DEAR HELOISE: I recently bought a car. Do I have to take it to the dealer for service? They seem a lot more expensive.
-- Mary D. in Pennsylvania
DEAR READER: Mary, going to the dealership for routine maintenance may seem like it's taking a bigger slice out of your budget, but consider the following hints:
• Service technicians who work at the dealership are specially trained to work on your make and model of car.
• After spending a pretty penny on a new car, truck or SUV, it doesn't make sense to go low on the maintenance.
• Being a regular customer in the service department may bode in your favor when you eventually replace your vehicle.
There are steps you can take as a consumer. Carefully read your owners manual. Sometimes the service department will "recommend" changing out certain fluids that the manual may not. Educate yourself on what is necessary for your style of driving. If you don't drive the vehicle a lot or under harsh conditions, you may not need these extra services.
The manual is your best source for maintenance recommendations -- the manual, and your service adviser at the dealership.
DEAR HELOISE: I'm just 5 feet tall. The drum on my washing machine is very deep -- I can't reach small items on the bottom when transferring to the dryer.
I keep a plastic spaghetti fork hanging next to my washer. The plastic doesn't scratch the drum, and the fork grabs the smallest items.
-- Linda S., California
DEAR HELOISE: I rely on a wall calendar for my work. The photography in the calendar is so beautiful that I want to save the calendars each year. I write appointments in the squares, but I started writing the appointments on sticky notes and taping them to the squares so I can remove them later.
But I was thinking, maybe I should permanently record my appointments so I can look back at all that I've accomplished through the year.
-- Gloria S. in New York
DEAR HELOISE: The "aqua tube" florists use when delivering flowers has other uses. It can be used to store toothpicks, beads, craft buttons and many other things.
-- Yu-Chih M., via email
Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email
Style on 06/27/2017