Consumer columnist and West Hartford resident Harlan Levy has more than 20 years of experience writing stories about everyday experiences that anyone could encounter.

Harlan Levy. Courtesy photo

By Harlan Levy

Hey readers who don’t drive any more or who don’t want to drive so much: Here’s a super alternative that gets you around, is good exercise, and is fun: the electric tricycle.

Last week I bought a brand new e-trike and a non-electric one for my son to ride with me (à la Easy Rider, the 1969 landmark countercultural movie) from super accommodating Wally Hart, a Manchester retiree who buys and sells dozen of used and new electric and non-electric two- and three-wheelers. Wally is the only seller I found with the most bikes and trikes after an extensive search.

It takes practice using the power alone (up to 22 miles an hour [Yikes!]) or power plus pedaling, or just peddling and two hand brakes.

Mine cost $600, $125 for the yellow one. Wally put a back light on mine, two handlebar mirrors, and a large storage box with a connected back rest. Needless to say, it was a good deal.

So check out trikes at Wally’s and add independence to your life.

I also bought my son this non-electric 7-speed trike so he and I can tool around together. Photo credit: Harlan Levy

Poison ivy

It’s a scourge so easily contracted by a simple brush or touch, and walking a mile to Bishops Corner up Albany Avenue I saw the low-lying three-leaved plant all along the route. I doubt many don’t know what it looks like, but here’s a refresher:

• Three leaves: Three three pointed leaves growing from a single stem. In spring and summer, the leaves are usually green and sometimes shiny from the rash-causing oily sap urushiol on the leaves. In late summer, it might have small white or greenish berries. In fall, they can turn red, orange, or yellow. I did not know that.
• Poison ivy has an extensive root system of underground rhizomes that sprout new growth over far distances. Dormant buds can also sprout months later. Digging out the roots is most effective along with herbicide.
• Urushiol: The oily sap triggers that itchy rash, and even a tiny amount can cause a reaction. You can find it along a garden fence, climbing a tree, or in your flower beds, and it comes back although you figure you’ve eliminated it.

Three-leaf, shiny, oily poison ivy all along Albany Avenue. You don’t want to touch
It or brush it with bare legs or arms – to avoid a bad itchy rash. Photo credit: Harlan Levy

Sunscreen

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added bemotrizinol to the list of permitted sunscreen active ingredients, the first new active ingredient added to the over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen monograph since the late 1990s.

The new ingredient has been marketed as a sunscreen ingredient in Europe and many countries around the world for years.

Bemotrizinol provides protection against both ultraviolet A and B rays and has low levels of absorption through the skin into the body and is recognized as safe and effective for adults and children 6 months and older.

Daily use: The FDA recommends daily use of a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher to prevent sunburn, reduce skin cancer risk, and slow early skin aging. Apply one ounce (about a shot glass full) 15 minutes before going outside and reapply at least every two hours.

Apply to all exposed skin, including commonly forgotten areas like your ears, neck, lips, and the tops of your feet. Reapply liberally every two hours, or immediately after swimming, sweating, or towel drying. Sunscreen is not recommended for infants under six months old.

Now you know.

This high-quality Bask sunscreen that we just received is SP 50, but it’s equally good as the recommended SP 15 sunscreens. Photo credit: Harlan Levy

NOTE: If you have a consumer problem, contact me at [email protected] (“Consumer” in subject line), and, with the power of the press, maybe I can help.

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