• Ace: 20 percent off all Royal and Royal Finest paints.
• Lowe’s: $5 off 1-gallon containers and $20 off 5 gallons of selected Valspar paints.
• Home Depot: $5 off 1-gallon containers and $20 off 5-gallon containers of Behr, Glidden, and Martha Stewart Living paints.

Many of these products are included in Consumer Reports’ latest reviews of interior and exterior paints. Determining which is right for you depends on your project. For example, Behr Premium Plus Ultra Satin Enamel is an excellent interior paint overall, but it is prone to fading in sunny places. If you’re painting a sunroom, you may want to consider Valspar, since some of its finishes proved more fade-resistant in our tests. See our Ratings for the pros and cons of more than 50 products.
 
Remember that even the best paint can’t make up for poor application. Our expert tips will help ensure a perfect paint job, and make this Labor Day chore less laborious.
 
Check out these other Labor Day deals.
 
—Daniel DiClerico

“Wow,” my wife said. “It’s a good thing you didn’t talk about the AC.”

“It’s a good thing,” I said.

Okay, my wife is crazy with the AC! Granted, it’s been the hottest summer on record in the Northeast, with temperatures hovering again this week in the uppers 90s. That doesn’t mean it should go down to the low 70s indoors. But those are the icy conditions I’ve come home to on several occasions this summer. A few times it’s even been in the 60s! I’m a strict 78 degree F guy myself, which Consumer Reports has called an ideal temperature for combining comfort and efficiency. In an informal poll on this blog, 665 (31 percent) of you agreed, saying you set your AC between 76 and 78 degrees. My wife’s not alone, however, with 348 respondents (16 percent) voting for a 71  to 73  degree setting.

Comfort is a subjective thing. So my wife and I don’t argue too much over the AC. Instead, we engage in a surreptitious thermostat war, each one setting the unit to his or her preferred setting when the other exits the room. I’ve thought about leaving copies of our electric bill in random places, like under her pillow. But that seems a little cruel. Then again, all is fair in love and war.
 
—Daniel DiClerico

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For centuries, women have done laundry as a way to earn a living. Some worked for only one family, others took in laundry from several families. As families look for ways to earn extra money, more and more individuals are offering laundry services for those who are too busy to handle their own laundry duties. Some offer pick-up and delivery service and others are drop-off only. Services range from wash and fold to taking care of dry cleaning.

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• 1 white dress shirt (97% cotton, 3% synthetic)
• 1 cream (off-white) knit cardigan (100% acrylic)
• 1 one-piece dress consisting of a white, cotton/poly blend top and a black, synthetic (poly) skirt.

I looked at the RIT and Carbona dye removers, but they are not recommended for synthetic fabrics. I’m afraid regular bleach would ruin the black skirt of the dress. Would a color-safe bleach work? I did not heat-set the stain, though the clothes have air-dried at this point. I did run the load through the wash (on cool) two more times with a dye catcher cloth, but the faint pink color still remains. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

A. Sorry to hear about your dye-transfer problem. Thanks for such a detailed description of the items in the load, as that is very helpful. It’s also great that you have been air-drying the items. Yes, you could try soaking them with a color-safe bleach like Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster, but I also think most of the items could be safely treated with Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Let’s go over each item separately:

1. For the white dress shirt, try a quick liquid bleach soak (¼ cup Clorox Regular-Bleach in a gallon of cool water for up to 5 minutes), then wash immediately in hot water using detergent and ¾ cup Clorox Regular-Bleach. Air dry and then check for success.
2. The acrylic sweater is probably bleach-safe, and you can confirm this with a bleachability test: mix 2 tsp. Clorox Regular-Bleach in 1/4 cup water and apply a drop to a hidden part of the garment. Blot with a white towel; no color change means the sweater can be safely bleached. If the sweater passes the bleachability test, then try the same bleach soak and wash, as I describe above.
3. For the black-and-white dress: since the skirt is 100% polyester, it may also be bleachable (again, test first before proceeding with a bleach soak). If not, try a color-safe bleach soak. If that doesn’t work, then you could try RIT color remover. That RIT is not recommended for synthetics means you wouldn’t use it effectively to strip the original dye from a synthetic fabric before re-dying it a new color. But is should work to remove the fugitive pink dye on the white poly/cotton part of the dress. Just be sure to follow the package instructions. You can also try it on the other items if the bleach soaks are unsuccessful.

Times have changed, as evidenced by Exxon’s latest ad campaign touting its research into greenhouse gas-reducing algae. But an investigation into U.S. energy policy in the October 2010 issue of Consumer Reports finds there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Check back next week—when the issue will be online and on newsstands—for the full details.

—Daniel DiClerico

Image courtesy of Sociological Images

The homeowner told the Associated Press that the flowerpot had contained dead, decomposing flowers and potting soil that his wife had planted in the summer of 2009. “She had intended on repotting (the flowers),” he said. Sadly, they sat on the porch, unwanted and unwatered, and eventually died.

What happened next was even sadder. On July 25, the plant burst into flames, burned a hole in the deck and spread to the vinyl siding. The heat caused a sidelight window next to the front door to break. But that wasn't the end of it. The air conditioning was running and the house filled with smoke. Fortunately, the homeowner’s father-in-law was able to put out the fire with a garden hose before it spread further.

In the end, according to the AP, the family had to repaint the entire interior of the 2,200-square-foot home and replace the carpeting. Outside they replaced the window, the vinyl siding and the wooden decking. Lesson learned: Water the plants and consider buying a fire extinguisher.

College football season is here and Friday, September 3 is College Colors Day. It’s a great way to show your support of your favorite institute of higher learning. Colleges around the country are holding special events and fundraising for good causes. So, put on your favorite colors and celebrate. We’ll worry about keeping those colors bright in the laundry another day!

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—Daniel DiClerico

"Our two biggest concerns," Bill Read, director of the National Hurricane Center Director, told NBC's Today are "the coast of North Carolina and extreme southeast Virginia on early Friday morning, late Thursday night, and then on Friday into Saturday for southeastern New England. Just a small change in the direction of the storm could raise an impact, and the large waves, beach erosion and rip currents will be a problem along the East Coast."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency advised residents in the projected storm path to "get a kit" together in the event that they lose power. The agency recommends:

• One gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• At least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and extra batteries
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Can opener for food 
• Local maps
• Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger

The  U.S. Department of Agriculture offered tips to help keep food safe, even if you don't have a backup generator (read our report).

• Keep an appliance thermometer in the refrigerator and freezer to indicate the temperature in case of a power outage.
• Make sure the freezer is at 0 degrees F or below and the refrigerator is at 40 F or below.
• Freeze containers of water for ice to help keep food cold in the freezer, refrigerator or coolers after the power is out.
• Freeze refrigerated items such as leftovers, milk and fresh meat and poultry that you may not need immediately — this helps keep them at a safe temperature longer.
• Plan ahead and know where dry ice and block ice can be purchased.
• Have coolers on hand to keep refrigerator food cold if the power is out for more than four hours. Purchase or make ice and store in the freezer for use in the refrigerator or in a cooler. Freeze gel packs ahead of time for use in coolers.
• Group food together in the freezer — this helps it stay cold longer.
• Store food on shelves that will be safely out of the way of contaminated water in case of flooding.

If you do lose power for a prolonged period, read the USDA tips on How to keep food safe during an emergency, which includes a chart of which foods to save and which to toss. Here are the two most important bits of advice: Never taste a food to determine its safety, and when in doubt throw it out.

Read our Storm and Emergency Guide for for more helpful information.