Your week
YOUR HEALTH
Just like the glasses you drink out of at home, portable water bottles at the gym or the office need to be kept clean to prevent bacterial growth. Some tips from the American Public Health Association:
• Wash bottles daily with hot, soapy water, particularly if they’ve held something sticky (juice, sports drinks) or pulpy.
• Use a brush if necessary to reach corners and around the tops and the insides of the lids.
• Dry bottles well, allowing them to air-dry if possible.
• Unless a bottle says “dishwasher safe,” don’t put it in the dishwasher.
• Consider replacing polycarbonate (code 7) plastic bottles, which can leach potentially harmful BPA, with ones that are glass-lined or made from stainless steel.
» Find more health and fitness tips in Tuesday’s Today section.
YOUR HOME
Considering a portable air conditioner? It might not be the best choice, according to Consumer Reports.
In general, portable units are less efficient than window units or central air conditioning, the magazine says.
They tend to send conditioned air outside and let warm, humid outside air leak in, so they have to work harder. They also need to be vented to the outside, so their portability is somewhat limited.
If you can’t have other forms of air conditioning, a portable unit might be an option, but be sure to compare different models’ cooling capacities, expressed in Btus per hour.
» Find more home and garden ideas in Sunday’s Today section.
YOUR FOOD
A shrimp salad layered with greens and vegetables is a quick, colorful, no-cook dinner on a warm night. For the recipe, see page C7.
» Find more recipes and restaurant news in Wednesday’s Food section.
YOUR FUN
Here’s what’s on the schedule for this week:
On CD (Tuesday)
Barbra Streisand, “What Matters Most”
Jay-Z and Kanye West, “Watch the Throne”
Various artists, “Muppets: The Green Album”
Sunny Sweeney, “Concrete”
On DVD (Tuesday)
“Win Win”
“The Beaver”
“The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”
In theaters (Friday)
“Colombiana” (action)
“Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” (horror)
“Our Idiot Brother” (comedy)
On TV
“Buried Treasure”: The Keno twins from “Antiques Roadshow” look for finds in folks’ homes across America in this new series. (Wednesday, 8 p.m., Fox)
“Top Chef Just Desserts”: The bittersweet battle resumes in the Season 2 premiere. (Wednesday, 10 p.m., Bravo)
“MTV Video Music Awards”: Seven-time nominee Adele makes her debut and Lady Gaga returns (sans meat dress?) in the annual extravaganza. (Sunday, 9 p.m., MTV)
On stage
“The Miracle Worker”: reopens Friday, Interplayers
Santana: Friday, Northern Quest Casino
Korn et al: Friday, Greyhound Park, Post Falls
Kathy Griffin: Sunday, INB Performing Arts Center
Around town
Bonner County Fair and Rodeo: Tuesday-Saturday, Sandpoint
North Idaho Fair: Wednesday-Sunday, Kootenai County Fairgrounds, Coeur d’Alene
Friends of Manito Fall Plant Sale: Saturday, Manito Park
» Find a full arts and entertainment roundup in the Thursday and Friday Today sections.