With the temperatures reaching tripledigits this past week, I thought I’d find some information to helpcombat the heat, hence the information adjacent to my column.

    I also thought it might be a good time to pass along some othergood household hints and tips. So here are few tips.

    With summer in full swing, not only does the heat get to us, butalso mosquitoes.

    I’ve since heard several people say dryer sheets ward offmosquitoes. I’ve also heard some say that only Bounce sheets work.Someone let me know. I haven’t tried this yet.

    Another mosquito trick is Avon’s Skin So Soft. This I have triedand it works pretty well, but can leave you feeling a bitgreasy.

    Of course, the main purpose of dryer sheets is to stop static inyour clothing. Hayley Welch said if that doesn’t work, you canalways put a safety pin in the cuff of your pants. I’m going to trythis one as soon as the cooler weather starts and static cling setsin.

    Betty Brady said put two tennis balls in the dryer to help withstatic cling. She said it also makes your clothes dry faster.

    Betty also gave another interesting tid bit: Put a penny on a beesting and it will not swell and removes the pain. She said she hastried this remedy on her granddaughter and it works!

    I have a slow-draining sink in my bathroom. My husband triedseveral times to “snake” it out, but it’s still pretty slow.Someone suggested taking an Alka Seltzer pill, breaking it up andpouring it down the sink with vinegar. Another suggestion was usingone cup of baking soda, one cup vinegar and very hot water. Usingthis weekly is supposed to keep your drain clear and clean.

    And while we’re in the bathroom, my classmate Joan Dixon said ifyour shower curtain is getting a little “icky” to throw it in thewashing machine with a drop of bleach in the water and then hang itback up to dry.

    Connie Smith said to remove mildew, wet it with hot water and putin the sun and let dry.

    Julie Barlow asked on Facebook the other day, “How do you get ridof burnt food smell?”

    Mary Ann Martin Rice suggested boiling Pine Sol to get a cleansmell, while Robin Pitts suggested lemons. Dwana Barkman suggestedsimmering a bit of the cleanser Fabulosa on the stove. AprilAlsbury suggested baking soda. Julie said her microwave is back tosmelling good, thanks to the lemon juice.

    How many of us have purchased an item and got home and couldn’t getthe sticker residue off of it?

    Sherry Adams said if you have a price tag sticker that won’t comeoff a glass item, to rub a bit of mayonnaise on it and it will comeright off.

    Sherry also gave an old home remedy from India that works forcongested sinuses – oil pulling.

    I had no idea what oil pulling was, so I asked her to explain.

    “Oil pulling involves swishing sunflower oil (10 ml) in your mouthfor 20 minutes then rinsing the mouth and drinking one to twoglasses of water.”

    Sounds yucky, but then sinus gook is yucky, too.

    As for other good household hints, I decided to put together a fewquick tips – some I’ve tried, others I’ve just heard about. Some ofthe tips I have came in an e-mail years ago about the many uses ofvinegar. I don’t remember who sent it, I apologize, but here aresome of its uses.

    • Kill grass on walks and driveways by pouring full strengthvinegar on unwanted grass.

    • Freshen cut flowers by adding two tablespoons of vinegar and oneteaspoon of sugar to each quart of water.

    • Deter ants by spraying vinegar around doors and window frames,under appliances and along other known ant trails.

    • Keep dogs from scratching their ears by cleaning the insides witha soft cloth dipped in diluted vinegar.

    • Keep chickens from pecking each other by adding cider vinegar totheir drinking water. I wonder if this one really works?

    • Clean rust from tools, bolts and spigots by soaking the rustyitems in undiluted vinegar overnight.

    • I’ve heard some people using vinegar to lesson their appetite bysprinkling a little vinegar on prepared food or drinking it mixedwith water to take the edge off their appetites.

    • Relieve dry and itchy skin by adding two tablespoons to bathwater.

    Frances Peavey said that her grandmother recommended pouring abottle of vinegar in a tub of cool water to ease the pain of asunburn.

    Who knew vinegar had so many uses? You could definitely save a bitof money if you just purchased a gallon of vinegar and not allthose pricey cleaning products.

    I hope you found something here you can use.

    And how was your week?

    Lifestyles Editor Tammie Brewer can be reached at The DAILYLEADER at (601) 833-6961 ext. 134, by e-mail attbrewer@dailyleader.com or you can write to her at P.O. Box 551,Brookhaven MS 39602.