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Dear Heloise: I used a very well-rated stainless steel cleaner on my refrigerator and was left with a lot of streaks. I’ve tried multiple things to get rid of them without success. Do you have a solution for this? — Roberta E., in Middleton, Wisconsin
Roberta, chances are, you’re using too much product to clean the exterior of your refrigerator. You only need a small amount that’s sprayed or poured onto a soft cloth, not the appliance itself. For touch-ups, you can mix 70% isopropyl alcohol and water, but this is only for touch-ups! Mix this in a spray bottle and spray it on a soft cloth. Wipe with the grain of the steel and use this very sparingly.
You can also use club soda on a soft cloth; just dry it off and buff the appliance afterward. But don’t use all three methods on your appliance on the same day. — Heloise
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TINY HOLES IN SHIRTS
Dear Heloise: My wife had the same issue with small holes in her (expensive) T-shirts that are made of thin material. After buying soft seatbelt covers, they disappeared. These are inexpensive and comfortable. I enjoy reading your column. — Tim U., via email
BEING PREPARED FOR ADULTHOOD
Dear Heloise: My grandson is an adult. He was never taught money basics such as credit-card handling, writing checks, recording expenses in a check register, and balancing a check register against a bank statement. He wasn’t prepared for adulthood.
We need to stop the use of calculators. The youth needs to use their brains. In 12 years of schooling, he was never once taught cursive. How does one sign documents without it? All of these things should be taught so that a child can leave their home as an independent adult, instead of living at home and being dependent on their parents.
And what happened to grammar and spelling? Correct grammar usage and spelling are lost arts. Texting has caused us to lose what little knowledge we had. — Loyal Reader, via email
Loyal Reader, it’s a shame. But there are evening classes to help with these issues. If he’s unsure where to find such classes, he can call his local school district and ask them for information on continuing education. — Heloise
NO DETERGENT NEEDED
Dear Heloise: My husband and I have used an eco washer for about 10 years, which uses ozonated and cold water to sanitize clothes instead of detergent. It gets hung on the wall behind the washing machine; it’s a simple hookup. For occasional stains, I use a spray stain pretreatment; otherwise, I just throw the clothes in the washing machine and let the ozonated and cold water do the rest.
Since I have allergies to perfumes, dyes and chemicals, this is perfect for us. It’s also cheaper and environmentally safe. I haven’t purchased laundry detergent in a decade! Some hospitals and nursing homes use this technique to wash and sanitize bed linens. Since I use wool dryer balls, I don’t have any laundry products to buy and don’t have to worry about any chemical sensitivities. — M.E. Huber, in Seville, Ohio