Dear Heloise: Please warn your readers – especially those with teenage girls – that certain brands of JEANS can cause expensive damage. My friend’s daughter wore a pair to the dentist, sat on his yellow dental chair, and the blue dye was not colorfast and ruined a chair. She received a bill to repair the chair and for his lost wages while it was being repaired.

My suggestion: When you first purchase jeans, wet a piece of white cloth and place it on the jeans. If the color transfers, return them to the store. When my friend told us about the dental mishap, another lady with us said she heard of someone damaging a quilt by sitting on it with black leather pants. – Kitty in Sugar Land, Texas

Oh my! That’s pretty shocking, and a little crazy! The dentist’s insurance should have paid to get the chair repaired. A bill for lost wages is a stretch, depending how long the chair was out of commission, but maybe he had only one.

Yes, most jeans (blue, black, etc.) will transfer (and lose) color over time. New ones are the worst for rubbing off on other materials. Test by rubbing the material with a white cloth or paper towel. You will see BLUE dye. – Heloise

Clean windshield

Dear Heloise: The inside of my car’s windshield was oily and kind of greasy. I remembered you said to use vinegar to clean windows. I filled a bottle with vinegar and water, sprayed my windshield, then wiped it with a microfiber cloth. – Marvin O. in Montana

Good old vinegar to the rescue! I keep a small bottle of vinegar in my auto to clean the windshield, wipe down the console and remove fingerprints on the inside door. There are a zillion other money-saving hints in my Heloise’s Fantabulous Vinegar Hints and More pamphlet! To receive one, please send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (70 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Vinegar, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Are your windshield wipers dirty? Use vinegar and water to clean the wipers, too. – Heloise

College hints

Dear Readers: Have a child heading off to college or returning to school? Here are some Heloise hints to use:

Community showers? Bring a shower bag (or tote) to hold toiletries.

Shower at “off times” to ensure that you will have hot water.

Choose a kitchen-size trash can.

Use an automobile clothes rack to transport hanging clothes to and from home.

Pack your things in containers that during the year can be used as storage, such as plastic totes or milk crates

– Heloise

Sewing warning

Dear Heloise: Years ago, my daughter stepped on a sewing needle that had gotten lost in the carpet pile. It broke off in her heel. Now when I finish any hand sewing, I knot the ends of the remaining thread together, making it more visible, before replacing the needle in the pincushion. – Anne P. in Ohio

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Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise(at)Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.