Press | Hints from Heloise

After hurricane damage volunteers clean the ground.

After a Hurricane has hit, you may find minimal damage or total destruction in your area. I would like to pass on a few important hints that I hope will help ease the difficulty of weather-related damage or to better plan for the future possibility of storms.

Outdoor

If your property has been damaged, contact your insurance agency as soon as possible to begin the claims process. Many agencies will have emergency disaster teams on the way to help handle these claims. Be sure to make a list of destroyed household contents and supplies you have to buy. If possible, take photos of all the damage to your house and property.
Don’t go near any loose or dangling power lines. If you see downed wires, report the damage to the police or utility company.

Indoor

Flashlights should be used to examine your home damages–do not use matches, candles, or lanterns—because of the possibility of gas leaks or spilled flammables.
New batteries for flashlights and radios will last the longest. But, if you only have older ones that are still working but growing weak, try switching their positions. This often will give added energy and the batteries may last a little longer. Another trick with old batteries is to rub the contact points with an emery board or fine sandpaper; this just may buy you a little more time.
If you smell gas, leave your house immediately and notify the utility company or fire department.
Light candles only if the authorities have approved their use in your area. Make sure authorities say there’s no danger of gas leaks!. A small sturdy glass will make a good emergency candle holder. Leave at least a one-half inch space between the candle and the glass. Cut the candlewick short to prevent dripping.
Even though power may be off, be cautious around electrical appliances, they can still hold enough of an electrical charge to set off an explosion—if there’s a gas leak. To be safe, disconnect all electrical appliances.

Kitchen

Do not open refrigerators or freezers. The foods inside will not spoil as fast if the cold air is not allowed to escape. After 24 hours of no power, if you can obtain dry ice, place a block in the refrigerator and one in the freezer section. (ten pounds of dry ice will last for 24 to 30 hours.)
If all you can get is regular bagged ice, take the food out of the refrigerator. Put ice and food into an ice chest. Some homes may have gas stoves instead of electricity. If your gas lines are unaffected, you can cook those foods that would otherwise spoil in a non-operating refrigerator.
Picnic supplies and paper plates will come in handy, so there won’t be any dishes/utensils stacking up. Camping equipment can also be used (propane stoves or lanterns—if there is no gas leak in your home).

Water Conservation

Water most likely will be a precious resource at this time, so conserve what you have. Use any freshwater you have for drinking and cooking only.
Keep a bucket or other container handy for any leftover water from rinsing or cooking food to use for the toilet.
Do not eat fresh food that has come in contact with floodwaters and does not drink any tap water unless it has been tested and okayed by health authorities.
If you cannot flush the toilets, reduce odors by sprinkling baking soda in the bowl after each use and by keeping the lid closed.
Instead of using water for bathing, try rubbing alcohol to stay clean. Soak a washcloth or sponge with rubbing alcohol and sponge off with this.
If you must, you can brush your teeth and rinse with canned or bottled soda.
For quick cleanups, cut a roll of sturdy paper towels in half with a serrated knife and place half of the roll in a resealable plastic bag. Squirt with a mixture of water and liquid soap until paper towels or damp.

Glass

For cracked panes of glass, a temporary way to weatherproof is to use quick-drying glue or clear shellac. Apply one or two coats with the end of a toothpick along the crack lines—inside and out.
After removing adhesive tape from windows, you may find it leaves glue residue on the glass and wood frame. Remove this by spraying the residue liberally with a petroleum-based pre-wash spray, let sit and then scrub with nylon net.
If any windows have been broken, be careful when picking up broken pieces of glass. Wear protective gloves and pick up smaller pieces of glass by using a wad of masking tape, wet paper towels, or wet newspaper. Do not vacuum up broken glass, it can shred vacuum hoses and become lodged in the vacuum.

Water Damage

For water damage, pull up wet carpeting, padding, and rugs. Place furniture on cinder blocks or bricks to help aid in the drying process.
When the weather is clear, open windows for good air circulation. When electricity is restored, use fans to speed the drying process.

Woman cleaning refrigerator after hurricane damage.

Refrigerator & Freezer

If you lost electricity and the food in your freezer probably spoiled, here’s what to do.
Wash the freezer with a strong solution of baking soda and water (5 to 6 tablespoons per quart of warm water) or use baking soda directly on a damp sponge. Allow to air out with the door open for a while.
For lingering odor, try placing cat box filler or activated charcoal (the kind used in aquariums) in a small open box (a shoebox is perfect) in the freezer. Close the freezer and let it sit for a couple of days before removing it.
If any odor is still hanging around, as a last-ditch effort, you might want to consider using a dry-chemical fire extinguisher. Simply spray it into the freezer, close the door and wait a few days. Clean the freezer and let it air out for a while before refilling.

Windows

Need some help getting those dirty windows clean? Make a special window cleaning formula, mix 1 cup of vinegar in 1/2 gallon of hot water.

Now to get started, wipe the windows to remove any dust. Remember that wet dust will become mud. Spray the window with the cleaning formula you prepared. Now wipe the windows down with a squeegee or crumpled newspaper.

When doing exterior windows, a garden hose and mop can be invaluable. Rinse first, then use a mop to wash using the window-cleaning formula. For a final rinse, simply hose the windows off. For best results, don’t wash a window when the sun is shining on it or during the hottest part of the day, because this can cause streaking.

Good luck with all your cleanup efforts, and be sure to send me any questions you have that I didn’t answer to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279. Due to the large quantities of mail my office receives, I can’t answer all your letters personally but will try to answer as many as possible in my newspaper column.

More Info from the CDC

Take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones during your cleanup after a hurricane, flood, or other natural disasters. Follow our cleanup tips and monitor your radio or television for up-to-date emergency information.

NEXT: Products to help clean up

Heloise Offers Vegetarian Lifestyle Hints

Heloise has been a vegetarian since the 1970s. For a story on her vegetarian lifestyle–what she eats at home and at restaurants, etc, photographed at Central Market on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. Helen L. Montoya/San Antonio Express-News.

| By Jessica Belasco updated 10:20 pm CST, Tuesday, February 21, 2012 | Photos: Helen L. Montoya | MySanAntonio.com

When I asked Heloise to talk with me about her vegetarian lifestyle, I assume she’ll want to meet at one of San Antonio’s few vegetarian restaurants or at least at a veggie-friendly place.

Instead, she suggests lunch at a downtown steakhouse.

There she could share hints about eating meat-free in the center of the barbecue and Tex-Mex universe.

“People say, ‘You live in Texas, what do you eat?’” she tells me. “I say, ‘Do I look like I’m starving?’”

Before carving meat from her diet in 1973 — not long before she took over her mother’s “Hints From Heloise” column, providing creative uses for baking soda and vinegar — Heloise would have dived into the meaty entrées on the menu at the Bar at Bohanan’s on Houston Street.

“I was a Texas girl,” says Heloise, 60, who was born in Waco and has lived in San Antonio since 1966. “Give me a 16-ounce steak, a baked potato with sour cream and forget the salad.”

Now, Heloise, whose full name is Poncé Kiah Marchelle Heloise Cruse Evans, bypasses the Frito pie and short ribs on the menu. Instead, she chooses a salad and half a Caprese sandwich made with Roma tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and extra-virgin olive oil. She adds an order of fries to share.

I figure the Reuben and BLT are off-limits, but she points out she could order them without the meat.

Making the change

While she was attending Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in San Marcos, she and her father took a trip to several communist bloc countries, where she encountered her share of mystery meat.

“I’m sure I ate horse,” she says.

Trying to avoid that sort of thing, she ended up subsisting on cucumbers, potatoes, bread, cheese, cabbage, and caviar.

When she got back home, she found herself gradually eating less meat.

“It wasn’t intentional at the beginning,” she says. “I didn’t order the steak. I ate a few hamburgers and it just didn’t sit right.”

She began reading about vegetarianism in Frances Moore Lappé’s 1971 bestseller “Diet for a Small Planet.”

“My mother was Heloise,” she says. “If you’re going to do something, you do the research.”

Truly her mother’s daughter, she found creative ways to problem-solve.

“I can eat anywhere and eat healthily,” she says.

She began ordering the famous burger at the now-defunct Little Hipps sans burger. At first, she was greeted with raised eyebrows, but over time the staff got used to it.

She learned to quiz waiters on possible substitutions and swaps: Can I get charro beans instead of refried? Can I get this entrée with that side?

“If it’s a good restaurant, they don’t blink an eye,” she says. “Most restaurants will do their best to make the customer happy.”

She also orders two or three appetizers or sides instead of an entrée.

“Many times appetizers alone are delicious and, depending on your diet, they’re enough, portion-wise,” she says.

Another hint: Don’t be afraid to go off-menu. Many Chinese restaurants often have tofu available even if it’s not listed.

More choices

It’s easier to be a vegetarian now than it was 30 years ago, Heloise says. Restaurants offer more options for non-carnivores. Many burger places serve veggie patties. Vegetarian meals are available on airplanes. Even airports have more varied options.

For someone who travels as extensively as Heloise, that’s a big deal.

“Twenty years ago, getting food in an airport was like going on a safari,” she says. “There basically was no healthy food. Now in almost every major airport, you can get a fresh salad, you can get a veggie sandwich, they have fruit cups, portable food you can take with you.”

She sticks to a mostly vegetarian diet — she’ll eat some seafood — partly out of habit, partly to keep her weight down and partly for health reasons: Her mother died at 58 of heart disease.

A lover of Mexican food, Heloise indulges in cheese enchiladas and nachos occasionally, but in general, she finds ways to keep calories and fat down without sacrificing taste. At Mexican restaurants, she suggests, ask for corn tortillas to tear up and eat with salsa instead of chips.

At home, she likes to make a snack she learned about in Mexico: a plate of chilled raw cucumber, carrots, celery, and jicama sprinkled with fresh lime juice and pico de gallo con límon.

She also likes seasoning cucumbers with salt, lots of pepper and — you guessed it — vinegar, either red wine or malt.

Heloise’s hints for fruits and vegetables

DO’s

Store potatoes in a cool, dry place, not in the refrigerator. Keep out of the light as it causes green discoloration. Plastic perforated or paper bags are best for storage.

Freeze avocados if you have too many. Puree them before freezing. Frozen avocados can be stored for up to six months.

Purchase fruit in various stages of ripeness, to always have fresh fruit on hand. For example, purchase a few bananas that are ready to eat and a few green bananas that will ripen in a few days.

DONT’s

Don’t store peaches in the refrigerator until they are completely ripened, because refrigeration stops the ripening process. Once ripened, store them away from vegetables in the fridge. Store them in a bowl lined with paper towels or on the counter with stems up.

Don’t store tomatoes in the fridge, which can change the texture and taste and stop the ripening process. Keep tomatoes out of direct sunlight unless you want them to ripen quickly.

Don’t wash fruits or vegetables with soap or bleach. They can absorb any “washing” solution. Wash with only cool water while gently rubbing with your hands or gently scrubbing with a veggie brush as recommended by the Food and Drug Administration.