HELPFUL HINTS
DEAR HELOISE: Any tricky way to hide a house key outdoors? The locking box can be broken into quickly by a thief. The fake stone is obvious and floats away or biodegrades the key.
— Marguerite, via email DEAR READER: Marguerite, I’m not sure what you mean when you say a fake rock “biodegrades the key,” since most keys are metal? Here are a few hints to use: Do not put a spare key above the door or under a flower pot or welcome mat.
Yes to the fake rock, but put it somewhere on the back or side of the house.
Bury a key in a potted plant or under some landscape rocks.
A metal key holder with a magnet, used to hide a spare key on an automobile, works; attach it somewhere out of sight.
If you live in a building and have no yard … there’s no place to hide a key. Get an extra key and put it in your wallet.
DEAR HELOISE: I was disappointed to see you promoting the use of toothpaste for cleaning fine jewelry. It’s called “toothpaste” because it is for cleaning teeth.
The paste can scratch fine gold, silver and platinum mountings. Forget the toothbrush, baby or otherwise. The bristles can snag and damage prongs and cause stone loss.
Hardness, in the jewelry business, refers to a stone’s ability to resist scratches, and there are chemicals that will damage diamonds.
Bring that diamond ring in to your jeweler for an annual cleaning and checking of the prongs.
— S.D., via email DEAR READER: Sorry you are disappointed, but I stand by the hint. Toothpaste is very, very mild, and I don’t see how it can scratch regular (not antique) gold, etc. As far as I can find out, chlorine bleach (as in a swimming pool or diluted as in cleaning products) will not harm a diamond, but can hurt the setting. A diamond is the hardest stone, and is impervious to damage by a regular cleaning agent. Please do write again and tell me what chemical you are talking about that would harm a diamond, not the setting.
DEAR HELOISE: I love fresh flowers, and enjoy them for a day or two and then take them to the nursing home in my neighborhood. The residents enjoy the flowers.
— S., via text