Vinegar will help clean it! Of course, check your owner’s manual first for specific directions. Just run full-strength household white vinegar through a couple of brew cycles.

Place a filter in the basket to catch any sediment, fill the water reservoir with vinegar and turn on the machine. When the cycle is through, just pour the vinegar back into the reservoir and “brew” again.

When done, pour the vinegar down the drain (extra freshening there, too). Refill the pot with water, pour into the reservoir and run a few brew cycles with tap water.

Follow by washing the pot and basket with warm, soapy water, then rinse well and dry. Also, be sure to clean the underside of the drip area, where a lot of oily coffee residue accumulates.

Your coffee maker should be squeaky-clean and running like new. — Heloise

Travel hint

Dear Heloise: While traveling and staying in hotels, motels, time shares with friends, etc., we sometimes don’t remember to take along a night light for getting up in the dark in a strange room.

Both of us have wristwatches that light up when you push in on the winding stem, and this gives us enough light to navigate to a doorway or bathroom without the risk of running into something in an unfamiliar area. — Carl and Mary Carson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Easy removal

Dear Heloise: My brother shared this tip with me recently while watching me try to remove a sticky label from a pool cue:

Use a hair dryer to heat a sticker or a sticky price tag on anything. Once it is heated, it will come right off in one piece, leaving absolutely no sticky residue. — Teresa Almon, Via E-mail

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C7.