HINTS FROM HELOISE

Dear Heloise:

PRACTICAL, DEPENDABLE TIPS FOR TODAY’S BUSY CONSUMERS

I’m sending in some helpful hints for the person who needed help cleaning his shower.

Purchase a handheld squeegee and keep it in the shower. After turning the water off, squeegee the glass and the walls, especially on the lower sections where the water and soap accumulate. It doesn’t need to be a perfect job, just take a few seconds to do it (I can do mine in 30 seconds), and it doesn’t have to be after every shower. The walls and glass will dry nice and shiny. It lengthens the time between cleanings. Another hint is to change the showerhead to one

that is handheld or comes with a handheld showerhead.

— John Klimko, Via Email

Dear Heloise: The advice from Janet Ham regarding silencing unknown callers is good, but there is a downside to it. Any calls you receive from doctor’s offices, pharmacies, mechanics, etc., will also be silenced, unless they are in your contact list. I have missed several calls from people I needed to speak to, only to find out that it’s them after the fact. . — Boyce Lancaster, Columbus,

Ohio

Dear Heloise: After peeling the skin off of an onion, stick a fork near the end and slice the onion while holding it with the fork. That way, you won’t cut yourself, and the slices come out evenly. — Gregg, Canyon Country, California

Dear Heloise: I, too, am a “senior citizen” living in the New Hampshire Lakes region. I have long ago made sure to have a cell phone in my coat pocket when I make my trek down the driveway to get our morning newspaper.

Never was I more grateful for

it than last March, when one foot caught black ice and I fell, severely fracturing my ankle. I was able to call my husband for help. Otherwise, I would have lain there for who knows how long, until he realized that I was missing. Since that episode, and because we no longer have a landline, I actually try to keep my cell on me at all times.

— Debbie James, Hebron, New

Hampshire

Dear Heloise: By accident, I found that the rubber guard under the garbage disposal is soiled. I wipe under the rubber to clean and sanitize it.

Yes, the rubber sink gasket can get gunky! Here’s an easy way to really keep it clean: Fill the sink with enough water to cover the gasket, and add a couple of drops of liquid dishwashing detergent and a careful but generous glubglub of chlorine bleach. Soak for 20 minutes. Rinse and reattach.