Hints from Heloise: Use lemons to clean charred pots and peppermint oil spray to repel spiders

LEMONS HELP WITH A CHARRED POT
Dear Heloise: I had about 25 pounds of potatoes that I had to turn into potato salad. I boiled as many potatoes as I could in my 8-1/2-quart aluminum pot, and the potatoes turned the inside of my pot black. After two tries and a half hour of scrubbing that pot, I decided to quarter a lemon and throw the four pieces in the pot with the potatoes.
I was amazed. The potatoes got cooked, and my pot was like new! No black pot and no scrubbing! And no, the potatoes didn’t taste like lemon! — M.B., via email
GETTING THE LAST BIT OUT
Dear Heloise: When you squeeze all the toothpaste you can out of the tube, there is still plenty left in there. Just squeeze the tube flat and cut the empty part off. Use a pill bottle cap to cover the opening.
On lotion tubes, cut it in half and slide the bottom into the top. — Terry W. Ford, via email
NOTEPAD HINT
Dear Heloise: We also get a lot of requests for donations that include greeting cards, Christmas cards, notepads, socks, little decorations, calendars and bags. Unfortunately, we can’t give to everybody, and I don’t feel comfortable using the gifts if I don’t donate. (And how many calendars do you need?)
So, I hold onto them until I have a few, then I donate them to nursing homes in the area for their residents. The residents don’t go out shopping much, and having little things like these would be useful for them. — Tracy, in Connecticut
ABDUCTED CHILDREN
Dear Heloise: When I read a letter in your column about a family wearing the same shirts to find lost kids, it reminded me of a former co-worker’s instruction to his young children: If they were ever abducted, they were to continually repeat, “This is not my mother!” or “This is not my father!” — Annie Fugler, Denham Springs, Louisiana
SPIDER REPELLANT
Dear Heloise: Peppermint oil spray (diluted with water) repels spiders. I had spiders in my garage for over 30 years until a neighbor gave me some to spray inside of it. I haven’t had spiders in years now! — L. Haydel, via email
PET PAL
Dear Heloise: Noel is a rescue dog that was found running along Interstate 95 the day before Christmas 2015. Right after Christmas, she was taken to the vet, had all her shots, and was fixed. She weighed about 7 pounds at that time.
After my wife died a year and a half ago, I had her registered as a support dog, which has been extremely important for me. She’s brilliant. She never causes a mess in the house. We figure her to be about 8 years old at this time. I thought I’d send this to you, as you had asked if anybody had a pet to send in. — Vilas, in Fort Pierce, Florida
Readers, to see Noel and our other Pet Pals, go to Heloise.com and click on “Pet of the Week.”
Do you have a furry friend to share with our readers? Send a photo and a brief description to [email protected]. — Heloise
SEND A GREAT HINT TO: [email protected]
(c) 2024 by King Features Syndicate Inc.