Heather Solos 
This reader question came in via email titled: A kitchen cave-in. Dear Home-Ec 101 Yep. That’s right. Lost the ceiling in my kitchen – drop ceiling, light fixture, older (plaster?) ceiling above it, and about 18 inches of blown insulation. I am in the process of getting it fixed. I have shoveled and scooped more …
Dear Home Ec 101, My husband finally broke down and bought us a new stove and fridge last week. They delivered the stove and I’m so freaked out because he got a ceramic smooth top range. I told him I only wanted the coil burner type because the ceramic tops are such hard work to …
Dear Home Ec 101, I love your blog (and book), but have a question I don’t think has been addressed. We live in a small duplex with 5 animals (three dogs and two cats). While I’m learning to keep stuff clean -mostly 😉 – there is one recurring issue that I’ve been having. We have …
Dear Home-Ec 101,I am sorry if you have had this question before, but maybe it bears repeating. I live in hot and sticky Thailand, and I have noticed my tops are not smelling very fresh anymore when I perspire. I usually wash them in cold or warm water with liquid detergent then I hang them to dry. After …
Dear Home-Ec 101:I have a coffeemaker with a removable water reservoir. It turns out that it never totally empties, and now it smells musty. I have tried cleaning it with vinegar and denture tablets, as suggested. I live in southern Louisiana, and musty smells are a way of life, but not in my coffeemaker!Any other …
Dear Home-Ec 101, My problem is that I keep towels that we have used in a closet until I do laundry at the end of the week, and I wanted to know if there is anything I could put inside the closet to keep down the musky smell until laundry day? Signed, Musky in Muskogee Heather …
A long time ago, I stumbled upon the deliciousness that is tomato pie with bacon and onions. The framework for this recipe can be credited to Paula Deen, but it has been played with enough to call it my own. I first posted this recipe back in 2013, and now I’m editing this once again …
Heather says: Memorial Day has already come and gone, but spring has been a little reluctant and slow this year. Down here in South Carolina, I’m just putting away the menus that focus on the stove and oven and turning my attention to cooler recipes that will keep the kitchen cool. Do you utilize your …
Dear Home Ec 101:My towels all smell funky. Is it my teenage son? He’s usually pretty good about hanging up his towel, but lately, they’ve all developed a stink. There is nothing quite like stepping out of the shower to be greeted with a musty, mildewed, smelly towel.Help!~Musty in Muncie Dear Musty in Muncie: Mildewed towels …
Dear Home Ec 101, I have lived in three apartments in the past five years, and everyone has had smoking stove burners. At my first apartment, I thought maybe the burners just had some cleaner left on them from the last tenants, so I took them out and cleaned them thoroughly with water. That didn’t …