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 have …
Dear Home Ec 101, My husband finally broke down and bought us a new stove and fridge last week. They delivered the stove and I’m so freaked out because he got a ceramic smooth top range. I told him I only wanted the coil burner type because the ceramic tops are such hard work to …
Dear Home Ec 101, I burned a microfiber rag on my flat top range as I thought it was cool and was wiping it off. The regular ceramic stove top cleaners are not taking it off. How can I remove the melted microfiber from my stove? Signed,Stuck in Sturbridge Cleaning melted anything off of a …
Dear Home Ec 101, I was making grilled cheese sandwiches. I lifted the skillet to slide a sandwich onto the plate, and it got too close to the bread. And to the bread’s plastic bag. Of course I didn’t notice that until I tried to lift the skillet again and found that it was a …
Dear Home Ec 101, I have a glass (or maybe ceramic?) range that came with our house. It was new in June when we moved in. I have never had one before and am puzzled by some strange markings which have appeared on it. I use a ceramic cooktop cleaner on it about every other …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I can get a new Roomba 530 for a great post-Christmas price. In my rental place, we have vertical blinds. I was worried how the machine would cope with those. I have tiles all through except the bedrooms that have thick, soft carpet. Your advice is appreciated. Signed, I want a robot minion …
Dear Home-Ec 101: I have an electric water kettle that I’ve used for years. Since it can’t go in the dishwasher or even really be hand washed other than just rinsing it out, I am always careful to empty any leftover water out before I store it. My parents came to visit in July and …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I have a lovely stainless steel, 4 slice toaster, with crumb tray. I clean out the crumb tray, wipe everything down, and shake it like a martini over the trash can, but when I set it back down, it still has crumbs falling out. Repeat process many times, plus when I look …
Dear Home-Ec 101: I’ve been having issues with my refrigerator & freezer recently. It is an old (circa 1995 according to the repairguy)* side by side that came with the house when I bought it in ’08. About 2 months the thing just quit. I opened up the freezer door to get some ice cream …
Dear Home-Ec 101,I have a rusty microwave and I’m worried. I know that there has always been some rust inside my microwave door, but recently I noticed it has become a lot of rust. I wiped it, shut the door & reopened it, and saw the rust dust was spreading. I only use my microwave …