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How many ways can you use salt? According to the Salt Institute, about 14,000! The salt website has tons of handy tips for using salt around the house, and the best of the bunch -- plus my additions -- are listed below.
I can't think of another more versatile mineral. Salt is the most common and readily available nonmetallic mineral in the world. In fact, the supply of salt is inexhaustible.
For thousands of years, salt (sodium chloride) has been used to preserve food and for cleaning, and people have continued to rely on it for all kinds of nifty tricks.
So with its nontoxic friendliness and status as an endlessly abundant resource, let's swap out some toxic solutions for ample, innocuous, and inexpensive salt.
There are a number of forms of salt produced for consumption (and by default, housekeeping!): unrefined salt (such as sea salt), refined salt (table salt), and iodized salt. Kosher salt is sodium chloride processed to have flat crystals. And in case you're wondering, Epsom salt is an entirely different stuff: magnesium sulfate to be exact (which is a salt that I consider to be, essentially, miraculous).
Here are just a few of the many ways you can put salt to good use in your home:
In the Kitchen
Aside from all of the alchemy that salt performs in terms of baking chemistry and food flavor, salt has a number of other great applications in the kitchen.
Test egg freshness.
Put two teaspoons of salt in a cup of water and place an egg
in it -- a fresh egg will sink, an older egg will float.
Because the air cell in an egg increases as it ages, an
older egg is more buoyant. This doesn't mean a floating egg
is rotten, just more mature. Crack the egg into a bowl and
examine it for any funky odor or appearance -- if it's
rotten, your nose will tell you. (Bonus fact: if you have
hard-boiled eggs that are difficult to peel, that means they
are fresh!)
Set poached eggs.
Because salt increases the temperature of boiling water, it
helps to set the whites more quickly when eggs are dropped
into the water for poaching.
Prevent fruits from browning.
Most of us use lemon or vinegar to stop peeled
apples and pears from browning, but you can also drop
them in lightly salted water to help them keep their color.
Shell nuts more easily.
Soak pecans and walnuts in salt water for several hours
before shelling to make it easier to remove the meat.
Prevent cake icing crystals.
A little salt added to cake icings prevents them from
sugaring.
Remove odors from hands.
Oniony-garlicy fingers? I like soap and water, then rubbing
them on anything made of stainless steel (it really works),
but you can also rub your fingers with a salt and vinegar
combo.
Reach high peaks.
Add a tiny pinch of salt when beating egg whites or whipping
cream for quicker, higher peaks.
Extend cheese life.
Prevent mold on cheese by wrapping it in a cloth moistened
with saltwater before refrigerating.
Save the bottom of your oven.
If a pie or casserole bubbles over in the oven, put a
handful of salt on top of the spill. It won't smoke and
smell, and it will bake into a crust that makes the baked-on
mess much easier to clean when it has cooled.
mosquitobite
Personal Care
Extend toothbrush life.
Soak toothbrushes in salt water before your first use;
they'll last longer.
Clean teeth.
Use one part fine salt to two parts baking soda -- dip your
toothbrush in the mix and brush as usual. You can also use
the same mix dissolved in water for orthodontic appliances.
Rinse your mouth.
Mix equal parts salt and baking soda in water for a fresh
and deodorizing mouth rinse.
Ease mouth problems.
For cankers, abscesses, and other mouth sores, rinse your
mouth with a weak solution of warm saltwater several times a
day.
Relieve bee-sting pain.
Ouch? Immediately dampen area and pack on a small pile of
salt to reduce pain and swelling.
More bee-sting tips here.
Treat mosquito bites.
A saltwater soak can do wonders for that special
mosquito-bite itch -- a poultice of salt mixed with
olive oil can help too.
Treat poison ivy.
Same method as for treating mosquito bites. (Salt doesn't
seem to distinguish between itches.)
Have an exfoliating massage.
After bathing and while still wet give yourself a massage
with dry salt. It freshens skin and boosts circulation.
Ease throat pain.
Mix salt and warm water, gargle to relieve a sore throat.
Around the House
Deter ants.
Sprinkle salt at doorways, window sills, and
anywhere else ants sneak into your house. Ants don't
like to walk on salt.
Extinguish grease fires.
Keep a box of salt near your stove and oven, and if a grease
fire flares up, douse the flames with salt. (Never use water
on grease fires; it will splatter the burning grease.) When
salt is applied to fire, it acts like a heat sink and
dissipates the heat from the fire -- it also forms an
oxygen-excluding crust to smother the fire.
Drip-proof candles.
If you soak new candles in a strong salt solution for a few
hours, then dry them well, they will not drip as much when
you burn them.
Keep cut flowers fresh.
A dash of salt added to the water in a flower vase will keep
cut flowers fresh longer. (You can also try an aspirin or a
dash of sugar for the same effect.)
Arrange artificial flowers.
Artificial flowers can be held in place by pouring salt into
the vase, adding a little cold water and then arranging the
flowers. The salt become solid as it dries and holds the
flowers in place.
