Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Your reader who wrote about leaking batteries reminded me of a hint I use. I was frustrated with flashlights that did not work properly. The solution is to clean the contacting areas of the flashlight. Use sandpaper or something rough to clean the bottom of the bulb, both ends of the batteries and the top of the spring in the bottom of the flashlight. Then apply a light coating of dielectric grease (used for better contact on batteries or other electrical components). Small tubes are available at auto-parts stores. One year later, formerly dim flashlights still work, nice and bright! – Larry, Garden Grove, Calif.

Dear Heloise: When leaving a message on an answering machine, say not only your name, but also your phone number at the very beginning of the message. Then the person getting the message doesn’t have to listen to the entire message over again to get your number. – C. Stone, Houston