And here's all I do:

1. Pick up and put away anything that's out of place. In our case, that's definitely the biggest part of the job.

2. Spritz the sink, toilet, and tub or shower with the diluted sanitizer. Be sure that you're thorough, especially on the toilet, where you should spray the seat, lid, handle, and all the areas underneath the seat.

3. Let the cleaner sit for a couple of minutes.

4. Using one of your cleaning cloths, wipe the solution off. Wipe the sink first, then the tub/shower, and finally the toilet, working from top to bottom. It helps if you fold your cloth over a couple of times, and then refold it as you go, so that you're always using a dry surface to wipe with.

5. If the toilet bowl needs it, sprinkle a little cleanser in the bowl and brush it down. I end up only doing this step about once a week.

You should find that soap scum comes right off the tub because if you do this frequently, there's never alot of scum buildup. If that's not the case, try adding a little baking soda to your bath water to reduce the amount of scum that forms. Failing that, you can scour the tub occasionally - I haven't found it necessary. Don't worry about mirrors and light fixtures when you do these spritz cleans - that'll get picked up in the weekly cleaning.

I've found that our bathrooms really stay looking nice this way, with much less effort than I used to spend. And, since the bathroom cleaning is no longer part of the weekly cleaning effort, that goes much faster, too.

Judy has provided a series of housecleaning tips. Her articles run each month. She features a 'common-sense' approach to getting the job done.

Dear Dollar Stretcher:
I have two home heating questions. First having to do with using pre-set thermostat offsets and when a heat-pump becomes ineffective due to outside temperature. Off-set opinions range from don't use them (heating the house back up wastes whatever you saved), 5 degrees lower during the night-time hours, don't use the off-set unless you can set it for at least 8-10 hours, use 10 degrees off-set or not at all. I guess then the "controversy" stems from 3 different aspects:

The other side of my question involves heat pump cost effectiveness at various temperatures. Here in Maryland the winter temps fluctuate widely; for example, the forecast for today calls for a 58 degree high. Next week it could be in the teens. My question is: at what temperature does a heat pump become cost ineffective? Should I rely on the furnace assist or just set it for furnace only below that temperature?

My new-fangled thermostat obviously gives me too many future shock choices. Don't you agree?
-- Bonnie S.

Bonnie asks a couple of good questions. Let's look at the heat pump question first since it's a bit simpler. A heat pump is a device that can take heat from outside air and then transfer that warm air inside your home. Believe it or not, there's even some heat in 20 and 30 degree outside air.

But, just as Bonnie suspected, a heat pump becomes less effective as the outside temperature drops. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a heat pump can be twice as efficient as conventional heating at 50 degrees F. But it rapidly loses it's efficiency and effectiveness when you get into the 30 degree range. In fact, most pumps will automatically engage your regular heater when it gets to 35 degrees outside and many will shut off when you get to 15 degrees.

Now, lets look at offset thermostats. These are thermostats that are programmed to change from one temperature setting to another for a preset period. For instance, you could have your heater turned off from 8 am to 5pm during working days. Or you could have it only heat the house to say 60 degrees instead of your normal setting of 68 degrees.

I went out looking for an answer to Bonnie's question about the appropriate use of setback thermometers and found a surprising lack of data. When you think about it though, it's really not that surprising. We're asking for an answer to a question with quite a few variables. What type of heater do you have? How cold is it? How much difference is there between the regular and offset temperatures? How long do you use an offset?

There is a way to test your own furnace so that you can answer the questions that Bonnie asks. The only 'equipment' that you'll need is a watch, a thermometer, a note pad and the ability to do a little math.

Here's what we’re going to do. First, we're going to figure out what percentage of time that the furnace runs to keep the room at an even temperature for the higher setting. To do this we'll make sure that the room is already at the desired temperature. Then we're going to listen to our furnace to see how much time it's actually burning fuel.

Remember that most heaters actually start burning fuel for a few seconds before the fan starts to move warm air through your vents. With a gas or oil furnace you can listen for the 'whoosh' that the burner makes when it lights. If you have an electric system you'll have to refer to your owner's manual to find out what the delay time is (probably about 10 seconds).

You'll be making notes saying when the furnace turns on and off. Do this for about 20 to 30 minutes. Enough time to get a representative sample. Then total the time the heater was actually consuming fuel and calculate the percentage of time (‘on’ time divided by ‘off’ time).

Next you need to check the amount of time that the furnace is running at the lower ‘setback’ temperature. Drop your thermostat to the lower setting. Wait long enough for the room temperature to reach the new level. After it gets to that temperature check the amount of time the furnace runs just like you did before. Calculate the percentage just like before. Naturally, if you’ve turned it off the percentage ‘on’ is zero.

Now compare the two percentages. Subtract the ‘setback’ percent from the higher percent. How much difference is there? If the setback percent is 40 and the regular is 60% then you would save 1/3 of your heating costs for the time you use the setback temperature.

Clearly if you save that much it doesn’t take many hours to save some real money. But if the difference is only a few percent then you’ll need to use the setback for more hours to achieve real savings.

Now how about the question of what it takes to heat the house back up after the setback is over. Do you lose all your savings? Let’s start by going back to our original test. During normal operation the furnace was on 60% of the time or 36 minutes each hour (60 minutes X .60). During setback operation it’s on 24 minutes each hour. That means we save 12 minutes for each hour of setback use.

Let’s see what it takes to heat back up to the normal temperature. Once your house has stabilized at the setback temperature manually reset the thermostat for the normal temperature. You’re going to monitor the furnace just like you did before. Note how long the furnace runs before it reaches equilibrium at the normal range.

Suppose it ran for 35 minutes before it stopped at the normal operating range. You really need to subtract the amount of time that the furnace would have run anyway during normal operation. In this case it would have run about 20 out of the 35 minutes. So you actually ran it about 15 minutes more than normal (35 minus 20). Remember you saved 12 minutes per hour using the setback. That means you’d need to use the setback for a little more than one hour before you actually saved any money.

Now there are some variables that we haven’t taken into account. You’ll get somewhat different results on a 50 degree day than a 15 degree day. If you have people opening outside doors that, too, will make a difference! But you’ll quickly get an idea of whether it makes sense in your home to change the setting for only a few hours.

You can translate the info we collected into actual dollars saved if you know your cost of energy (gas, oil, electricity) and the rate that your furnace consumes fuel.

Generally speaking, you can save money by keeping your thermostat as low as possible. Even if you’ll be raising the temperature later, you’ll save money by turning it down for whatever times you can. Thanks again to Bonnie for asking a thought provoking question.

Gary Foreman writes the Dollar Stretcher column. If you have a question or comment for him write to: The Dollar Stretcher, 949 E. Cypress Creek Rd., suite 101, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334 or email him at: gary@stretcher.com.

Bob I just ordered a new Cadillac and I wonder how good a deal I got? I was at the largest dealer in Florida with my daughter. the salesmen came over and started talking. I told him he would not want to do business with me for I would only pay dead cost plus the holdback. within minutes the general manager was there. the figures they gave me were to the penny what Edmunds puts on the net. They even did not charge me the percent for advertising. I paid dead cost, plus transportation plus the 3% on the retail price of the car. he told me they were making $1100 on the car and he had to pay a special fee of something like 148 to some group.

The salesman told me he only made a hundred dollars. I told him he talked for about fifteen minutes and I did not make my money that fast.

Deal? I wonder if there is some secret that Edmunds doesn't tell.

Ben in Orlando

Well Ben,
Looks like someone finally took my advice and it paid off! Great to hear it. Now that you made it big on the price of the car what are you going to do? Did you get ripped off on the dealer warranty? Did they get you for other dealer items that are twice the price of everyone else? I would hope not! But you really should look into getting a warranty. Since you found Edmunds, then you must know about the warranty company. Since I am in dialog with them, I can not mention their name until it is resolved, but since you are all web savvy, I'm sure you can find them. There are several, so check them out. Now that's over, I can not stress this enough, CHANGE THE OIL EVERY THREE THOUSAND MILES!!!!!!! Underline and italics for emphasis! Your car will last longer, especially if you live near the beach. And since you live in Florida, isn’t that just one big beach anyway? Also, keep a good coat of wax on it. The salt will kill the paint (not to mention the sun) Personally, I like ZYMOL. This stuff is great, I used it on my new truck, my buddy's new mustang, our motorcycles, and even my wife's 87 Taurus and they all look great! It even smells like suntan lotion! after reading though some other information I found on the product, it actually has a spf rating. Which is good, you don’t want those ultra violet rays to fade that gorgeous paint job! so, did you get an STS Northstar? These are some works of art! Even the Eldorado is nice. But these motors are 100,000 miles between tune ups. But like I said, CHANGE THE OIL and for that matter the air filter every so often as well.

