Leaf blower becomes powerful cleaning tool

Dear Heloise: My family is calling me the leaf blower queen! That tool has become my favorite thing to use.

My husband was washing the car and I was using the leaf blower to clean the walkways, and I accidentally shot the car (with all four doors open) full of air. I couldn’t believe the dust and trash that shot out from under the seats, from the storage pockets on the doors and all the nooks and crannies, including the trunk.

We keep a small refrigerator outside. When defrosting it, I used the leaf blower to shoot air into it — in just a short time, the chunks of ice started sliding out! It also dusted the outside coils in just a second.

I have used it in the garage after we cleaned the floor to dry the water, and if you don’t get too close to things, it will dust and clean the storage shelves in the garage. I used it to clean our camping space of the sticks and leaves and things that made walking around bumpy.

So, everyone is laughing at me now. I tell them I have only just begun to find ways to use my leaf blower! Marlene Caldwell, Little Rock, Ark.

Sounds like fun, too! Thanks for sharing your timesaving hint. Heloise

Dear Heloise: When my family and I go on vacation, I take along the laundry bag and laundry soap. A lot of motels have washers and dryers for the guests to use. I also wash clothes the last night on the road so the clothes can be put away when we come home. I wash the clothes at night; that way, we can leave in the morning for our next sightseeing adventure of the day. Marge Pizzala, Greendale, Wis.

Dear Heloise: I have a large selection of my favorite footwear, flip-flops. I noticed that the insides of them become soiled from bare feet. One day, while my husband was using the power washer, I asked him to run it over my flip-flops. It did such a great job that I brought out my cloth sandals, and they cleaned up beautifully, too. Just be careful to go lightly, because you can blast a hole in the rubber ones. Marcia Paholski, The Villages, Fla.

Dear Heloise: I found another great way to keep toilet paper from unrolling when in an RV: Take the center cardboard out and pull the paper from the center! The toilet paper sits perfectly anywhere. I also use the toilet paper to take off my makeup — much cheaper than using tissues. Norma Yamamoto, Huntington Beach, Calif.

Dear Heloise: After having vinyl flooring installed, keep the remainder of the roll. Cut and use it to fit in the bottoms of kitchen cabinets. It looks good, is easy to clean and cuts down on the noise of pots and pans banging against metal or wood. J. Truett Langston, Lafayette, Tenn.

X Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate