Uses for Salt Other Than Just to Season Food

There are many uses for salt around the home other than seasoning our foods. Salt is plentiful and very inexpensive.

Below is just a sampling of the many uses. These were marketed to consumers in the 1950s. Many of them are still used today. They are also a lot cheaper than using the products sold in stores.


We thought you might like to hear some of the other fascinating uses for salt.

• Use salt as a back up fire extinguisher. Keep a box of salt close at hand as an emergency fire extinguisher for grease fires. Remember, this does not replace a proper fire extinguisher.

  VERY IMPORTANT: Never put water on a grease fire.

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These next six uses for salt pertain to eggs.

• To clean up a dropped egg. If an egg breaks on the kitchen floor, sprinkle salt on the mess and leave it there for 20 minutes. You'll be able to wipe it right up.

• Test the freshness of eggs. In a cup of salt water fresh eggs sink and bad ones will float.

• If you want a cracked egg to stay in its shell, add a little salt to your boiling water when cooking eggs.

• If you want an egg to peel more easily, boil eggs in salted water.

• To help to set the egg whites, poach the eggs over salted water.

• Egg whites will beat up fluffier ,if you put a tiny pinch of salt in them before whipping.

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The following uses for salt are in no particular order.

• For cleaning pots and pans, pour rock salt onto greasy cookware before scouring to help cut through the grease

• Do you have ants in your home? Draw a line of salt to prevent them from crossing.

• To prevent ice from forming on windows, wipe down the inside of windows in your home and car with a sponge dipped in a salt water solution, then dry. This will help prevent ice forming during freezing weather.

• To remove tea and coffee stains on cups and decanters, sprinkle salt onto a sponge and use a circular motion when rubbing over the stains.

• Use salt to polish brass, silver and copper. Mix salt and vinegar into a thick paste. Use a soft cloth to apply and buff, then rinse thoroughly in water and dry well.

• Do you have a smelly cutting board? After washing it with soap and water, rub the cutting board with a damp cloth dipped in salt. Let the cutting board sit for a while and then rinse. There are antiseptic reasons to use salt as well.

• Do you have spills in your oven? If food boils over onto the oven floor, sprinkle salt on top to stop smoke and odor from forming. When the oven is cool, it'll be easy to brush away the spot.

• Do you have a dirty, nasty sponge in your kitchen? This is probably my favorite one of the uses for salt. Kitchen sponges are the perfect breeding ground for all sorts of nasty bacteria. By soaking a sponge in a heavily salt water solution, it will help kill the bacterial.

• Using salt to kill weeds. Mix 1 part salt to 3 parts boiling water and pour directly onto weeds to kill them. It is environmentally friendly.

• To prevent a salad from wilting, add salt.

• If you want your toothbrush to last longer, soak it in saltwater before you use it the first time.

• To clean your teeth, mix one part salt to two parts baking soda after pulverizing the salt in a blender or rolling it on a kitchen board with a tumbler before mixing. It whitens the teeth and helps remove plaque and it is healthy for the gums.

• Your cut flowers will last longer, if you add a little salt to the water.

• To clean your iron, use salt and a damp cloth.

• If you want to eliminate excess suds, put in a sprinkle of salt.

  Here are more uses for salt.

• To remove burned-on stains in your enamel pans, soak them in salt water overnight and boil salt water in them the next day.

• To keep your salads crisp, salt them immediately before serving.

• To sweeten the odor of your refrigerator, use a measure of salt and soda.

• To remove odors from sink drainpipes, use a strong, hot solution of salt water.

• To soothe a bee sting, wet the area right away and then cover it with salt.

• To make the meat inside pecans easier to remove, soak the pecans in salt water for several hours before shelling.

• To remove onion odors from your hands, rub your fingers with salt moistened with vinegar.

• To sweeten and deodorize thermos bottles and jugs, decanters and other closed containers, use salt.

• To prevent mold on cheese, wrap it in a cloth dampened with saltwater before refrigerating.

• To clean wicker and prevent yellowing, scrub the wicker furniture with a stiff brush moistened with warm saltwater and allow to dry in the sun.

• Do you have a white ring left on table from a wet or hot dish or glass? It can be removed by rubbing a thin paste of salad oil and salt on the spot with your fingers, letting it stand an hour or two and then wiping it off.

• If you need to remove perspiration stains, add four tablespoons of salt to one quart of hot water and sponge the fabric with the solution until stains disappear.

• To remove blood stains, soak the stained clothing or other cloth item 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.)

• To remove mildew or rust stains, moisten stained spots with a mixture of lemon juice and salt, then spread the item in the sun for bleaching, and finally, rinse and dry.

• To reduce eye puffiness, mix one teaspoon of salt in a pint of hot water and apply pads soaked in the solution on the puffy areas.

• To relieve tired feet, soak aching feet in warm water to which a handful of salt has been added. Rinse in cool water.

• To deodorize shoes, sprinkle a little salt in canvas shoes occasionally. It will take up the moisture and help remove odors.

There are many other uses for salt. We have only mentioned a few of the more than 14,000. I would like to thank The Salt Institute for contributing to our information about the uses for salt.






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