Dear Home-Ec 101, I have a fairly new ice machine at the beach, a house we use roughly every other weekend. Lately, the ice machine does not seem to be cold enough to keep the ice it makes frozen. I have vacuumed the coils, ran a “Clean cycle” with the cleanser, turned it off and … Read more
Dear Home Ec 101, I am well acquainted with the razor blade to clean the dried food spots on my smooth-top stove; however, there are “places” on my stove that cannot be felt with the fingers, and there is nothing to scrape with the razor blade, they’re just mars, I guess. I have a less … Read more
Dear Home-Ec 101, I’ve scoured your site and haven’t found a post about cleaning an oven. Can you give me some pointers. I am 30 years old and NEVER cleaned an oven a day in my life…. I am nervous. Signed, It’s Gotten Smoky in Here Heather says Cleaning an oven takes energy, the food … Read more
Dear Home-Ec 101, I have a Corningware tea pot that has hard water stains from too many times boiling dry. A friend suggested straight bleach and bringing it to a boil, removing it from the burner and letting it set overnight. No luck. Suggestions? Does sodium hypochlorite break down at a certain temperature? Can’t find … Read more
Dear Home-Ec 101, I just found your site. I could totally read it all day! I was not given a lot of training on house keeping and still struggle in my 40s now on how to do things properly. I was reading your article about cleaning fine dust from construction mess and you said don’t … Read more
Dear Home-Ec 101, I have a refrigerator in my garage and for the last few weeks I have noticed the freezer isn’t as cold as it should be. Should I be worried? More importantly, is the food safe? The vegetables seem a little soft. Sincerely, It’s Frickin’ Freezin’ , Mr. Bigglesworth Heather says Garage refrigerators … Read more
They are our modern day servants and we are at a loss when our home appliances stop working. By taking care of them and keeping them clean you can extend the life of your appliances so they can help you through your daily life. To read more about the article just click on the title. … Read more
Dear Home-Ec 101, Help! Due to a series of unfortunate events, my small chest freezer (that sits under the house) was left unplugged for 3 WEEKS! Of course the entire inventory was a total loss, but the real problem is the SMELL. It really smelled like something died down there, and it permeated the house for … Read more
Dear Home Ec 101, I have always followed my Mom’s advice about running hot water in the kitchen sink before (and while) turning my dishwasher on. She also says that if you run the cold water at any point while your dishwasher is running, the water in your dishwasher will be cold. My husband recently … Read more
Dear Home-Ec 101, I was visiting my MIL recently and she told me that they have hard water, so she had to put a lot of extra soap in the washer because otherwise she didn’t get any bubbles and it wouldn’t clean the laundry. This confuses me because I always thought you weren’t supposed to … Read more