--Bob DeP
The Auto Answer Guy ?

Bob,
I have a '91 Ford F-150 pickup truck. The front disk brake pads are wearing out strangely. The outer brake pads are worn down and need replacing, but the inner pads look like they are not wearing at all. How can that be? The time between brake changes has accelerated also. Do have an answer/idea?
--Ron

Well, this is an easy! Any time you have uneven brake pad wear, it is almost 90% of the time due to a bad caliper. Does this happen on both sides? another possible cause in that there may be a plug in the brake line and the pressure is low or in the proportioning valve. Now, you said '91 right? it only has anti lock in the rear. Which incidentally is a joke. On my '91 Bronco, they never worked right. And who really needs anti lock on drum brakes anyway?!? Hope this helps!

My next response is to Jeff with his minivan headliner problem and oxidizing paint. I have seen many a car that is about 10 years old with the headliner drooping down and hitting the driver. Now, I have not been into the parts business for a while, but there used to be a spray can of glue may especially for headliners. It has a little straw that you poke through the headliner and spray the glue around. Then you just push it back up and hopefully it will stay there for another 10 years. The next thing you mentioned was badly oxidized paint. Well there are several products out there that claim they help. There is one that I know of first hand that does NOT. This is product is called Touchless. Now to avoid a potential lawsuit by the manufacturer, let me explain to you what I did, and you can draw your own inference. Two summers ago, I had a bad motorcycle accident and broke my knee pretty bad. I hadn't waxed my truck yet for the summer. Since I was really not mobile enough to do a real wax job, I found this product. It went on in about 10-15 minutes and really looked great! But the problem occurred this past summer, my nice blue truck turned WHITE! The touchless acrylic had oxidized soo badly that it turned almost WHITE! I tried almost everything to get rid of it. I finally gave up and had it detailed by a friend of mine that owns a body shop. He would up using a 3M product similar to that of a very fine polishing compound and a powerful SLOW speed buffer. The truck looked great, then I sold it. So, the moral of this story is, try what you can to save money, but in the long run, you might just have to bring it to the pro's. Incidentally, it took my friend 2 full days to get it right. I don't know if the backyard mechanic has the time or the proper equipment to get the paint back in that amount of time.

Bob DeP
The Auto Answer Guy?

Bob answers your auto questions. If you have a question for Bob just sent it to him though The Dollar Stretcher (gary@stretcher.com) please put "Ask Bob" in the subject header.

Here's a blind man's question for you. Is there a way to put a tactile mark on credit cards in such a way that it won't interfere with the card reading machines?

Thanks for the column, and keep up the good work.
--Jim

Several years ago we had just moved into our new home with a jacuzzi tub in the master bath. With the new home, 2 small children and me a stay-home-mom, we had very little money. Because of this, I bought my husband a large bottle of bubble bath and a note to pick the time and we would share a romantic bath. We used them once and the remainder was placed in the cabinet. The next year, he pulled them out and returned them to me with a lovely note. It started a ritual and now we have a great gift and give it to each other for no "formal" occasion at all.
--Sandy

I am responding to the 12/30/96 request for a pizza dough recipe. I don't think that a bulk mix is really necessary, since there are only a few basic ingredients. Also, by using a food processor it is very quick and easy to make. Here is my recipe:

In a 2 cup pyrex measure dissolve:

Let this stand while you measure:

Next, measure 1 cup of ice water and add it to the now bubbly yeast. (The food processor motor gets too hot for the yeast so you have to use part ice water).

With the food processor motor running, slowly (about 20 seconds) pour the yeast mixture through the feed tube. Keep an eye on the dough and when it starts to pull away from the sides of the work bowl begin timing 60 seconds. (It helps to wear a watch with a second hand). Add more flour from the reserved 1/2 cup a little at a time until it reaches the right consistency. It should not be too sticky.

Remove dough to a piece of floured wax paper on the counter top; divide into two pieces; cover each with an inverted large or medium mixing bowl; let rise 30 minutes; shape into two 12 inch rounds (a rolling pin works well); pre-bake 5-6 minutes at 375 degrees (let cool wrapped in woven towels and freeze for later meals in 2 gal zip lock freezer bags), or top immediately with your favorite sauce & toppings, and bake approximately 10 minutes at 450 degrees.

