Dear Heloise: I often check out your column in our local paper and find interesting hints. A friend who works at a restaurant was using coffee filters to dry off tables before each customer. The filters absorb the dampness and do not leave streaks for a cleaner tabletop. She also used them on her vehicle windows, so anytime you need to dry off a surface, try this. Besides, filters are extremely cheap. Hope this is useful!
— Pat and Karen, in Salem, Ohio
LICENSE PLATE BLUES
Dear Heloise: I make several small vertical cuts on my new license plate tags with a razor blade. This keeps it from being stolen by someone else who won’t want pay to register their car.
— Donna T., Beaverton, Oregon
CHEAP WAY TO MAKE SOAP
Dear Heloise: I always take tiny slivers of soap and store them in a paper bag. When I’ve collected enough, I boil them in a pot of water with a little rubbing alcohol. When everything is well-mixed, I pour the mixture into wooden soap molds that my son made for me. I can usually get about two or three bars of soap this way.
My mother used to do this during World War II when soap was hard to get. It’s a thrifty way to use all of a bar of soap.
— Dorothy F., Corbin, Kentucky
LIMA BEANS
Dear Heloise: My husband is absolutely certain that lima beans are poisonous. I think he’s being ridiculous about this, but I’m writing to you to see if you know whether lima beans are dangerous to eat.
— Connie S., Pocatello, Idaho
Connie, lima beans are not poisonous. In fact, they are an excellent source of fiber. One cup of cooked lima beans consists of manganese (which is an antioxidant), copper and iron. They also contain vitamins C, D and B6. They can help with weight loss and enhance blood sugar control, so lima beans are a healthy legume.
Perhaps your husband just doesn’t care for the taste, but there are many recipes online and in cookbooks to make them more appealing.
— Heloise
EGG IN SHAMPOO
Dear Heloise: I like to use egg yolk with my shampoo, but a friend of mine thinks it’s a waste of an egg. She claims that the egg does nothing to help my hair. Any thoughts on this?
— Brandy W., Belle Glade, Florida
Brandy, egg yolks contain lecithin, which easily combines with dirt and oil on the scalp so that the dirt is rinsed out when combined with shampoo. It’s very possible that eggs strengthen hair strands with this method of shampooing, but the jury is still out on this one.
One of the best ways to help your hair — and your whole body — is to eat eggs. They’re a good source of proteins and minerals. The one thing you might want to steer clear of are shampoos that contain sulphates, which some stylists believe strip the hair of natural oils and dull the hair as well.
— Heloise
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