Tuesday )) in Tokyo.William Hartman, 78, a sex researcher and sociology professor at California State University, Long Beach, died Saturday in Long Beach.

ON FRIDAY, children in kindergarten through third grade gathered at Westminster's St. Johns Catholic School to bag laundry detergent for the needy -- and to make a difference."

Around the house* Place crushed paper towels inside covered containers such as thermos bottles and teapots to remove excess moisture and avoid unpleasant odors when storing.* Wash windows. Dissolve dish detergent in a bucket of hot water and use a sponge or cloth that has been lightly dipped into the solution to wipe soil away.

A Carroll District Court judge reduced bail from $25,000 to $10,000 yesterday for a Westminster man charged in connection with the shooting death of Gregory Lamont Howard last month on South Center Street.Matthew August Balaz Sr., 25, of the 2400 block of Sandymount Road was being held in the Carroll County Detention Center.He was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of being an accessory after the fact for his alleged role in disposing of the gun used in the slaying.Police also have charged Timothy Cumberland and Daniel Justin Leonard, both 23 and of Reisterstown, and Samuel Allen Miller, 22, of Owings Mills, in connection with the homicide.

Here's advice on how to treat some common stains on washable fabrics, drawn from "Heloise from A to Z," "Singer Clothing Care & Repair" and "Professor Barndt's Stain Removal Guide."Sometimes removing a spot or stain takes several tries using different methods. There are no guarantees. Proceed carefully, read care labels and when in doubt, dry clean.Ballpoint: Hair spray or rubbing alcohol may help. Don't apply directly to spot; blot with a soaked cloth.Blood: Treat as quickly as possible with cold water.

Some of Carroll County's neediest families are hoping for white, powdery stuff for Christmas.They want laundry detergent."Last year we had over 50 percent ask for laundry detergent," said Barbara Brown, volunteer coordinator for the Neighbors in Need holiday charity drive."

To many people, spring means Easter and that means eggs. Here are some safety tips for those planning to dye Easter eggs:* If you hard-cook eggs that are at least a week old, you will find them easier to peel after they are cooked.* Be sure to refrigerate eggs you plan to dye as much as possible between cooking, cooling, dyeing and hiding. Do not eat cracked eggs or ones that have been out of the refrigerator for more than two hours.* If you plan to use the decorated eggs as a decoration and they will be unrefrigerated for several days, cook extra eggs for eating and discard the display eggs.

A polished imageSomehow putting your best foot forward seems to cost an awful lot these days when you consider the prices for new shoes. Especially during financially stressed times.But now Century Shoe Repair is offering the "Remember the Good Old Days" shoeshine sale during which you can at least put a buffed foot forward -- for only $1.In times of recession, people take far better care of their shoes than during prosperous times, says Judy Elbaum, a third-generation owner of Century Shoe, which has been located at 207 Park Ave. for more than 75 years.

Doing the laundry again? In a half-hour, 35 gallons of detergent-laden water will have cascaded down your drain. Have you ever wondered exactly what is in those liquids or powders that you contribute to the great outdoors every week, courtesy of your wash water? Is your laundry detergent safe for the environment?Many modern detergents are a high-tech cocktail of chemicals. When you dump a cup of detergent into the water, you mobilize an efficient little army: compounds that make the water wetter, disarm the calcium, disperse the dirt, control the alkalinity, make your clothes smell good and coat them so that they wash clean a little more easily next time.

A lot of women I know take day trips to New York City to see a Broadway show, go shopping, or dine at a fine restaurant on a special occasion. But I prefer to take my expensive 24-hour city jaunts to move my daughter in and out of various dormitories in the neighborhoods around Washington Square. Actually, I'm writing this on the Amtrak now, returning home to Baltimore after moving her back into the city for a mandatory summer session just 10 days after we picked her up from her freshman year.

When most people finish using products like laundry detergent containers, tin cans, pie tins and greeting cards, they throw them in the garbage or in a recycling bin. But a group of eight local women covet trash that they can make into treasures. "I love the idea of taking something society had thrown out," said Sue Eyet, 54, who is one of the eight women. "It's nice to be able to bring out the beautiful, from what society thinks is ugly." They use garbage for the art they make as part of a group that formed about three years ago, called the Trashy Women.

Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday that he is inclined to sign legislation delaying a statewide ban on dishwasher detergent containing polluting phosphorus and that he still is weighing whether to veto a bill ensuring that fruity alcoholic drinks known as "alcopops" continue to be taxed and distributed the same way as beer. The General Assembly approved both bills during its recently concluded session. O'Malley, a Democrat, has received a number of veto requests and letters in support of the alcopops bill, which he pulled at the last minute from a batch of bills he signed last month.

Last month, Colgate-Palmolive began marketing several phosphate-free dishwashing detergents under the name eco+. It's not hard to understand the new product's appeal. Many states, including Maryland, have required that dishwashing detergent be rid of the phosphates that are threatening to destroy aquatic life. So why did the General Assembly last month approve legislation postponing Maryland's phosphate ban for six months from January to July 2010? Environmental groups say it was to benefit one company, Proctor & Gamble, which hasn't yet released its own version of a phosphate-free product.

A bill that would require students to attend public school in Maryland until age 17, beginning in 2010, won preliminary approval in the state Senate yesterday, though the proposal's fate remains uncertain. The Senate, which is expected to take a final vote next week, amended the bill to ensure that it would not take effect unless the governor provides added funding to pay for it. The House of Delegates has not taken action on a similar measure. The Maryland State Board of Education opposed the bill.

The Maryland Senate is poised to delay the implementation of a statewide ban on dishwasher detergent containing polluting phosphorus that seeps into the Chesapeake Bay, in response to objections from consumer products giant Procter & Gamble, which said it cannot meet the original deadline. Senators gave preliminary approval yesterday to legislation that would push back the ban's implementation by six months, to July 2010. The change would come one year after the General Assembly passed the ban on nearly all phosphorus in the detergents, which environmentalists say are discharged into the bay through sewers and other avenues, and contribute to algae blooms, fish kills and dead zones.

I am smelling like a man. I don't mean I am bending down to smell something in the way a man would because I have rarely witnessed a man performing the "voluntary sniff." A man, alone in an elevator, might perform an olfactory check of his pant cuffs if he has mistakenly walked through a dog park on his way back from lunch. But this is the "compulsory sniff"; something a man must do, apparently solo. My point here is, my actual person smells like a man. My best guess is that there was a mix-up at the factory that, coincidentally, makes both my antiperspirant and my laundry detergent.

Tide, the nation's best-selling laundry detergent, has slimmed down. With no "new and improved" fanfare or notice to consumers, Procter & Gamble Co. has cut the weight of its powdered detergent by 20 percent with no corresponding reduction in price. The downsizing looks very much like a stealth price increase, but P&G officials say that's not the case. The officials say they were able to improve their powdered detergent formula so a 70-ounce box of Tide can clean just as many clothes as the old 87-ounce box. "It's a very positive development for the consumer," said Ross Holthouse, a spokesman for P&G. "We're not taking out 17 ounces.

A holiday such as Christmas offers a great excuse to haul out Grandma's finest tableware and linens. If they haven't been used in a long time, though, they might be looking a little bedraggled. Here's how to spiff them up so you can show them off. CHINA AND CRYSTAL Delicate heirlooms should be hand-washed in warm water with mild dishwashing soap, Jane S. and Richard W. Long recommend in their book Caring for Your Family Treasures. To guard against accidental damage, they suggest placing a rubber or foam pad in the bottom of the sink before you start, washing the items individually and using great care.

Good news: It's not my fault, about the Cheez-Its. I eat a lot of Cheez-Its. I get them at the supermarket, when I'm wandering the aisles, trying to locate the items on a grocery list made by my wife. For guys, this a stressful task. This is the Scavenger Hunt from Hell. Say the list says "detergent." What you want, as a guy, is an aisle with a big sign that says DETERGENT, underneath which are 1,000 identical bottles, all labeled: "Detergent." Instead, you have to make choices. Do you want Wisk?