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(NAPSA)—Just about everyonedoes it—yet few enjoy it. Aboutonce a week, you gather your fam-ily’s hampers and begin the never-ending chore of laundry. In fact,the average household washesmore than 6,000 articles of cloth-ing each year, as reported by theSoap and Detergent Association(SDA). As often as people do laun-dry, there are still some commonlaundry myths that you need toknow the truth behind.

Myth 1: The bigger the bot-tle, the better.

Many laundry detergent brandsare introducing concentrated for-mulas—detergents that get the jobdone using a fraction of the deter-gent that regular-sized productsrequire. These small, yet powerfulformulas perform just as well astheir larger counterparts but aremore environmentally friendly.Packaged in smaller bottles, theyuse less plastic and require lesswater in the manufacturingprocess. Plus, the smaller bottle iseasier to carry, use and store.

Myth 2: Natural and “green”cleaning products aren’t allthey’re cracked up to be.

Natural laundry products tendto get a bad reputation for beingpricey, less effective and lacking infragrance. Breaking this miscon-ception, Purex® Natural Elements(www.purexnatural.com), a newdetergent made with 100-percentnaturally derived cleaning ingredi-ents, is priced the same as otherPurex detergents and has the sametough-on-stains cleaning power. Italso uses natural fragranceextracts for a pleasantly fresh laun-dry experience.

Myth 3: The more detergentyou use, the cleaner theclothes will be.

It’s important to use the sug-gested amounts—whether powderor liquid—as using too much or toolittle is not optimal. To tell if you’re

using too much laundry detergent,check the lint trap in the dryer—ifthere is a lot of lint with each load,chances are you are using moresoap than necessary.

Myth 4: Cool water is betterfor cleaning clothing.

Although cool-water washingdoes save energy, detergents aretypically more effective in warm-to-hot water. However, lightlysoiled clothes can be washed incool or warm water. Just remem-ber to use the recommendedamount of detergent.

Myth 5: All detergents arecreated equal.

The age-old question has al-ways been: Powder or liquid?Although the SDA reports theonly difference is texture, liquiddetergent is convenient for pre-treating stains prior to washingand is especially effective on food,grease and oil stains.

With the 6,000 articles of cloth-ing you may wash this year, laun-dry is more important than youmay think, and it’s good to have abetter understanding of how tomake the most out of your clean-ing experience.

The Laundry Low-Down: A Closer Look At Common Laundry Myths

(NAPSA)—At a time when cellphones are a “must have” on mostparents’ back-to-school “to-do”lists, and with so many models tochoose from, it can be a challengeto know where to look and what tolook for when trying to find a cellphone that suits your kids’ needsand a plan that doesn’t break thebank.

According to a recent LetsTalk.com survey, although nearly67 percent of adults consider GPScapability to be the most importantadded feature on a child’s cellphone, nearly the same percent ofparents believe kids would ranktext messaging as their top feature.

“The good news is now there’s amiddle ground,” said Joni Blecher,LetsTalk.com Editorial Director.“Kids can get a cell phone thatoffers text messaging, while par-ents can rest assured that manyof these phones also come withGPS.”

Consider these tips when buy-ing your child’s first cell phone:

Phones that give kids asense of security. Make sure itis 911 enabled, which means evenif there’s no service, the phonecan still place calls to emergencypersonnel. Most phones alreadyhave this, but it doesn’t hurt todouble-check.

Cell phones that monitorthemselves. To monitor theamount of time a child spendsmaking cell phone calls weekly ormonthly, select a phone with call

timers, which record how muchtime was spent on calls; the Pan-tech C3 is a great choice.

Location, location, location.If you want to be able to trackyour child via the cell phone,make sure it comes with a locationfeature. This is slightly differentthan GPS. You’ll be able to receivea text alerting you of your child’scell phone location.

Prepaid plans can keepbills manageable. It’s true: Pre-paid plans tend to have slightlyhigher per-minute costs. However,once the minutes are used, the cellphone is essentially out of serviceuntil either the start of the nextmonth or until the account isreplenished. Either way, you won’tencounter bill shock at month’send.

A durable cell phone haslongevity. Look for a model withrubberized casing or a rubberlikefinish on the outside. These cellphones tend to be better equippedto handle the wear and tear ofdaily usage; check out theMotorola V365.

Check out www.LetsTalk.com/kids for more information.

Five Things To Consider When Buying A Cell Phone For Your Child

(NAPSA)—Increasingly, safety“goes to the head of the class”when it comes to ranking the fac-tors that guide a student’s collegeselection.

With some 500,000 crimesreported each year on U.S. collegecampuses, it’s no wonder studentsand parents alike are concernedabout the issue.

University administrators areequally concerned, with many turn-ing toward innovative technologiesto enhance campus safety.