If you don't have a food processor start with 1 1/3 cups warm water/sugar/yeast in a large mixing bowl (letting stand 'til bubbly) then add 2 cups flour with the salt, then more flour until kneading consistency. Kneed about 8 minutes.

NOTE: This is a very economical way to have pizza dough. You can make this recipe five times from one 5 lb. bag of bread flour. If the bag costs $1.50, then the cost is $.30 for the flour in one recipe. (2 pizzas). You can also save a bundle by purchasing your yeast in bulk. I buy it from SAMS--two 1 lb. vacuum-shrink- wrapped packages of Red Star rapid rise yeast for about $3.29. (Keeps a long time in a glass jar in the freezer). Before sitting down to write this letter I weighed a quantity of yeast on a diet scale and found that 2 tsp of yeast weighs .21 oz. Divide 32 oz (2 lbs) by .21 and you get 152. Divide $3.29 by 152 to get the cost of the yeast for this recipe (less than $.03 compared with the cost of those little envelopes purchased 3 to a pack for $1.00 or more). So there you have it: $.33 in flour and yeast for dough for two pizzas. Definitely a dollar stretching recipe!

I have at times made two batches, pre-baked the pizza rounds, and froze the extras for quick and easy meals. I have teenagers, and for parties I will make three recipes and have the pre-baked rounds ready to make six pizzas very quickly. My daughters and all their friends love my pizzas. I love the price!

Thanks for the Dollar Stretcher.
Karen J

For your reader who wanted a pizza dough recipe - here is mine. My husband and I make pizza dough every Friday night - a ritual as old as our relationship. As my family has high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, I use no salt or eggs in the recipe, and it works just fine. The recipe makes enough for one thick dough pizza or 2 thin doughs. Enjoy!

Knead for about 5-10 minutes (until the dough is soft and pliable) and let rise for an hour in a warm, draft-free place. If the dough feels a bit dry, add a little bit more hot water - relatively "wet" doughs bake up better.
--LC

Hello! I have some suggestions for decreasing the expense of birth control pills.
1. Ask your doctor for samples. I have received a three month supply this way.
2. Look around for the cheapest dispensing fee at local pharmacies.
3. Purchase your entire 6-12 month prescription at once. This way, you are paying only one dispensing fee versus each single month of paying a dispensing fee. If your dispensing fee is $8 per month, then you would save $88 per year by purchasing them all at once.

Heather, Ontario, Canada

Have a couple of ideas to pass on;
1) you asked for frugal V-day gift ideas....nothing could be more fun than to receive a virtual gift. Some are really nice. Lots of ideas if you just search under virtual gifts. This only works for our "wired" friends. :)
2) A cleaning idea: When beginning to clean up in my kitchen, I start on the range top. Pull out the 3 worst looking burner pans & put them in a large pot of water on the 1 remaining burner. Add a tablespoon or so of dishwasher detergent & simmer until they come clean. (Mine are usually pretty crummy.....sometimes & need to take one out & scrub it a tad,) This gets done while I'm doing the rest of the kitchen. When done, rinse out the burner pans & replace, then clean up the top of the stove. Sure beats trying to scour them clean.

Keep the ideas coming....I get something from every issue!!
Thanks Much
Sue W

I wanted to mention here what I did to save on repair costs for my vehicles. First, always get a price quoted with the parts cost and labor costs separate. Many repair facilities make big big profits off the parts prices. Sometimes, you're kinda stuck, buying their parts if you've been towed and can't easily buy them elsewhere. But in most cases, as in your brake job, if you buy the parts at a parts store for do it yourselfers, such as Pep Boys or Western Auto, Parts USA, etc, you can save a LOT of money, then take them to the repair shop and have them install those parts. I was shocked when I found out my spark plug wires were about 1/4 the cost that the repair shop was going to charge me for them!! In addition to the high labor costs.

--MM

With some girl friends, at every change of season, we use to exchange anything we don't need or want or like anymore like clothes, furnitures, cds, videos, and other stuff. It permits us to go back home with full bags of new "old things" and be as satisfied as if we had spend thousands of dollars in expensive stores... We love to do that at least 3 times a year. It's like Christmas every times. Try this, you'll love it...

Marie-France
Quebec, Canada

A Kristina had told of expecting a baby Jan 1, 1997. Wonder if it arrived?
--ER

All the Best!

Gary Foreman
"The Dollar Stretcher"
gary@stretcher.com
http://www.stretcher.com/dollar

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