How to Get the Most from Salt with These Practical Household Uses

Next time you head to one of those big warehouse grocery stores, go ahead and invest in bulk quantities of salt. You may have put off buying huge amounts of salt because you are not one of those people with a compulsion to sprinkle salt on absolutely everything you eat. That’s good news for you, health-wise. But whether you enjoy salty food or not, your purchase of huge amounts of salt will not go to waste. Why? Because you can use salt for a substantial number of uses besides seasoning your food.

Suds Away!

If someone in the house accidentally overloads the dishwasher or washing machine with too much detergent and the result is an overflow of suds, you can put salt to work cutting through the swath of bubbles. Any incident resulting in an abundance of suds can be controlled rather rapidly merely by sprinkling enough salt into the mix.

Range Fires

What do you do when the food you are cooking on your range or stovetop catches fires? Your first thought may be to douse the flames with water, but if accelerant in question is grease or cooking oil or shortening, this is only going to make the situation worse. Capping a fire in a pot or pan with a lid to remove oxygen is far more preferable, but depending on the intensity of the fire, this solution may be equally dangerous. Typical fires that start on top of the stove are best dealt with by first pouring enough salt on the blaze to tame the flames and then cover.

Oven Cleaner

When your baking or broiling has resulted in a spill that leaves a charred mess on the bottom of your oven, salt can come to the rescue. First, allow the oven to cool down so you don’t burn yourself. Then spread a layer of salt over the area of the spill and then add just enough water to moisten the salt. Close the oven door and let science run its natural course, Miss Yakamoto. After about ten or twenty minutes, open the door, and wipe mess away with the salt water.

Poison Ivy Control

You can eliminate the potential for extremely unpleasant bouts of itchy as a result of poison ivy growing on your property by drafting salt into service. Mix some water and salt into a spray bottle and then take the bottle to the offending area of the yard. A liberal application of salt water to your poison ivy should be enough to kill off the vine.

Clogged Drains

Here is where you get your money’s worth by investing in bulk quantities of salt. Measure out around half a cup of salt and pour it straight down any drain that is starting to back up. Following the salt with small pot of boiling water. Depending on the severity of the clog, you may need to follow these steps with the occasional running of hot water from the tap until the blockage is completely cleared.

Stain Remover

Colorful stains on the fingers caused by eating foods like fruit or decorating Easter Eggs can be lightened or even removed with a solution of salt and lemon juice. Dissolve some salt into the lemon juice and then vigorously rub the solution over the stains on your hands and fingers.

Tarnished Silver

Salt may be able to do what a dedicated silver cleanser cannot under extreme circumstances. When your silver items have become so tarnished that regular cleaners won’t return the shine, sprinkle a little salt onto them. Immediately start rubbing the salt with a sponge or cloth moistened with vinegar. Because of the chance that the gritty quality of salt could possibly damage silver, this approach is only advisable when nothing else has worked and when the silver in question is in especially bad condition.