Short-term memory

DEAR HELOISE » I am 90 years old, and my shortterm memory is somewhat suspect. I’ll think of something I want to remember, such as someone I need to call, something I need to do or maybe even a good idea. Then 10 minutes later my thought is gone from my memory. I fixed my problem by strategically placing a notepads with a pencil in the kitchen, in my bedroom, in my garage workshop and in the living room, where I watch TV. Now when I think of something I want to remember, I jot it down on the notepad and put it in my pocket.

— Richard Holmen, Trabuco Canyon,

California

Phishing

DEAR HELOISE » Today’s local paper had a letter about the suspicious email from someone’s bank. The banks I deal with all want those emails forwarded to them. Banks have dedicated addresses to forward them to, and they are easily found online.

— Beverly in Ohio

Baking soda solution

DEAR READERS » If your microwave oven needs a good cleaning, combine 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 cup of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave and let the mixture boil for about five minutes, so that steam condenses on the inside walls of the oven. Then wipe off the walls, the inside of the door and the door seals.

Baking soda also be can be used for cleaning, deodorizing and cooking. Learn about more uses in my pamphlet “Heloise’s Baking Soda Hints and Recipes.” To get a copy, go to Heloise.com, or send $5 and a long, selfaddressed, stamped envelope to: Heloise/Baking Soda, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 782795001.

FYI: If you live in an area with lots of humidity, it will cause the baking soda to cake. To prevent this, pour the baking soda out of the cardboard box into a plastic container with a lid, and store it there.

reusing bath towels

DEAR HELOISE » I am a retired clinical microbiologist and felt the need to clarify the hint given in a recent column. Someone wrote that people need to wash their towels daily to keep from getting ringworm. The only way you would be likely to get ringworm from a towel is if you are sharing the towel with another person or an animal who has ringworm. (I’m guessing that’s what happened to the acquaintance mentioned.) In that case, the fungus may survive on the towel, but the infection won’t arise by itself on the towel if you’re the only one using it. If you aren’t sharing the towel, you won’t get it from your own towel.

In these days of careful use of water, it makes sense to use a towel more than once before laundering. And if no one in the house has ringworm, the chance of getting it from the towel is very limited. Even if you wash your towels every day, you would be more likely to get ringworm by sharing the shower with an infected person or petting an infected animal than from a towel. I live in a dry climate and towels dry quickly. I personally wash my towels twice a week.