CONSUMERS : Mobilizing Sunscreen Protection

Sun worshipers may wonder why nobody thought of this product before--a new disposable towelette with sunscreen that eliminates the mess of putting on suntan lotion from a bottle.

Test-marketed last year in Florida and Southern California, SunSense towelettes are now being sold coast-to-coast by SolarCare of Bethlehem, Pa. The throwaway cloth is filled with sunscreen that has an SPF-15 protection rating, is oil-free and contains no PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid).

Each towelette comes in a sealed pouch so it won’t dry out, and has a shelf life of about two years, according to SolarCare co-founder Battle Brown. “It lasts fine because of the pouch, if you use it within a reasonable length of time, a couple of years. It’s not like milk and eggs that would go bad.”

You can buy a box of six SunSense towelettes for about $3.50 in many nationwide retail outlets, among them K mart, Target, CVS (Consumer Value Stores), Revco and Wal-Mart. SolarCare is also marketing the single packets (for about $1) at outdoor locations such as baseball parks, amusement parks, stadiums, golf shops and rock concert arenas.

2 for the Windshield

A new product from Down Under--this one’s not a soft drink cooler or a wine--will hit the national retail market by mid-March. It’s Twin Blade Wiper Refills for your car. Instead of the traditional one-blade windshield wiper, there are dual rubber ones. The first cleans the dirt and the second squeegees.

Being billed by its U.S. distributor in Cleveland as “the first significant design change in wiper blades since 1928 when John W. Anderson made the first single-edge wiper for the Model A Ford,” the Twin Blade comes in 18- and 20-inch lengths, with 1/4- and 5/16-inch widths.

The manufacturer says that Twin Blade fits “90% of the cars made in the United States, Japan and Europe.” If the blades are a little too long for your wipers, they can be easily cut to fit with a razor blade. They are simple to install and clean well.

The suggested retail price for the Twin Blade is $8.95. In the Los Angeles area, it will be available at Fedco outlets and in auto parts stores specializing in imported car products. Information: (800) 635-3813.

For the Forgetful

Another helpful product for drivers is the Car Locator key ring, which will assist you in finding your car in cavernous parking garages or huge shopping mall lots.

On the back of a small plastic disc attached to a metal key ring are three dials, so you can set the car’s location with numbers, letters and colors. You just fix the dials when you park your car in the space, and you’ll have no trouble locating the car when you return. The disc comes in red, blue, white, pink, yellow, gray, green or black.

Manufactured by Everyday Products in Santa Monica, the Car Locator is available by check or money order for $2.99, including shipping and handling (California residents add 20 cents for state sales tax), through N.N.S. Distribution, 2848 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, Calif. 90404 or by calling (714) 870-8298.

A Sticky Solution

Los Angeles inventor Forrest Draper has come up with a handy way to remove lint, dust, cat or dog hair or dandruff from your clothing. His product, called Lintape, is pocket-sized strips of adhesive that can be carried in a purse, briefcase or suitcase or kept in your desk-drawer at the office.

Lintape comes three sheets to a package, and has four separate strips of adhesive to each sheet. To use it, just peel off the plastic coating on the adhesive strip and pat off the lint.

Lintape sells for $1 a package and is available from MBK Enterprises Inc./Draper Industries, 9851 Owensmouth Ave., Chatsworth, Calif. 91311, (818) 998-1628; or EZ International, 130 Grand St., Carlstadt, N.J. 07072, (201) 935-9005.