Wet & Forget has been sold for more than 30 years in New Zealand and Australia, where it's used to clean the Sydney Opera House. The cleaner is touted as gentle on the environment and safe to use around foliage.

It can be used on virtually any outdoor surface. It's applied with a pump garden sprayer, and then wind and rain do the work over two weeks to six months.

Wet & Forget is highly concentrated and comes in three sizes: 68 ounces, or 1.32 gallons, for household use and 2.64 gallons for commercial and industrial use. Suggested prices range from $29.99 to $90.

The product is available at some Costco stores (call first to check supplies of product No. 207207) and can be ordered at Ace Hardware stores, the company said.

Q: Does Rid-X really help break down the stuff in your septic system faster? - T.M., New Franklin, Ohio

A: No, said Brian Slater, an associate professor and extension soil scientist in Ohio State University's School of Environmental and Natural Resources. Such additives are bacteria, but all the bacteria that are needed are already in the waste or the soil, which is where most of the treatment of the wastewater happens, he said.

He likened additives to putting a few drops of food coloring in the Atlantic Ocean. "There's no need. It will make no difference," he said.

FIELD GUIDE FOR YOUNG BIRDERS

Ohio birder Bill Thompson III has written a field guide specifically for kids.

Thompson spent three years working with his daughter's elementary-school class to create "The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of Eastern North America," part of the Peterson Field Guides series.

It's aimed at readers ages 8 to 12, and it has a durable, flexible cover and a size that's easy for smaller birders to carry and use.

The guide includes the usual bird-identification information, as well as tips, how-tos and "Wow! Bursts," bubbles containing interesting bird facts.

"The Young Birder's Guide" is published by Houghton Mifflin Co. and sells for $14.95.