Salt is one of the most common substances on the planet. Man has used salt since time began in all manners of ways. Here’s a sampling:
Food Items
Salt is used for a flavoring agent to bring bland foods to life. Try adding it to your coffee pot the next time you make a pot for a fresher taste. A small sprinkling of salt will not only keep your salad greens greener, it will also improve the taste of cooked apples and help whipping cream to whip more quickly.
Peeled and sliced potatoes and apples and similar fresh fruit will not turn brown when soaked in cold salt water. A similar salt water bath will aid when scaling fish. Soak the fresh fish for a short time period and the scales will come off easier.
Not only will salt add flavor to cooked eggs, you can use it to determine the freshness of an egg. Add a bit of salt to a cup of water and float a raw egg. If the egg sinks, it’s fresh; but if it floats, throw it out.
Nuts will come out of their shell whole if soaked overnight in salt brine. Use a hammer and tap on the end of the shell and the nut should break open easily.
Laundry
Salt has been proven a great stain fighter. Soak a linen handkerchief in salt water before laundering. Mix one part salt to four parts of alcohol to pre-treat grease stains in clothing. Add salt to the wash water to help colors hold fast.
If you’ve added too much detergent and end up with a mountain of suds, sprinkle salt on the top to stop the suds from overflowing.
If using a clothes line, soak the clothes line in salt water to prevent the clothes from freezing to the line. Adding a small amount of salt to the final rinse water will also prevent the clothes from freezing.
Cleaning
Salt as a cleaning solution is one of the most effective and inexpensive methods available. You can clean the bottom of your iron with a damp cloth and salt. An ink stain on the carpet should be covered with a mound of salt. Let the salt soak on the stain overnight and then vacuum. A paste of salt and vinegar, thickened with flour will clean brass, copper and pewter.
Mildew stains can be removed with a mixture of salt and lemon juice. This same mixture is also safe to use on piano keys. Greasy pans clean easily with no more than a paper towel and salt.
If a pie boils over in the oven, sprinkle the mess with a mound of salt. The salt will stop any smoke and odor from forming and is easily cleaned away when the oven has cooled.
Salt and ice cubes will clean your glass coffee pot. Add several ice cubes to the pot and sprinkle generously with salt. Swish the mixture around and let the pot sit for an hour or so. Rinse the coffee pot with clean water.
Household uses
Salt makes a natural weed killer. Sprinkle on unwanted grass between the bricks in your patio, flush with hot water and repeat. Or make a solution of one gallon of soapy water mixed with three pounds of salt and spray on poison ivy. Make sure you saturate the leaves and the stems and shortly the plant will wither and die.
Salt also can be used as an insect repellent. Kill an unwanted ant bed with a heavy sprinkling of salt. Sprinkle radish seeds with table salt when first planted before covering them with dirt to repel salt worms or cut worms.
Cut flowers will stay colorful longer with a little salt added to the water. If your preference is artificial flowers, clean them by placing them in a bag of salt and giving it a little shake. And don’t forget to stock up on a good supply of rock salt this winter. Salt poured on an icy and slippery surface will make walking across the surface much safer.
