CONSUMER

Do you have a question for Kevin? Email nzww@ bauermedia.co.nz (Subject line: Consumer) or post to: NZWW, Bauer Media, Private Bag 92512, Auckland 1036.

Protect yourself! Sunscreen may protect you from the summer sun, but what will protect your clothes from your sunscreen brand’s formula? Plus, why the NYPD are saying not to abbreviate the year 2020.

Kevin Milne CONSUMER

You’ve read that the New York Police Department (NYPD) has advised against using the abbreviated year 20 on documents − for example 18/3/20. They say the 20 can easily be changed to another year. Why is that different from any other year? The NYPD warning is quite useful. Once every century, the year is the same number as the century. For example, 1818, 1919, or this year 2020. If you write, for example, 18/3/20, scammers can easiily add to it to change the year to 2019, 2021 or any other year this century. The NYPD issued its advice to write out the full year, 2020, to protect you against scammers. I think it might be a good habit to get into early in the year. The other option may be to draw a line immediately after the 20. It would look like 20—, thus making it more difficult for fraudsters to tack on any extra numbers. Some older readers will recall we used to do something similar when writing out an amount on a cheque – so that fraudsters couldn’t add to it.

spoiler

Iwrote last year about the problem of sunscreen ruining clothes. It’s probably worth a follow-up now. It seems crazy sunscreen manufacturers can’t find a more “clothing-friendly” formula for their products. Most sunscreens contain a substance called avobenzone which, when it comes in contact with iron, creates what is in effect a rust stain. This is why you often pull your summer clothes out of the wash and find, to your horror, those orange-coloured stains, usually around the neck. This is because the Avobenzone has reacted with the iron in your washing water. The harder the water in your taps, the worse the stain. You’ll find plenty of useful advice online on how to try to remove these difficult stains. Just google, “How to remove sunscreen stains from clothes.” Annoyingly, nearly all sunscreen brands contain avobenzone, but ask your pharmacist if they have any without. Your best hope is with the kids’ and babies’ sunscreen formulas. But don’t take risks. Whatever you buy, make sure it’ll protect you from burning. THE PROBLEM WITH SUNSCREEN FORMULAS