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…
Tackling Difficult Stains on a Smooth Top Stove
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…
Rosewill’s RHRC-13001 5.5 Cup Rice Cooker – On Sale Today
Heather says I was sent a review unit of the Rosewill RHRC-13001 5.5 Cup Rice Cooker. I tested the unit provided and you’ll never believe this. It made rice and it made it well. You’re stunned, just stunned, I can tell. All silliness aside, the Rosewill Rice Cooker works great. We use a rice cooker…
How to Clean a Standard Oven
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…
How to Remove Hard Water Stains in a Kettle
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…
Should I Use My Vacuum on Construction Dust Clean-Up?
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…
Garage Refrigerator / Freezers, Winter, and Your Food
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…
A Home-Ec 101 Guide: How To Clean Home Appliances
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….
Can This Smelly Freezer Be Saved?
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…
Why Should I Run the Hot Water Before Starting the Dishwasher
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…
The Hard Water Headache
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…
Bubbles on a Smooth Top Range
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…
How to Remove Melted Microfiber from a Smooth Top Stove
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 Heather says: Cleaning melted anything…
Flat Top Stoves and Melted Plastic
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…
Spots on a Smooth Top Range
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…