In Search of an Electronic Signal From the Mailbox

John Alrich of Santa Barbara wonders if there is an electronic gadget that alerts owners of rural mailboxes that the mail has arrived; he says this would be especially helpful to folks whose house is perhaps several hundred yards from the mailbox. Can you satisfy Alrich’s natural mail curiosity, or will his hopes flag because such a system is just not yet in the (post) cards?

Barbara Stephens of Los Angeles would like to locate again some plastic covers, with quilted top panels, to fit over a washer and dryer . Her appliances are in a garage and need protection. Can you stir up a source without doing Stephens dirt, or will this cover-up result in a wash?

Julie Songer of Indio needs someone to repair an old book whose cover has been damaged , but she has been unable to find such a service in her area. Can you page someone to help Songer out, or will this problem not be papered over until someone throws the book at her?

Reader-to-Reader-Help Line: Shari at (818) 247-3259 needs some Dispos-a-Bowls , which are not bathroom products but aluminum forms that fit on stove-top burners and protect the permanent metal plates or coils from food spills; they are disposable and easy to clean and were made, Shari believes, by Whirlpool years ago. Please see to it that Shari can join the Hot Stove League again. . . . Loretta at (714) 472-6287 is looking for the dome top to a Princess House crystal butter dish , which is a discontinued item. No need to butter up Loretta; just get on the stick so that you can spread some joy around her home. . . . Margaret at (818) 332-7461 would like several sets of an Ingrid Party Ball (a plastic ball that contained bowls, plates and cups of brightly colored plastic), which was available in department stores several years ago. How about getting on the ball and making sure that Margaret’s kitchen cup runneth over?

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items or for products no longer available in stores. And you must give us written permission to publish your telephone number, so that others may contact you directly.

More sources for the dehumidifying crystals Fay of Pasadena was looking for--and these are almost in her back yard: John G. Blair of Old Time Hardware, 2515 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, and Grand Hardware, 6410 San Fernando Road, Glendale, says he stocks De-Moist dehumidifier crystals in both stores. And Richard Jeffries of Gardena says he bought some Damp Out ($1.55 for 15 ounces) at Gerrald’s Home Improvement Center, 7280 W. Manchester Ave., Westchester, and some Damp Rid ($1.99 for a 36-oz. refill pack) at K mart, Torrance; but this item, he says, is not always in stock.

William H. Dowe of La Mesa, who wanted sealing wax for sealing letters, need not wax indignant. We couldn’t come up with any commercial sources, but we heard from one Los Angeles reader who’s willing to dispose of some wax in various colors, and we forwarded that information to Dowe.

For Mrs. R. C. Jones of Arcadia, who was desperate for doorstop alarms to keep a relative with Alzheimer’s from wandering off without anyone’s knowledge, we have news that should no longer fill her with alarm. Cheryl J. Berlow of Long Beach says that such an item, which attaches to the top of the door and sounds off when the door is opened, is available at Radio Shack. What’s more, hardware man John Blair, who came through for Fay of Pasadena with crystals (above), says he also stocks a door-stop alarm in both stores. And Mary Alice Wittenberg of Los Angeles says a Door-Stop Siren Alarm, which is wedged underneath a door, is available via mail order for $9.95 from Berk International, P.O. Box 5294, Garden Grove, Calif. 92645; because this item weighs only a third of a pound, some people take it along when they travel, so that they can sleep easier. We even heard from two readers who have such alarms and no longer need them.