Salt: 20 reasons it’s the most versatile household item!

We’ve officially decided that salt is the most useful and diverse household item anyone can own. There are so many wonderful things that you can do with salt.

We’ve listed our favourite 20… What are yours?

1. Give brooms a long life

To keep your broom better for longer, soak it’s bristles in a bucket of hot, salty water. Remove after 20 minutes and let it dry.

2. Make your own brass and copper polish

To shine your candlesticks or remove green tarnish from copper pots, make a paste by mixing equal parts salt, flour, and vinegar. Use a soft cloth to rub this over the item, and then rinse with warm, soapy water and buff back to its original shine.

3. Remove wine from carpet

First, while the red wine is still wet, pour some club soda on it to dilute the colour. Then clean the spot with a sponge and cold water. Sprinkle the area with salt and wait about 10 minutes. Now vacuum up the whole mess.

4. Remove watermarks from wood

Make watermarks on wood disappear by mixing 1 teaspoon salt with a few drops of water to form a paste. Gently rub the paste onto the ring with a soft cloth or sponge and work it over the spot until it’s gone.

5. Relieve stings, bites, and poison ivy

Salt works well to lessen the pain of bee stings, bug bites, and poison ivy:

Stung by a bee? Immediately wet the sting and cover with salt. It will lessen the pain and reduce the swelling. Of course, if you are allergic to bee stings, you should get immediate medical attention.

For relief from the itching of mosquito and chigger bites, soak the area in salt water, and then apply a light layer of olive oil.

When stung by poison ivy, relieve the itching by soaking in hot salt water. If the case is very unfortunate, you might want to immerse yourself in a tub full of salt water.

6. Get rid of ants in the home

If ants are beating a path to your home, intercept them by sprinkling salt across the doorframe or directly on their paths. Ants will be discouraged from crossing this barrier.

7. Clean discoloured glass

Did your dishwasher fail to remove those stubborn stains from your glassware? Try this: Mix a handful of salt in a quart of vinegar and soak the glassware overnight. The stains should wipe off in the morning.

8. Brighten up your cutting boards

After you wash cutting boards and breadboards with soap and water, rub them with a damp cloth dipped in salt. The boards will be lighter

9. Erase tea and coffee stains

You can easily scrub away stains by sprinkling salt onto a sponge and rubbing in little circles across the ring. If the stain persists, mix white vinegar with salt in equal proportions and rub with the sponge.

9. Shell hard-boiled eggs with ease

Add a teaspoon of salt to your water before placing the eggs in it to boil. The shells should peel off easily.

10. Use to whip cream and beat eggs

The next time you whip cream or beat eggs, add a pinch of salt first. The cream will whip up lighter. The eggs will beat faster and higher, and they’ll firm up better when you cook them.

11. Pick up spilled eggs

If you’ve ever dropped an uncooked egg, you know what a mess it is to clean up. Cover the spill with salt. It will draw the egg together and you can easily wipe it up with a sponge or paper towel.

12. Set the colour in new towels

The first two or three times you wash new coloured towels, add one-cup salt to the wash. The salt will set the colours so your towels will remain bright much longer.

13. Stop weeds in their tracks

Bring a solution of about 1 cup salt in 2 cups water to a boil. Pour directly on weeds to kill them. Another equally effective method is to spread salt directly onto the weeds or unwanted grass that come up between patio bricks or blocks. Sprinkle with water or just wait until rain does the job for you.

14. Open hair-clogged drains

It’s tough to keep hair and shampoo residues from collecting in the bathtub drain and clogging it. Dissolve the mess with one-cup salt, one-cup baking soda, and 1/2 cup white vinegar. Pour the mixture down the drain. After 10 minutes, follow up with two litres of boiling water. Run your hot-water tap until the drain flows freely.

15. 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.

16. Clean teeth and dental parts

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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. Clean a gunky iron bottom

Sprinkle a little salt on a piece of baking paper and run the hot iron over it to remove rough, sticky spots.

20. 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 colour.

What is your favourite way to use salt? Tell us in the comments below!