Fire department may help to check fire alarms

Dear Heloise: I read your recent column in the Orange County Register. The fire alarm comments from P.K. in Springfield, Illinois, brought to mind a conversation I had with a member of the Huntington Beach, California, fire department.

The fire department will come out annually to check your fire alarm and also will replace your fire alarm, if needed.

Please check with your local fire department to see if they offer this complementary service.

Hilda K. Pope, via email

Dear Heloise: I have a hint that works so well every time I do it. I think I have got to share it. If you really want to clean off your dryer filter, use an old toothbrush.

There will not be a speck of lint left on the filter, and it takes five seconds to do. Easy, clean and fast.

G.H., Arkansas

Dear Heloise: The recent hint from Robert A. Lip correctly pointed out the problems with gasoline with ethanol.

The easiest way to solve this problem is to buy non-ethanol gasoline, which is available at many gasoline stations for a slightly higher price. I usually keep non-ethanol gasoline for over a year without any issues.

Another problem can occur with storing gasoline in tanks that get cold and hot, like my boat’s gas tank that was stored outdoors all winter long. Such gas should be non-ethanol, and the tank should be full.

If not full, water will condense from the air into the tank and have to be siphoned off the bottom of the tank.

The full tank of non-ethanol gas will be good to use if the tank was full. Charles Barrow,

via email

Dear Heloise: Recently, a reader suggested keeping a grocery list on the refrigerator where she adds items as she runs out, and then she takes that list to the store.

I’ve done that for years, but how frustrating is it when you drop that list or leave it in the car? I thought about typing the list out on my phone as I run out of things, but I got frustrated at typing on that little keyboard.

I’d rather write it by hand. My solution combines the best of both: I add things to the list on the fridge, and before I go to the store, I take a photo of it with my phone. Now, I never lose my list!

Betsy, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Dear Heloise: Recent news reports tell us we will have a cold winter in a lot of regions throughout the country. And fuel prices will be higher. To help people stay warmer at night, I recommend purchasing fleece bedsheets.

We no longer need to use an electric blanket.