Baking soda controls odor in washing machine

Dear Heloise: I think it was from your column that I learned to keep the door of my front-load washing machine open so that it could dry between uses. What a difference this has made in odor control. — Debbie Y. in Illinois

Dear Debbie Y: This is a hint I’ve written about for some time now. Many readers do not like their front loaders for this very reason.

Be sure to wipe the door gasket and leave the washer door open until the inside dries. Some readers even leave a bowl of baking soda in the machine when it’s not in use to cut down on odors.

Baking soda to the rescue again! If you would like more hints on baking soda and all the jobs it can handle in your home, you can order my baking-soda pamphlet. To receive one, please send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (70 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Baking Soda, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001.

Did you decide to leave a bowl of baking soda in the washing machine between uses (½ to 1 cup)? Take this “used” baking soda and toss it in with the next load of laundry to give it an added cleaning boost. — Heloise

CLEANING LAMPSHADES

Dear Heloise: I wanted to let you know a hint for cleaning lampshades: canned air! It works great on many things, including lampshades. I was surprised you did not list that as one of the methods for cleaning dusty lampshades. — Trish A., via email

NO FUSS OR MUSS

Dear Heloise: We decided to paint the stairs in our house. We weren’t sure how to go about it, because we still needed to use them while we were painting. It took us a while, but we painted one step at a time. We easily could skip the step that was wet, and still were able to use them while painting. — Cheryl M., via email

Hints from Heloise is syndicated by King Features Syndicate. Send great hints to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000.