Make play dough.
Use 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons
oil, and 2 tablespoons cream of tartar. Stir together flour,
cream of tartar, salt, and oil, and slowly add water. Cook
over medium heat stirring frequently until dough becomes
stiff. Spread onto wax paper and let cool. Knead the dough
with your hands until it reaches a good dough consistency.
(Read about
juice dyes here.)
Repair walls.
To fill nail holes, fix chips or other small dings in white
sheet-rock or plaster walls, mix 2 tablespoons salt and 2
tablespoons cornstarch, then add enough water (about 5
teaspoons) to make a thick paste. Use the paste to fill the
holes.
Deter patio weeds.
If weeds or grass grow between bricks or blocks in your
patio, sidewalk, or driveway, carefully spread salt between
the cracks, then sprinkle with water or wait for rain to wet
it down.
Kill poison ivy.
Mix three pounds of salt with a gallon of soapy water (use a
gentle dish soap) and apply to leaves and stems with a
sprayer, avoiding any plant life that you want to keep.
De-ice sidewalks and driveways.
One of the oldest tricks in the book! Lightly sprinkle rock
salt on walks and driveways to keep snow and ice from
bonding to the pavement and allow for easier
shoveling/scraping. But don't overdo it; use the salt
sensibly to avoid damage to plants and paws.
Tame a wild barbecue.
Toss a bit of salt on flames from food dripping in barbecue
grills to reduce the flames and calm the smoke without
cooling the coals (like water does).
Cleaning
Salt works as an effective yet gentle scouring agent. Salt also serves as a catalyst for other ingredients, such as vinegar, to boost cleaning and deodorizing action. For a basic soft scrub, make a paste with lots of salt, baking soda and dish soap and use on appliances, enamel, porcelain, etc.
Clean sink drains.
Pour salt mixed with hot water down the kitchen sink
regularly to deodorize and keep grease from building up.
Remove water rings.
Gently rub a thin paste of salt and vegetable oil on the
white marks caused by beverage glasses and hot dishes on
wooden tables.
Clean greasy pans.
Cast-iron skillets can be cleaned with a good sprinkling
of salt and paper towels.
Clean stained cups.
Mix salt with a dab of dish soap to make a soft scrub for
stubborn coffee and tea stains.
Clean refrigerators.
A mix of salt and soda water can be used to wipe out and
deodorize the inside of your refrigerator, a nice way to
keep chemical-y cleaners away from your food.
Clean brass or copper.
Mix equal parts of salt, flour, and vinegar to make a paste,
and rub the paste on the metal. After letting it sit for an
hour, clean with a soft cloth or brush and buff with a dry
cloth.
Clean rust.
Mix salt and cream of tartar with just enough water to make
a paste. Rub on rust, let dry, brush off and buff with a
dry, soft cloth. You can also use the same method with a mix
of salt and lemon.
Clean a glass coffee pot.
Every diner waitress' favorite tip: add salt and ice cubes
to a coffee pot, swirl around vigorously, and rinse. The
salt scours the bottom, and the ice helps to agitate it more
for a better scrub.
winestain
Laundry
Attack wine spills.
If a tipsy guest tips wine on your cotton or linen
tablecloth, blot up as much as possible and immediately
cover the wine with a pile of salt, which will help pull the
remaining wine away form the fiber. After dinner, soak the
tablecloth in cold water for 30 minutes before laundering. (Also
works on clothing.)
Quell oversudsing.
Since, of course, we are all very careful in how much
detergent we use in our laundry, we never have too many
suds. But if someone overfills ... you can eliminate excess
suds with a sprinkle of salt.
Dry clothes in the winter.
Use salt in the final laundry rinse to prevent clothes from
freezing if you use an
outdoor clothes line in the winter.
Brighten colors.
Wash colored curtains or washable fiber rugs in a saltwater
solution to brighten the colors. Brighten faded rugs and
carpets by rubbing them briskly with a cloth that has been
dipped in a strong saltwater solution and wrung out.
Remove perspiration stains.
Add four tablespoons of salt to one quart of hot water and
sponge the fabric with the solution until stains fade.
Remove blood stains.
Soak the stained cloth in cold saltwater, then launder in
warm, soapy water and boil after the wash. (Use only on
cotton, linen, or other natural fibers that can take high
heat.)
Tackle mildew or rust stains.
Moisten stained spots with a mixture of lemon juice and
salt, then spread the item in the sun for bleaching -- then
rinse and dry.
Clean a gunky iron bottom.
Sprinkle a little salt on a piece of paper and run the hot
iron over it to remove rough, sticky spots.
Set color.
Salt is used commonly in the textile industry, but works at
home too. If a dye isn't colorfast, soak the garment for an
hour in 1/2 gallon of water to which you've added 1/2 cup
vinegar and 1/2 cup salt, then rinse. If rinse water has any
color in it, repeat. Use only on single-colored fabric or
madras. If the item is multicolored, dry-clean it to avoid
running all of the colors together.