HELOISE Homemade glass cleaner is a great concoction

Dear Heloise: You once had a concoction for making glass cleaner using vinegar, ammonia and water. Unfortunately, I misplaced the ratio of the mix. Would you please reprint this for me? Don, Via E-mail
Well, Don, let me tell you: I have a few different solutions, but none of them uses vinegar and ammonia together -- it's either one or the other. So, I'm going to pass along a window-cleaning solution to you as well as to anyone else out there who might want to give it a try.
All you need to do is mix 1/2 cup of vinegar with 1/2 gallon of water. Put it in a spray bottle and label accordingly. Be sure to keep this and all cleaners out of the reach of children and pets. Vinegar is my favorite cleaner -- it is cheap and has millions of uses around the house. To receive a six-page pamphlet filled with great ways to use vinegar, please send $4 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (60 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Vinegar, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5001. Vinegar (apple cider or white distilled) can also be used to remove hard-water spots from bathroom or kitchen fixtures. Heloise
Dear Heloise: While traveling for an extended time recently, I embellished on a friend's idea. The original idea was to carry tissues in a resealable plastic bag. I added twisties, rubber bands and paper clips. Doesn't take up much room in my purse, and it's immediately available. Jackie Herfurth, Montevideo, Minn.
Dear Heloise: This is for the woman who had problems with the moldy nonskid bathmat that fits inside the bathtub. She was directed to hang it on the towel rack after each use. We have a tub and shower combination, and we put an extension shower rod on the back wall of the enclosure. After a shower or bath, we hang both the bathtub mat and floor mat on the rod after every use. So simple and efficient. Jeane Stanton, Tracy, Minn.
We also got a note from Denise Demos of Griffith, Ind. She says: "Instead of putting the nonskid bathmat in the washer, I have a better way, I think, to clean the bathmat. I first loosen the mat so it isn't stuck to the tub, then fill the tub with hot water just enough to cover the mat, put in a cup of bleach and let it sit for as long as I want before I clean the tub. You have a very clean and sanitary bathmat and floor of the tub." Heloise
Dear Heloise: When I work with raw onions, I turn on the exhaust fan over the stovetop and peel or chop the onions underneath the fan. That way, the onion astringency is sucked up away from my face and eyes and is blown harmlessly into the outdoors. Jerry Jennings, Fairfax County, Va.
Dear Heloise: My washer and dryer are outside in an enclosed utility room, so I use a baby monitor to listen in and hear when the washer and dryer stop running. Linda Amick, Columbia, S.C.
XSend a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, Fax: (210) HELOISE or E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate