Dear Heloise: I’d like to dispel the myth that you can pour grease down your drain as long as you are running hot water at the same time. If you want to avoid a backed-up drain and an expensive nightmare of a costly bill, never pour grease or oil down your kitchen drain or garbage disposal. Place all of your liquid grease in a container and seal it up. Before washing greasy dishes and pots, wipe them with a paper towel. Be sure that you dispose of the sealed container with the grease in it inside the garbage bin, not the recycling bin.

People are always amazed when I remind them that many of our favorite foods have grease or oil such as butter, most cream sauces, milk and salad dressings. If it’s greasy or has oil, it does not go down the drain.

While I’m at it, let me remind you: The only thing that should go into your toilet are bodily wastes and toilet paper. Do not flush these so-called flushable wipes down your toilet. Wipes can (and eventually do) cause sewage backup in your home. — Jake the Plummer, Detroit

Jake the Plummer, thank you for this reminder. As everything else goes up in price, so does paying for a professional plummer to come out and clear out pipes when you could’ve avoided clogging the drain with just a few simple steps. — Heloise

VITAMIN C

Dear Heloise: During this cold and flu season, it’s a good idea to include a healthy dose of vitamin C by eating citrusy foods or any foods that contain this vitamin. Lemons and oranges also contain flavonoids, which have antibacterial and anticancer properties. — Rayna J., Santa Fe, New Mexico