For example, there’s a newGPS-based mobile phone applica-tion called Rave Guardian thatenables students to share theirlocation with campus police whenthey feel unsafe.

It does this by providing theoption to students to be monitoredby campus police on- or off-cam-pus for an amount of time thatthey designate, using the sameGPS technologies as the nation’sE911 service.

If the timer expires before thestudent turns Guardian off, an alertand pertinent information—includ-ing student’s location and photo—are sent to campus police indicatingthere’s a potential problem.

Rave Guardian, a one-of-its-kind

mobile phone application, is thewinner of the Clery Award fromSecurity on Campus and is just oneof the many mobile phone applica-tions offered by Rave Wireless thatkeep students connected and safe.

The company also offers a ser-vice called Rave Alert, whichenables a university to broadcasttime-sensitive text alert messagesto thousands of students and fac-ulty on- or off-campus in real time.

Many believe that mobile textmessages are the fastest and mostreliable way to communicate im-mediately with a large number ofpeople in an emergency. In thecase of campus security, messagescould range from a notice aboutsevere weather to a warningabout a bomb threat.

Rave’s mobile technology is alsobeing used at colleges to build cam-pus communities. Students usingphones with the applications havethe ability to monitor campustransportation using GPS; partici-pate in class polls; create and joinsocial groups; get class and assign-ment updates from course systems;and do “American Idol”-like real-time voting at student events.

To learn more, visit the Website at ravewireless.com.

Mobile Phones Designed To Enhance Student Safety

There’s a new GPS-based mobile phone application that transformscell phones into personal safety devices.

(NAPSA)—To help guardagainst the increase in Internetcrime, companies such as HubInternational Personal Insurancenow offer various lines of coverageand risk management services,including those for cyber securityand identity theft.

** ** **Low-quality gasolines can let

carbon deposits build on intakevalves and fuel injectors, whichcan steal power and performancefrom your engine. A fuel such asShell V-Power, however, can cleanyour engine as you drive and helpreverse the effects of carbondeposit build-up.

** ** **The American Veterinary

Medical Association and FortDodge Animal Health are spon-soring the National Pet Wellness“Being A Pet Is Risky Business”campaign to encourage pet own-ers to discuss potential pethealth risks with their veterinar-ian. Information is available atwww.NPWM.com.

** ** **Taking part in consumer sur-

veys can often help consumerssave money. When consumers fillout a survey, they often receivebenefits, such as reduced-priceoffers and one or two samplesfrom manufacturers. To learnmore, visit the Web site atwww.shoppers-voice.com.

** ** **Computers are no longer a

luxury for college students. Themajority of schools highly recom-

mend purchasing a notebook ordesktop with a dual-core proces-sor, large hard drive and discretegraphics card. Always confirmwith your school and academicdepartment for more specificguidelines before purchasing andinstalling new software andhardware.

** ** **An auto claims option from

The Progressive Group of Insur-ance Companies takes 15 minutesto complete. With the concierge-level of claims service, customerssimply drop off a damaged vehicleat a participating facility. A claimsrepresentative handles theprocess from that point on. Visitwww.progressive.com.

** ** **According to a recent Aflac

study, approximately 70 percentof Americans are concernedabout lost wages from missingwork if they become ill orinjured. Many find supplementalinsurance to be an effective com-plement to major medical. Tolearn more, visit www.aflac.com.

(NAPSA)—Hass avocados area great addition to tailgatingfavorites such as sandwiches,burgers, wraps, hot dogs andsalads—as well as serving asthe essential ingredient in gua-camole and other dips. Forrecipes featuring Hass avoca-dos and tailgating tips, visitwww.avocadocentral.com.

** ** **Sun Shower 100% Pure

Pressed Nectarine Juice comes in12-oz and 28-oz containers and inthree flavors: Nectarine, Nec-tarine Berry and NectarineMango. For more information,visit www.nbijuiceworks.com.

** ** **New Wanchai Ferry Chinese

dinner kits make it easy for themost inexperienced home cooks tofreshly prepare restaurantfavorites in 30 minutes. For fun,custom meal ideas and dinner kit coupons, visit www.WanchaiFerry.com.

** ** **LouAna peanut oil ’s high

smoke point lets you fry at highertemperatures for flaky, light andbeautiful food that’s never greasyor crumbly. Visit www.louana.comfor information on preparation,frying and safety.

***If we desire respect for the law,we must first make the lawrespectable.

—Louis D. Brandeis ***

***Laws control the lesser man.Right conduct controls thegreater one.

—Chinese Proverb***

***If you are neutral in situationsof injustice, you have chosenthe side of the oppressor.

—Bishop Desmond Tutu***

***Every society honors its liveconformists, and its deadtroublemakers.

—Mignon McLaughlin***

***You don’t get harmony wheneverybody sings the same note.

—Doug Floyd***