16 Game-Changing Uses for Table Salt That Can Save Your Day Out of the Blue
Salt has been used for well over 6000 years, and we don’t expect it to go away any time soon. It’s used in a wide variety of situations and contexts, from cooking, to preserving all kinds of food, and to control & diminish fires. It’s one of the main reasons why we can transport food all over the world! And the best thing of all is that salt is crazy cheap almost everywhere, and its uses are virtually infinite!
Naturally, Bright Side has looked into some more wonderful and miraculous ways that salt can save your day from going overboard. Most of them are pretty easy to try out!
16. Bring back the natural color of old clothes
You tried everything you could think of to make those old clothes look new, or at the very least not so washed out, but nothing quite worked out. Try salt!
Just soak your clothes in a solution of salt water, and/or add a ¼ cup of salt into the wash cycle. You’ll surely be surprised at the results you’ll get.
15. Refresh and clean artificial flowers
This one’s pretty easy and surprising. No one likes dust in their artificial flowers, but dust is almost impossible to get rid of (at least permanently).
One easy-peasy way to keep your artificial flowers dust-free is to put some table salt into a bag (paper, preferably), add your artificial flora, and give it a shake. The salt will remove any traces of dirt and dust, and they’ll look wonderful again.
14. Get rid of lipstick marks
Those long-lasting and strong lipsticks can be a pain to wash off since they’re designed to resist water. You throw a beautiful and jaunty party, only to face lipstick on the glassware at the end.
Even after numerous dishwashing adventures, the lipstick won’t come off. Grrrr. What to do? Just gently scrub your glasses and glassware with salt (careful not to scratch them) before sending them to Washville. Trust us, the stains won’t be able to resist it!
13. Cheap and effective skin exfoliant
Salt can also be a great alternative to take care of dry skin. It removes dead skin, enhances your blood circulation, is an overall good way to improve your skin’s health, and it’s cheap!
It is especially effective if you apply it after one of those relaxing, hot baths. Remember: apply salt while your skin is still mildly wet, and massage it in a circular fashion. For better exfoliating results, use sea salt!
12. As a companion to toothpaste
Ever gotten yourself into a scenario where you don’t have toothpaste on hand? Just use salt!
Another pretty simple and handy hack is to actually add salt into your toothbrushing routine. It’s great to remove stains, to whiten your teeth, and even to disinfect them, because of the antibacterial properties of salt. Just don’t expect your teeth to whiten overnight, it takes some time and consistency to pull it off, but it’s well worth the wait.
Simply dip your wet toothbrush into table salt and brush your teeth gently. Alternatively, add a little bit of table salt on top of your toothpaste to make it smoother!
11. Test to see if your eggs are still good
Yes, eggs are the kind of thing that we tend to forget in the fridge. It’s not that we don’t know that they can go bad, it’s just we subconsciously think they’ll last longer than anything else.
If you find yourself in a situation where you don’t know if you should or can eat an egg, just do the salt-water test!
Just add cooking salt (2 tbsp should be enough) to a cup of water (or any other container, as long as it is large enough to hold the egg) and drop the egg inside. If it sinks, it’s good. If it floats, don’t eat it!
10. Pre-shampoo treatment for dandruff
Dandruff can tank your self-esteem if the problem is let loose. And you’ve probably tried a myriad of treatments and solutions for it and never quite got that satisfying payoff you were hoping for. But have you tried salt?
Before you splash shampoo on your hair, sprinkle some salt onto your scalp, massage it carefully and thoroughly for at least 5 minutes, then bring in the shampoo reinforcements. It does wonders for dandruff, and also helps your hair grow healthy, long, and strong!
9. Prevent ice formations
© Depositphotos.com © Depositphotos.com
Ice can be a delicate problem during winter. Especially when you have to drop the kids off at school and then head to work, and your windshield is covered in ice the size of an iceberg!
Exaggerations aside, salt is a distinguished ally against ice, because it decreases the temperature at which ice freezes, working as an effective and cheap de-icer. Before heading to bed for the night, grab a small cloth, fill it with salt, and rub it across every inch of glass on your car. You’ll have an ice-free surprise in the morning!
8. Ease a sore throat
A solution of salt and water can do wonders for a sore throat. It loosens mucus, reduces swelling, and it expels bacteria and other irritants which can be the cause for your throat soreness.
Just add some table salt into a glass of water, and gargle it for between 30 seconds to a minute. You’ll be amazed at how strangely effective it is.
7. Remove watermarks from furniture
Another recurrent problem: those pesky marks on your furniture. The fact that most people forget that coasters exist, even after they’ve been provided with tons of ’em, is quite problematic if you’re throwing a party, or if you own a bar or pub. It can be a problem, and a hard one to get rid of conventionally.
A potentially easy way to get rid of ’em is to throw a little bit of salt directly onto the problem and scrub it gently with a sponge, preferably a wet one. You might just be able to get rid of that useless circle!
6. Make your toothbrush last longer
5. Make your lips luscious and smoother
Salt’s not only good for exfoliating your skin, but also for your lips. Whenever you feel like your lips are dry, rough, and not-at-all luscious, just add salt!
A quick and easy way to do it is to add some table salt to a toothbrush and carefully brush your lips with it (again, circular motions have been proven to be the best). After you’re done, wash it off. Your lips will look splendid in no time!
4. Improve oral health by mixing it with water
Like we’ve already previously discussed, salt has great anti-bacterial properties, and can be a great and cheap way to maintain and improve your oral health without buying overly expensive products.
As with the sore-throat hack, you can gargle a solution of salt water for 30 to 60 seconds. It is a great way to relieve any injuries or sores that have befallen your throat, and it is especially effective at keeping your mouth fresh!
3. Get your fish tank sparkling again
Just rub the inside of your fish tank with salt, and rinse it afterward. But, and we cannot stress this enough, it is imperative that you thoroughly rinse your tank, and add a product to keep your water treated (such as Tapsafe) before putting your fish inside the tank again!
2. Unclog the pipes
If you have a clogged drain in your home that you’re desperate to unclog, but you have no drain cleaner on hand, just try salt! We’re serious, just drop a 1/2 cup of cooking salt into the nasty hotspot. Being naturally coarse and abrasive, salt will eat through the grease that’s inhabiting your clogged pipe.
1. Remove those impossible red wine stains
Perhaps the worst contender of them all: wine stains, particularly red wine stains. They can be some of the worst types of stains you can get on shirts, sweaters, carpets, and basically any kind of fabric that has had the unfortunate luck of having wine spilled on it.
This hack works best if applied while the wine stain is still fresh (right after the crime has been committed!). First, you need to dilute the stain by pouring water directly on it, and then cover it up with table salt. Leave it for about 10 to 15 minutes, and then scrub, and scrub, and scrub, until that troublesome stain is gone!
There’s still plenty unconventional uses for salt out there. If you know of some that we haven’t discussed here (or anywhere else), join in the discussion below, we’d love to discover more of them!
source: by Alena Tsarkova
