DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am a personal care assistant with 34 years’ experience and am looking to care for people in their homes. I clean homes while I’m there.

I also have a home with extra rooms and am looking for a roommate.

I advertised, but no one responded. I am very desperate. I have no income and can’t afford to advertise again. — No Name, Auburn

ANSWER: There are a number of firms that hire personal care assistants. You might have better luck going through one of them than trying to find clients on your own. Seniors are understandably leery about hiring someone they don’t know and would prefer to hire through a service. 

Sun Spots got a list of local services from SeniorsPlus, and you might try contacting them to see if they need any PCAs.

* Acadia Health Care., 229 Center St., Auburn, 786-3337

* Aging Excellence, 466 Main St., Lewiston, 866-988-0991

* Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice, 15 Strawberry Ave., Lewiston, 777-7740 or 800-482-7412

* Care & Comfort, 284 Main St., Suite 390, Wilton, 645-5304 or 800-366-5302

* Catholic Charities Homemaker Program, 888-477-2263

* CHANS Home Health Care, 60 Baribeau Drive, Brunswick, 729-6782

* Katey Coffin (independent provider), Norway-Paris, 743-0979

* Connecting Companions, Bridgton, 647-2149 or 647-5028

* Helping Hands, 571 Sabattus St., Suite 2, Lewiston, 877-449-4694 or 777-5294

* Home Care for Maine, P.O. Box 358, Gardiner, 800-639-3084

* MAS Home Care for Maine, 201 Main St., Suite 7, Westbrook, 591-4457 or 866-373-1050

* Personal-Touch Home Care, 6 Western Ave., South Paris, 743-2700

* Pine Tree Home Health Care, P.O. Box 88, New Gloucester, 926-5907

* Simply Senior Care, South Paris, 461-6322

* Tender Touch, P.O. Box 114, Minot, 998-3730

Readers who might be in need of such services should find this list helpful also. But they need to be prepared to pay. Sun Spots remembers her grandmother having kittens over the fees she had to pay for in-home help. Most range around $17 to $22 per hour, more for night and weekend care.

As for No Name’s quest for a roommate, perhaps you could fix up part of your home to make it accessible and comfortable for a senior who needs constant care. That would bring you some income and some companionable company, too.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Could the person looking for Glass Wah (Feb. 21) be looking for Glass Wax? It’s a pink liquid that dries on the window. When you wipe it off, it leaves a streak-free shine. My mother used it when we were children. — Mary Colella, mcole5148@hotmail.com

ANSWER: She could indeed, as many readers wrote in with their memories of this product.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: My husband was an A&P manager many years ago and remembers a product called Glass Wax in a pink can. It was a liquid that you wiped on windows, waited for it to dry into a white powder, then wiped it off with a dry cloth. The windows sparkled! — Lou, Bethel

DEAR SUN SPOTS: My grandmother used to use a product called Glass Wax on our windows. At Christmas, they included stencils in the boxes that you applied the product over, then left it to dry for seasonal decorative touches.

After Christmas, an additional application removed the dry product and the windows shines like crystal. — Bill, Auburn

DEAR SUN SPOTS: The window cleaner that the person is looking for is Glass Wax. It was very popular when I was a child. It’s a thin paste that you dab on the window with a sponge, let it dry and then wipe off with a soft cloth (this was before paper towels).

Also, at Christmastime you could get Christmas stencils and color packs and decorate you windows with colored Christmas stencils. It was one of my favorite things to do at Christmas. I’m talking about the 1950s, maybe early ’60s. We always had clean windows. — No Name via email

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I believe your reader (Feb.21) was looking for Glass Wax, which my mother used all the time. It is available through Amazon.com. — ruthcannon@roadrunner.com

DEAR SUN SPOTS: The product to clean windows was Glass Wax. If I remember correctly, it was a pasty pinkish liquid that you wiped on the window, let dry then wiped off. No streaks. A quick search shows a few copycat-type products available. Hopefully they work as well as the original. — Rona Boilard, rbsquared@roadrunner.com

ANSWER: Sun Spots checked and found a product called Window Wax that Amazon compares to Glass Wax. It is currently on sale for $14.99 (three for $30). Readers without computers can call 800-201-7575 to place an order. The item number is 411006.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: The reader is looking for Glass Wax. It is available online and at the Vermont Country Store. — Jeff, Auburn

ANSWER: Sun Spots did not find the original product, but there are others that are clearly very similar. Jeff is right about the Vermont Country Store. They have the same Window Wax that Amazon offers for $12.95 (check shipping costs; Amazon offers some free shipping, which can be a big savings). The phone number for the Vermont Country Store is 800-564-4623. They also have a catalog.

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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