Dear Heloise: The letter about preventing carbon monoxide poisoning by getting a monitor for your home is a must but, it didn’t go far enough.

You should get a monitor that you can also travel with. How many articles have we read about carbon monoxide poisoning in vacation rental homes, condos and even hotels? Vacations are a relaxing getaway, but you shouldn’t let your guard down while you are staying in places that probably do not have an installed monitor. Taking that home monitor with you, or a separate unit, could save your life. — Kagey in Prescott, Ariz (reading the Orange County Register)

Kagey, it’s always good to have a carbon monoxide detector in the home, office and/or in a hotel room. However, if you have a fire going in your fireplace, it may cause the detector to sound an alarm. In that case, just crack a window a little or put out the fire. — Heloise

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Heloise@Heloise.com

HICCUPS

Dear Heloise: I like your tips in the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch. I have to offer my tip to stop hiccups instantly. To stop hiccups, hold about 20 milliliters water in your mouth and at the same time plug both your ears with your fingers. After a few seconds, spit the water out of your mouth. Hiccups should stop instantly. — Jay M., Richmond, Va.

Jay, that’s a new one I hadn’t heard about before. People usually advise swallowing water. — Heloise

LINT

Dear Heloise: I love reading your column on a daily basis. I wish to add to the hints about removing clothes dryer lint. My laundry room is right next to my workshop, where I have a medium-size shop vacuum. You can use the vacuum hose to remove dryer lint in about five seconds — it’s quick and easy. –Tim Hammond, Buckeye, Arizona.

FOAMING SOAP

Dear Heloise: I love your column and use many of your and your readers’ hints. Here is mine. I use refillable foaming soap bottles at all my sinks. One day I accidentally bought a liquid soap refill instead of foaming. I found out that if I put about an inch of liquid soap in the empty bottle then water up to the fill line it makes perfect foaming soap. I’ve had the refill for a year now, and it’s not even close to halfway gone. This bottle will last me years. Best money-saving mistake I ever made. — Sandra G., in Reseda, Calif.

REMOVING MOLDY CHEESE

Dear Heloise: We’ve all had cheese mold after using some and saving the rest in the refrigerator. Cheese mold isn’t harmful, but not something we want to eat. Rather than throwing the whole chunk of cheese away, many of us will cut off the moldy part and use the rest. The easiest way to remove the affected area is to use your potato peeler. It does a super job, and does so while minimizing the amount of good cheese that is removed. — Don B.

SHELLAC

Dear Heloise: Recently a neighbor gave me a wooden salad bowl set. The individual bowls are fine, but the large bowl shows areas where it most likely was shellacked. How can I safely remove that coating without damaging the wood? — Donna C., Tucson, Ariz.

Donna, I recommend going to a hardware store and having one of the salespeople help you find the correct remover. You’ll need one that won’t leave a residue. Be sure to tell them that this is a wooden bowl and that you will be using it with food. They might recommend that you re-shellac the bowel to keep oils from soaking into the wood. — Heloise