Author: Gateway Gazette Contributor

By Reena Nerbas Converting Celsius to Fahrenheit Dear Reena, Can you please tell me an easy trick (if such exists) for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit? Maryanna Dear Maryanna, The following is an easy trick that you can use, and calculate in your head; it is not 100% accurate but it is close. Take the temperature,…

By Reena Nerbas Using a Bar of Soap More Than Once Dear Reena, I tend to only use a bar of soap once before throwing it out because I don’t want to spread germs onto myself. Do you think that this is common practice among other people? Or do you think it is safe to…

By Reena Nerbas Safe Temperature for Milk Dear Reena, My toddler is now drinking whole milk from a sipper cup. How long can milk sit out before it needs to be refrigerated? Kendall Hello Kendall, Milk can sit out at room temperature for two hours and still be safe to use. If the milk has…

By Reena Nerbas Cleaning Bottom of Frying Pan Hi Reena, Do you have advice for cleaning the bottom of a stainless-steel frying pan? Thank you, Katharine Hi Katharine, Here are a few tricks to brighten a stainless-steel pot, both on the inside and the outside: Soak tomato juice, sauce, puree, ketchup, any tomato acid base…

By Reena Nerbas Cleaning Black Gas Stovetop Hi Reena, I have a black gas stove (that I really love) but would like to find something that cleans the black stovetop without using harsh scrubbers or chemicals, because I am afraid to damage the surface. It would be nice to also do this without streaks! Any…

This week Reena offers solutions for Stubborn Burnt Pot;  Concrete Stains; Waterless Hand Cleaner; How to Make Vanilla Extract; Attracting Lady Bugs to Your Garden.

By Reena Nerbas Cleaning Bottom of Stainless Steel Pot Hi Reena, Firstly, I recently boiled a stainless-steel pot completely dry. When I took it off the hot element I put the pot on a dishcloth that must have had a lot of synthetics in it, most of which melted and adhered to the bottom of…

By Reena Nerbas Permanent Mark on Wood Table Dear Reena, I have a dark, real wood coffee table. A hot plate was placed on it and now there’s a white spot. Can you please tell me what to do? Valerie Dear Valerie, The first and easiest solution is to apply mayonnaise or non-gel, non-bleach toothpaste…

By Reena Nerbas Storing Extra Buttons Dear Reena, Many of the jackets and suits that I buy are sold with an extra button. Apart from storing the button in the jacket pocket, do you have any suggestions as to how to organize apparel buttons without losing them? Timothy Dear Timothy, One option is to sew…

By Reena Nerbas Frustrated by Packaging Dear Reena, Whenever I purchase household items that have thick packaging encasing them, it takes me a mountain of time and frustration to remove the plastic, often my scissors can’t cut through the thick plastic. Do you have any ideas to make this easier? Gloria Dear Gloria, Run a…

By Reena Nerbas Bathroom Grout Dear Reena, Can you help us with a grout problem in our bathroom? We want to clean the grout between the one inch tiles. What can we use to clean the yellowish grout? I have tried a commercial cleaner and it didn’t do anything. I used a spray cleaner; it…