LITTLE ROCK — DEAR HELOISE: You published a hint about putting sharp knives together in the same bin in the dishwasher silverware holder, tips up. You said they should go tips down “as a safety precaution.”
The whole point is that the knives are tips up because they’ll get cleaner, and theyare all together in one place so that they won’t accidentally stick anyone. I’ve been doing the same thing for years, using the silverwarecompartment farthest to the back. When I put knives tips down, the tips often got broken or bent. Fork tines also can get bent, and they certainly do not get as clean as when they are placed business ends up.
- A.D., Fayetteville, N.C.
DEAR READER: Many people do this even though the manufacturer’s manual clearly states to place sharp objects such as knives, forks or skewers point down, handle up. If there are children or even curious pets in the household, I vote for safety and say points down.
DEAR HELOISE: I wanted to let you know what wonderful results I got cleaning calcium deposits out of my teakettle with vinegar. It was thick and appeared hopeless, but after numerous treatments, it’s totally clean.
- Helen Payne, Fort Worth, Texas
DEAR READER: For those who want to know how to clean a teakettle, fill it with full-strength vinegar, let boil for 20-30 minutes, then let it cool down. Scrape the bottom of the kettle with a wooden spoon to remove as much of the icky stuff as possible.That’s all there is to it! It is truly amazing the things vinegar will clean. Vinegar is a “green” cleaner, and is cheap to buy, too! Do you have a decanter with hard-water stains? Pour in enough full-strength warm to hot vinegar to cover the stains. Let the decanter sit for several hours or overnight, then scrub, and the deposits should flake right off!
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or e-mail
Weekend, Pages 36 on 09/23/2010