HELPFUL HINTS
DEAR READERS: Today’s Sound Off is about inappropriate behavior at a wedding:
“I recently went to a wedding and was appalled when a couple of the guests went to the buffet table and started to load up plastic containers with food. Neither the bride nor the groom gave them permission to help themselves to ‘takeout’ not to fill 10 containers with food. Have people lost all manners these days?”
— A Reader in Pennsylvania
Someone from the catering staff should have talked to them. Behavior like that is inappropriate.
DEAR HELOISE: I have a cloudy-looking fiberglass shower door. I hate the way it looks. How can I get it to shine once more?
— Bess M., Florida
DEAR READER: If you want your fiberglass shower door to sparkle, wash it with 4 tablespoons of baking soda dissolved in 1 quart of water. Or put baking soda on a damp sponge for scrubbing action.
DEAR HELOISE: I just bought a nice pair of jeans, but how can I keep the blue from fading?
— Rose V., Iowa DEAR READER: First, turn your jeans inside out, then wash them in cold water and dry on the lowest heat. Try dry-cleaning them once every five or six washings to slow down the fading process. If your jeans fade too much, you can always dye them to restore the color.
DEAR HELOISE: How do I get rid of hard-water buildup on my drinking glasses?
— Leah S., Jericho, N.Y.
DEAR READER: To remove hard-water buildup on drinking glasses, try soaking the glasses in warmed (not boiling) household vinegar for about an hour (or overnight), then scrubbing them with a nylon-net scrubber. If the hard-water buildup does not come off, you may have permanently etched the glass, and nothing can be done.
DEAR READERS: Recently, the Food and Drug Administration has taken issue with companies that claim their vitamins help or prevent Alzheimer’s disease. These false claims may stop someone from seeing a qualified physician for an accurate diagnosis. While dietary supplements may be good for a person’s overall health, claims that taking certain nutrients can help Alzheimer’s disease have yet to be proved.