11 Hidden Uses For Salt

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11 Hidden Uses For Salt

These days, when everyone is trying to eat healthy, salt is becoming taboo. It used to be hard to imagine people who had absolutely no salt in their home, but now that's starting to be common.

Which is a shame! Not only because salt makes everything delicious, but because it has so many other great uses. Salt is one of those miracle products that seems to be able to do anything.

While some people have heard of the classic trick to soak up a wine stain with salt, there are all kinds of other great tricks you may not know about.

1. Make hard boiled eggs easy to peel

They call them "hard" boiled eggs because they're definitely not easy to crack open! A little salt in the water will toughen up the protein inside the eggs, so the shell just peels away.

2. Take watermarks out of wood

Whether it's in an antique, a table or your floors, nobody likes to look at watermarks. Mix salt with a little bit of water and you can actually rub these away.

3. Unclog a drain

There's no need to call a plumber or buy any fancy chemicals. Just mix salt and baking soda with a little white vinegar and pour it down the drain. Let the mixture work for a while then chase it with some boiling water. Voila! Your drain should be good as new.

4. Salt can solve all kinds of pest problems

You can sprinkle salt directly on slugs to protect your garden. For ants, leave a little salt in the middle of their path, it should get rid of them for good.

5. Make brass and copper antiques look like new again

Salt's natural grit makes it perfect for wiping off the grime your antiques have collected over the years. Mix it with a little flour and vinegar to take the green off copper and make brass shine.

6. Make sliced fruit last longer

Sliced apples and pears are an awesome healthy snack, but if you chop them up ahead of time they turn brown. Luckily, you can let the slices float in a bath of salty water and they'll stay tasty much longer.

7. Get rid of nasty shoe odor

There are all kinds of products to keep your shoes smelling nice, but if you just want to get rid of that sweaty smell, salt works well. The smell is caused by moisture, which you can get rid of with just a spoonful of salt.

8. Salt is the ultimate stain remover

Salt can easily fix coffee, tea, and even rust stains, but it's most famous for its magical effect on wine stains. Simply wipe up the excess wine, sprinkle salt over the stain, then wipe off with a wet cloth and the stain should be gone.

9. Take the dirt off your veggies

Add a little salt to the water you wash your veggies in and cleaning them becomes much easier, since the salt is like a second pair of hands peeling the dirt off.

10. Make your own organic toothpaste

Whether you've just run out of toothpaste before a big job interview, or you want to try a more natural teeth whitening solution, you can mix some salt and baking soda for an easy substitute. It won't leave your mouth minty-fresh though!

11. Keep your food from sticking

Does the bottom half of your flapjacks stick to the griddle when you try to flip them? You can fix this by sprinkling on a little salt. Do the same thing with a your frying pan when you cook fish and it will lift right off.

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