10 Easy Peasy Salt Hacks That Will Make Your Life Easier

Not long ago a study came to the conclusion that 99% of the world’s population consumed more salt than what their bodies actually needed to function properly. That means, of course, that on the one hand consumption has to be toned down a little, but also that if we had to name one thing you can find for sure in any household, that’s salt. So if we have to reduce our salt intake and if most of us have salt at home, the best idea is to find other uses for it that aren’t food related. And If you are wondering what those are, well, you might have just landed on the right article.

Bright Side found out more about all the possible applications of this very common household product. Then, we prepared a list of tricks that will help you in your daily life. We also added a bonus at the end of the article to help raise awareness about salt consumption. Enjoy!

1. Cool drinks quickly.

Is the can or bottle of your favorite drink warmer than what you’d like it to be? A pretty simple solution to speed up the cooling process is to use water, ice, and salt. How? Put these 3 ingredients in a container, add the stuff you want to cool down, mix it all up a bit, and let it rest. In 5 minutes you will be able to enjoy a chilled, refreshing drink. You’re welcome!

2. Prevent snow from turning to ice.

If you live in a place where snow is common, you can consider using this simple trick: throw handfuls of salt on the snow that has piled up. What effect does this have? It prevents the formation of blocks of ice. That’s because salt reduces the freezing point of water. In normal conditions that point is 32°F, but with this trick it can go down to 14°F, 5°F or even −4°F, depending on the amount of salt you’re using and the amount of snow that we’re talking about.

3. Dust off your artificial flowers.

You only need 2 things: a plastic bag and coarse salt. Put the flowers inside the bag, add a good amount of salt, and shake (carefully). A lot of the dust attached to the flowers will get caught by the salt, leaving your decorative arrangements much cleaner.

4. Prevent soot from forming in the chimney.

When you build the next fire in your fireplace, add a handful of salt on the burning wood. This can help remove odors and reduce accumulated soot. But note that it cannot replace a proper cleaning session.

5. Make play dough at home.

You need flour, salt, oil, and water. The portions are as follows: 3 cups of flour, one cup of fine salt, one cup of water at room temperature, between 2 and 5 spoonfuls of oil, and if you want to give it a special touch, food coloring. The procedure is simple: put everything together (except the coloring) in a bowl and knead. If you see that the resulting dough is too hard, add you can add water until you find the ideal consistency. If it’s too mushy, you just need to add more flour.

Once you have the dough ready, you can add a few drops of food coloring and knead until the dough has a uniform color. You now have an uncooked, non-toxic product that you can use to keep your children entertained. The last thing you need to know is that you should store it in a tightly closed Ziploc or plastic container so it doesn’t dry out. You can also keep it in the fridge. It can last for weeks or a month if stored properly!

6. Clean your washing machine.

Pour a little salt and a little vinegar in your washing machine. Then take a brush and scrub the whole drum. Scrubbing with these ingredients will create a sort of paste. Then, you can pour in a little bit of water to remove the remaining paste. When you are done, dry it and you will see that everything looks shiny and new. You can repeat the whole process as much as you want or need to, until your machine looks brand new.

7. Clean wood stains.

Time and social gatherings at home leave their own marks on your furniture, and sometimes those are difficult to remove. Using a mixture of salt and olive oil, you can make your wood furniture look as good as new. How? Just put a little bit of salt and oil on it, and with the help of a cloth, rub it for a few minutes. Then wipe the surface again with a damp cloth and dry. There, now you have a shiny piece of furniture again!

8. Remove sweat stains.

With just a spoonful of salt and the usual washing products you have at home, you can renew your clothing. The procedure is as follows: moisten the fabric and pour the salt over the entire stain. Soak the garment and let it sit for 12 hours. After that, rub the fabric so that the salt penetrates better. Then just wash and rinse it normally.

9. Prevent cramps.

This trick is used by none other than professional tennis player, Rafael Nadal. When Nadal gets cramps, he drinks a little bit of water with diluted salt and this helps him recover from the pain. This won’t always be the solution, but it may help if the cramps are due to a recent change in your diet or because you sweat too much. In those cases, your body doesn’t have the necessary amount of salt to function properly and that is why cramps can suddenly appear.

10. Make your brooms last longer.

Is your broom already old and do you need to change it? Well, when you buy a new one, do the following trick before you use it for the first time. Prepare a solution of salted water in a bucket and soak the bristles for a few minutes. This will prolong the life of one of the most important cleaning devices in your home. Note that this works mostly for old fashioned brooms that are made of straw.

Bonus: Get rid of the bags under your eyes.

Unlike the rest of the points, here we’re not going to expose a great hack, but instead share a curious fact related to salt consumption. It turns out that by reducing your salt consumption, you can also make the bags under your eyes disappear. That’s because eating very salty foods makes your body retain more fluid, and this promotes eye puffiness. But hey, the salt you won’t be needing in your food can be used to do all the tricks we’ve given you above, so it’s a win-win situation!

With just minor changes in our daily lives, we can get amazing results and feel so much better. What other tricks changed your life when you started using them? Share them with the rest of the readers in the comment section!