Use soap, water to clean faux wood blinds

DEAR HELOISE: We are a military family currently stationed in San Antonio and living in a home with 2-inch faux wood blinds that so badly are in need of a good cleaning. I am not keen on taking them down. I was wondering if you had any ideas or a solution to cleaning these while still hanging. — Jenny M., via e-mail

DEAR JENNY: Faux wood blinds actually are easier to clean than real wood or vinyl blinds. Here are a few hints for weekly and deep cleaning:

* Faux wood blinds can get wet without warping, unlike real wood blinds. Mix up a solution of mild liquid soap and warm water. Use a microfiber cloth and dip in the solution, wring out, then wipe up and down and side to side.

* Turn blinds and clean in one direction, then change and clean in the other direction.

A reminder: October is National Window Covering Safety Month. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, “more than 200 infants and young children have died from accidentally strangling in window cords” since 1990. Send away for a free kit on how to retrofit older string-style or “loop” blinds to the newer wand style. Just call the Window Covering Safety Council’s toll-free line at 800-506-4636 to order yours today. We all should do our part to make our homes as safe as possible. — Heloise

Handy cleaning solution

DEAR HELOISE: I enjoy reading your column in The Orange County (Calif.) Register. You have a lot of helpful information. I have a problem with my TV remotes and phones, which have gotten rather “grungy” lately with hand oil, etc. What is the best way to clean these items without getting moisture into them, which could short-circuit or affect them? I tried wiping them with a damp cloth, and that didn’t seem to work. — Frederick in Irvine, Calif.

DEAR FREDERICK: Yes, remote controls sure do get yucky, don’t they? First, grab a microfiber cloth, dampen with a little water, wring out and give those electronics a wipe clean. To clean around sticky remote buttons, use a cotton swab dipped in a touch of rubbing alcohol. Be careful about using wet wipes, since many contain lanolin or other hand softeners, which will attract grime.

A reader, John, wrote in a few years ago about covering the remote in plastic wrap to prevent this problem. — Heloise

Cord storage

DEAR HELOISE: When I bought my mother’s house after she passed away, I noticed she had her electric cords in an old fruit basket. I bought round, plastic laundry baskets. It’s easy to place the cords in the baskets. The cords turn in circles for storing, and they never kink. It’s amazing how they circle themselves in the laundry basket. A 100-foot cord takes mere seconds to store, and when you need one, just take the end, and it removes itself from the basket with ease. — Jim Wallen, Watseka, Ill.

Barbecue cover

DEAR HELOISE: I bought a generic barbecue pit cover for my new grill rather than buying an expensive fitted cover. When I tried it on the grill, it was too large, so I hemmed up the bottom on my sewing machine.

It was hard to tell the front from the back, so I got a large red button and sewed it in the middle of the front panel. Now there is no more guesswork as to which is the back and which is the front side of the cover. — Michelle, San Antonio

Important receipts

DEAR HELOISE: This is to remind people to copy their receipts for purchases that have a warranty. I discovered too late, on purchases from earlier in the year, that my receipts had faded to nothingness. I read your column in the Fort Morgan (Colo.) Times. Great hints! — Pat from Colorado

DEAR PAT: Good hint, and thanks for the reminder. Also, a big hello to my readers in Fort Morgan, Colo. Your paper was one of the very first Hints From Heloise clients. — Heloise

No ants

DEAR HELOISE: My husband and I have been having bad ant problems lately in our kitchen, making a trail from the window to the pantry. We don’t want to use poison because we have two kitties that would definitely get into it.

We found that vinegar does the trick. We just dipped a cotton ball in vinegar and swabbed the areas the ants would go. We haven’t had an ant since. The bonus is that it’s nontoxic to us and our kitties. — Gretchen Kennedy, Chantilly, Va.

DEAR GRETCHEN: Yes, wiping the ant trail with vinegar will help “erase” their scent.

Vinegar is an item that should be on every pantry shelf. It has zillions of money-saving uses around the house. Don’t know what it can be used for? Just send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (61 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Vinegar, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001 to receive a copy of my six-page Fantabulous Vinegar Hints and More that will save you so much money. You can use vinegar to clean chrome fixtures, clay pots and glass, and as a drain cleaner. — Heloise

Decanter cleaning

DEAR HELOISE: To clean a vase/decanter, fill it with water and drop in a couple of denture-cleaning tablets. Leave it overnight. My dentist told me this years ago. — Sara W., Honokowai, Maui, Hawaii

Hints from Heloise is syndicated by King Features Syndicate. Send great hints to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; by fax, 210-HELOISE (435-6473); or by e-mail, Heloise@Heloise.com.