Super Salt! Over 50 Ways To Use Salt

Until recently, like most people, I never gave much thought to ordinary table salt. A sprinkle across my eggs in the morning, a dash on this dish or that. That was before a friend of mine showed me a few uses for salt around the house that absolutely blew me away! The more I looked into this magnificent mineral, the more uses I found for it, way beyond cooking. Following are better than 50 household uses I’ve come up with for common iodized salt.

In the Kitchen

Blister-Free Bacon:

To protect yourself from the sting of “grease bees”, add a bit of salt to the pan before cooking bacon. Splattering is all but eliminated!

Beet Beater:

To remove stains after working with beets, wash your hands with a little salt and dish soap.

Cast Iron Cleaner:

For a simple way to clean cast iron cookware, just shake salt around in the pan and wipe clean.

Calmer Coffee:

Add a pinch of salt to ease bitterness.

Egg Messes:

Salt is a great helper if you’ve got an egg spill. Simply cover the spill with salt before wiping up.

Fish Frying:

Salt in the pan before cooking fish will prevent sticking.

Glassware Cleaner:

A mix of 8:1 vinegar to salt will remove stains and discoloration from glassware.

Grease Fires:

Salt is a natural extinguisher, simply pour it onto a grease fire.

Hand Deodorizer:

Food odors are no match for a rub of salt on your hands before washing!

Milk Preservative:

Milk lasts a bit longer if you add a pinch of salt to it after opening.

Oven Cleaner:

Spills and odors are easily treated with a mix of 6:1 salt and cinnamon. Simply sprinkle onto spills in a hot oven and wipe away when cool!

Refrigerator Refresher:

A mixture of salt in club soda makes a great cleaner and deodorizer.

Shaker Helper:

to keep your salt shaker from clogging up, place several grains of uncooked rice in the shaker or a small piece of paper towel in the bottom. Either method will absorb excess moisture that causes clumping.

Salt-a-holic Help:

If you got a little heavy-handed with salt in your sauce, peel and quarter a potato and add to the pot to absorb excess salt.

Vegetable Cleaner :

A quick bath in salt water and a rinse is an easy and effective way to clean your market vegetables.

Health & Beauty Uses

Acne Treatment:

Calm the redness and irritation of small breakouts with a simple solution. Dip a cotton ball in hot salt water and hold on the area for a few minutes.

Dandruff Buster:

By simply rubbing salt into your scalp before shampooing as normal, you can forget flakes.

DIY Shampoo:

For an effective dry shampoo, mix 8:1 corn meal and salt. Apply it to your hair and brush away to freshen and reduce oiliness.

Eye Easer:

To reduce swelling and redness around eyes, dip cotton balls in hot salt water and hold them on the affected area for 2-3 minutes.

Poison Ivy Relief:

A warm salt water bath is a sweet dose of relief to the itching and irritation caused by poison ivy.

Skin Scrub:

A mix of kosher salt and water can make a great natural skin exfoliator.

Household Uses

DIY Air Freshener:

Simply layering flower petals and salt in a jar will make a gentle but effective and long-lasting room freshener!

Artificial Flower Cleaner:

Just pour salt into a paper bag and place fake flowers petal-down in the bag. Squeeze the top and shake well to clean and freshen.
To arrange artificial flowers, fill a vase with salt and add just enough cold water to wet the salt. Arrange the flowers, the salt will harden and hold them in place.

Brass Cleaner:

You can make a simple paste of equal parts of salt, flour, and vinegar. Buff on with a soft cloth.

Broom Booster:

Straw brooms hold together better and last longer if soaked in warm salt water for an hour and dried.

Candle Control:

Soaking candles in a strong salt water solution for a few hours will keep them from dripping.

Carpet Cleaner:

Freshen and brighten by sprinkling carpets with a bit of salt prior to busting out the vacuum.

Chrome Cleaner:

An easy solution of vinegar and salt applied with a rag shines chrome right up!

Copper Polish:

As with brass, a mix of salt, flour, and vinegar makes a great cleaning paste for copper!

Countertop Cleaner:

Salt is key in a great DIY all-purpose cleaner! Just combine a cup of water, a cup of vinegar, and a teaspoon of salt in a spray bottle. Shake well and clean without harsh chemicals.

Drain Maintenance:

Every so often, pouring a half cup of salt down a drain and flushing with hot water for a few minutes will keep things fresh and flowing.

Fireplace Maintenance:

A simple way to control and clean soot is to pour a little salt into your fireplace from time-to-time.

Kerosene Lantern Restoration:

simply polishing with salt and a damp cloth will clean and brighten even the most soiled of lanterns.

Mop Cleaner:

to freshen and clean your smelly old mop, soak in a gallon of hot water mixed with a cup of salt for a day or two.

Paint Brush Preservation:

to soften crusty brushes, soak in a mixture of ½ cup kerosene, ¼ cup salt and 4 cups water for a few days. Much cheaper than a few brush!

Piano Cleaner:

keys looking a little yellowed or dingy? Simply make a paste of lemon juice and salt to whiten and brighten your ivory.

Shoe Deodorizer:

Got smelly sneakers? Try sprinkling them with salt and letting stand for 24 hours to ease the odor.

Silver Cleaner/Polish:

To start, line the bottom of a sink with aluminum foil and lay your tarnished silver on top. Top with a mixture of 4 cups of hot water with a tablespoon each of salt and washing soda. Apply with a soft cloth and rinse clean!

Window Frost Fix:

To prevent windows from frosting up, mix a tablespoon of salt in a gallon of hot water and wipe windows with the solution.

In The Laundry

Clothing Preservative:

You can keep non-colorfast clothing from running by washing new clothes with laundry detergent and a quarter cup of salt.

Iron Cleaner:

Just pour a little salt over a flap paper bag. With the iron on low and no steam, iron the bag to clean nasty buildup off the iron.

Pantyhose Preserver:

To prevent runs in stockings, soak new hosiery in a solution of 4 cups of warm water and ½ cup of salt. Let sit an hour then wash as normal.

Sweat Stains:

To treat, soak clothing in a solution of a gallon of warm water mixed with ¼ cup of salt. Let stand for an hour to break down the greasy stains then wash as normal.

Wine Stain Stopper:

Sprinkling a wine spill with salt can absorb the mess before it becomes permanent.

Outdoor Uses

Beer Cooler:

A great way to quickly chill drinks for your next cookout is to layer ice and salt in your ice chest before adding beverages.

Extinguisher:

snuff the last embers of your bonfire with salt.

Garden Tool Cleaner:

Also good to treat light rust, scrub garden tools with a paste of salt and lemon juice.

Poison Ivy Poison:

you can make a gentle DIY spray for poison ivy by combining 3 cups of salt, 2 cups of hot water, and ¼ cup of dish soap and soaking the plant. Will take 2-3 applications but will rid your yard of the pesky plant.

Weed Killer:

mix a gallon of hot water and a pound of salt for a simple and effective liquid to control weeds in your sidewalk.

Wicker Cleaner:

To prevent yellowing and clean wicker furniture, simply apply warm salt water with a stiff brush.