HELOISE Vinegar fights hard-water stains and soap scum

Dear Heloise: I have a new house with glass shower doors. I wipe them dry after each use, but it seems that they still get a little hazy. I want to be able to clean them every now and then with something that is not damaging in the long run. Susanne Vanlinden, Coppell, Texas
Drying the shower doors after each use is a great idea, but those nasty hard-water stains and soap scum will eventually make an appearance.
The best way to clean the doors that won't harm you or them is with my favorite -- vinegar! Just fill a spray bottle and keep it handy, and when you see that yuck forming, spray and scrub with a soft brush. Rinse, and your doors will shine. Also, put a light coat of baby or mineral oil on the doors, and the gunk won't adhere so easily. Vinegar has so many wonderful uses that I put together my Fantabulous Vinegar pamphlet. To receive a copy of the six-page pamphlet, 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 will also help keep a bathroom sink drain smelling fresh. Pour a cup of white or apple-cider vinegar down the drain and let it sit overnight. Next, add 3 tablespoons of baking soda; wait a minute, then flush for 30 seconds with cold water. Heloise
Dear Readers: Here is a travel hint I received from Tom Adkinson while in Hawaii doing a speech for the Society of American Travel Writers:
"Do not put film (exposed or unexposed) in checked airline luggage. The machines inspecting checked luggage today are different and more powerful than the machines that check carry-on luggage." Heloise
Dear Heloise: Regarding the shrink-wrapping on compact discs: It's there so the cases don't pop open during shipping and the CD doesn't get scratched. Go to a music store that sells CDs and pick up a CD opener. It costs less than a buck. Just two swipes along all four spines of the package and that dratted wrapper peels off like magic. Louis A. Robertson, Laurence Harbor, N.J.
How handy, and much safer than jabbing around with a knife or scissors. Heloise
Dear Heloise: We keep in our car trunk a spring-type shower-curtain rod and an opaque plastic shower curtain. When we share a room with family members, we use the rod to make a private dressing area, closing the bedroom from the bath area. S.S. from Mississippi
Dear Heloise: Here's a hint for those of you who use hot tubs year-round or have pools open when it's still a little chilly outside: I put our beach towels in the dryer about five minutes before the kids come out of the water -- no more shivering little ones, as the heated towels warm them up in a jiffy! Mary Ledwin Bean, Falls Church, Va.
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can't answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.
King Features Syndicate