Bleach solution can rid shower of mold and mildew

Dear Heloise: Can you please tell me how to get rid of shower-tile mold and scum? I have tried almost everything on the market, and I also use a scrub brush. Anything with bleach usually works, somewhat, for a very short period of time. Eileen Maronna, via e-mail

If it keeps coming back, then it is probably plain old bathroom mold/mildew! To help keep mildew from forming:

Turn on the exhaust fan, open a window (if possible) and leave the bathroom door open so the moisture can escape!

Wipe down the water residue on the tiles with a squeegee or towel.

After a shower, leave the shower door or curtain open until the area is completely dry.

Make a mixture of 1 cup chlorine bleach and 1 gallon water. Apply it to the tile, keeping surfaces wet for five minutes to kill the mold, then rinse and dry.

Once you do this regularly, you shouldn’t have to deal with that pesky mold and soap scum. Heloise

Dear Heloise: After traveling the country, I find that many restaurants don’t have salsa. Being a salsa lover, I put some in an empty spice bottle. It’s much easier than carrying a large bottle of salsa, and much cleaner. Lorraine Shattuck, Helotes, Texas

Dear Heloise: Here’s a hint I thought of when putting up big candles that I never burn because they are too pretty to ruin!

I light them and let them burn down so a votive candle (in an aluminum holder) will fit, with the wick showing. When it burns down, I insert another one, and I’ll get to enjoy the candle for another few years. Chris, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: I buy salads in a large plastic box. It seems a waste to throw the container away only to end up in overflowing landfills.

The container is used to loan my colleagues supplies like extra pencils, index cards, crayons and glue sticks when needed for projects. It has my name on it as a reminder to return it, and it is transparent, so contents are visible. It is convenient to share supplies in a container. Margarette, Temple, Texas

Dear Heloise: If you incorrectly address an envelope for a special card and don’t have an extra on hand, turn the envelope inside out by carefully opening the seams. Kathy Herman, Woodlands, Texas

King Features Syndicate