HELOISE: Lint loves reader’s black pants

Dear Heloise: I have new black cotton jean/slack-type pants that are covered in white lint. A lint remover will remove it temporarily, but it keeps coming back. Any suggestions for how I can keep this from happening after use and washing? Thank you.

Denise Krout, via e-mail

Hmm — the mystery lint dilemma. Where is the white lint coming from? My guess is that when washing the jeans/slacks, something is giving off lint! Or, are you in contact daily with something such as linen napkins? Try washing and drying the jeans with only other black items, and turn the clothes inside out. Also, check the lint filter on your dryer before each load.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: A good annual chore is to clean or replace faucet aerators. They can get fairly dirty after a while.

Walter, via e-mail

Good hint! Low-water aerators are highly recommended for saving water. Aerators do get clogged with minerals and dirt, causing a noticeably slower flow of water from your faucet. It is a fairly easy job (have someone handy available to help) to remove the screw-on faucet aerator screen and rinse it well, using a toothpick to clear the holes.

For stubborn deposits, soak the aerator screen in full-strength vinegar overnight (don’t put any stainless-steel parts in the vinegar, as it can pit the parts).

Also, they are relatively inexpensive to replace — usually less than $5 each.

An important Heloise Hint is to place a washcloth over the drain so nothing can fall down the drain.

Heloise

Dear Heloise: I read in your column a hint for preventing foot smells. Here’s a hint that’s both simpler and cheaper. (Heloise here: The hint was about preventing odor in running shoes.)

While showering, rub a nail brush (or small foot brush) across a bar of antibacterial soap and scrub the bottom of your feet. This hard bar lasts a long time and allows easy control of how much gets rubbed onto the brush.

I appreciate the daily hints I receive via e-mail, and I’ve got a shelf of Heloise Hints books going back years.

A Reader, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Read your hint for cleaning hairbrushes. I would like to add that I put a little liquid soap in my bathroom sink, add the combs and brushes and cover with water. I use an old toothbrush to clean both. The toothbrush just fits in between the rows of bristles on the brushes, and you can get all the way down to the base. Thanks for all your hints!

Elsie in Auburn, Ill.

Dear Heloise: When I travel, I found a new, useful tip for the small plastic bags that extra buttons come in with new clothes. They hold a one-day supply of my medications for each day I’ll be gone (plus two extra days in case of delays). They don’t take up much room and fit easily into my purse. Thank you for your great tips through the years.

Teresa Lassek in Fullerton, Neb.

Dear Heloise: When I am having a party or guests overnight, I always put on a new roll of toilet tissue. I have been in someone else’s home when the roll has emptied. You really don’t want to start opening a person’s cabinets to find a new roll, so this hint eliminates that.

Martha P., via e-mail

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

King Features Syndicate