HINTS FROM HELOISE

Dear Readers:

Here are some candle hints:

Use a long piece of uncooked spaghetti to light candles, especially those deep in glass holders.

Clean dusty or dingy candles with a soft cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol.

To prevent a votive candle from getting stuck in a holder, put a little vegetable cooking spray in the holder.

Plastic wrap or a small amount of modeling clay will steady wobbly candles. Put a piece of modeling clay inside the candleholder and then press the candle into the clay. To use plastic wrap, put it around the bottom part of the candle and then place the candle in the holder.

Dear Heloise:

A co-worker said his mother used to put some of their clothes, rolled up, in the freezer. What was the purpose of this? He doesn't remember.

Patti Bustamante, via e-mail

In the '50s, my mom used to sprinkle the ironing with warm water. She would use an empty glass soda bottle that had a stopper with holes. This made it easy to sprinkle the warm water over the clothes and linens to be ironed. Then she would roll the items into an old, cut-up plastic shower curtain and put them on the bottom shelf of our refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. This allowed the moisture to dampen all the items and made it easier to iron out the wrinkles. Putting the items into the refrigerator delayed mildew and sour odors from developing until she had time to iron. It worked.