Summertime brings bunch of berry stains

Dear Heloise: Help! I love strawberries, but got them on my shorts. Can you share a suggestion on how to remove the stain? Thanks. Charmaine, Mount Airy, N.C.

Don’t give up your strawberries, Charmaine. Try this: As soon as possible, soak the stained area in cold water. If any stain remains, rub liquid laundry detergent into the stain while it is still wet and then launder in warm water and detergent.

Summertime brings with it a whole bunch of stains that you’ll find a cleaning solution for in my eight-page Heloise’s Handy Stain Guide for Clothing, which you can have by sending $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (59 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Stains, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or visit www.Heloise.com for ordering information. For example, to remove grass stains from baseball uniforms, rub liquid laundry detergent into the stain, or treat with prewash spray. Launder in the hottest water safe for the fabric, using an enzyme detergent. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I enjoy reading your hints regularly in the Times Herald-Record in Newburgh, N.Y. My favorite purse has a black lining, which makes it difficult to see the little pocket inside when returning my cell phone to it. I solved the problem by simply over-stitching the edge with some white thread. Now it is easy to see. Barbara Hendricks, Newburgh, N.Y.

Dear Heloise: My pantry was getting overrun with plastic bags. I put an empty, 35-pound cat-litter tub on the shelf, and it’s an instant bin for anything — shoes, tools and especially plastic bags! This type of container has a hinged lid — perfect for storing items.

Also, in the microwave, I place a plastic colander over food items to keep them from splattering. Pat in Texas

Pat, love both hints. Using the cat-litter tub for storage is reusing items, which is a green hint. Saves the environment and your money. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I accidentally bled on my recliner. I soaked a tissue in some hydrogen peroxide and slowly rubbed the spots. Lo and behold, they came out. Then I used a tissue soaked in cold water to flush out any remaining solution. The chair now looks good as new! Gene, via e-mail

Just keep in mind that hydrogen peroxide can have a mild “bleaching” action on many fabrics. So, always test a hidden spot first to be sure that it won’t remove any of the color. It works slower than chlorine bleach, but may still fade some materials. Heloise

Dear Heloise: Like most people, I had cans of half- or quarter-used paint that was separating and drying out. So, I bought quart-size canning jars and labeled the tops with the paint name using an indelible marker. I filled the jars, and now I have more than enough paint for touching up or painting a damaged wall. Fran Fletcher, via e-mail

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