Why You Should Sprinkle Salt Onto Your Cutting Board—and Into Your Coffee

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Salt , scientifically have it off as Na chloride ( NaCl ) , is an integral part of every repast , from its use during cooking to right away seasoning solid food on the plate . But salt can do much more than add sapidity to your solid food . From cleaning to wintertime maintenance , kitchen salt is a household ( and outdoor ) workhorse : It clean , deodorizes , and even removes some stigma , construct it an indispensable staple in the household . See all salt ’s handy uses below and you might get going buy it in bulk .

1. Refreshing Wicker Furniture

Wicker furnituregets yellow with years . Brighten it again by dipping a brush in a solution of common salt urine and scrubbing the piece of furniture . Let it dry in the Lord’s Day and your caning pieces will count as near as new . as well , if you have a novel straw Calluna vulgaris , soak it in red-hot , piquant water for about 20 minutes before its first usage to extend its lifespan .

2. Clean Up Spills

When a wad bubbles over on thestoveor in the oven , dot some common salt on the fall before it has a opportunity to cool down . It will keep the smear from solidifying , and will make it a lot easy to wipe off .

3. Make Coffee Taste Better

If you ’ve left your coffee bean on the burner longer than you should have and it ’s gotten blistering , judge adding a exigency of salt to your smiler before pour out in the brewage . The common salt should make your cupper a lot more palatable .

4. Kill Weeds Naturally

If you have green goddess grow up between cracks in the pavement or along the lines in your patio , vamoose the expensive weed intervention with harsh chemical substance . Salt ’s desiccating properties can draw water up and make weeds to wilt .

“ Mix a solution of one part salinity to two parts water and carefully put on it to weeds , avoiding nearby plants . Watch as thesalt desiccate and eliminates unwanted mourning band , providing a natural and effective alternative to chemical weed killers , ” says Zahid Adnan , gardener and founder of The Plant Bible .

5. Remove Stains From Dishes

Salt is a great cleanup aid : Rubbing table salt inside a blossom vase will help remove the icky annulus left by the flowers ’ water . For mugs and cupful with tea orcoffeestains , spatter a piffling salt on a sponge and rub in a rotary gesture . Polish your brassand copper with a paste made of adequate parts salt , flour , and vinegar .

6. Brighten Up Faux Flowers

You never desire to put fresh - cut flowers in table salt water because you ’ll belt along their demise , but salt can aid artificial flowers look full of life by acting as a gentle abrasive . Simply put the false blooms in a paper bag with about ¼ cup of salt , escape from , and — voila!—they’ll be less moth-eaten , and see as good as novel .

7. Smooth Out Your Iron

If something has melt onto the soleplate — the smooth metal bottom of yourclothes iron — it can really put a “ wrinkle ” in your ironing . To remove the offending bump , pitter-patter some harsh salt on paper , rick the atomic number 26 on high , and rub the atomic number 26 back and forth over the table salt on the paper .

8. De-Stink Shoes

9. Defrost Windshields and Windows

common salt lowers the temperature at which body of water freezes and turns into water ice , so use it to your vantage : Rub the window of your home with a sponge dipped in saltiness water to keep them icing free . Here ’s a good path to make manipulation of a sock without a teammate : Keep salt in a sock in your car . When the forecast call in for temperature to dip , fret the wind cone over the windshield and you should be Robert Frost - spare in the morning .

10. Clean Up Spilled Egg

If you ’ve ever accidentallycracked an eggonto the floor or countertop , you know how hard it can be to houseclean up due to a raw bollock ’s ugly texture . If you teem a heap of salt onto the egg , however , it will become easier to cleanse up with a rag orpaper towel .

11. Patch Holes in Walls

The best product forpatching up low nail holesand wisecrack in plaster and drywall is spackling compound but , in a pinch , table salt can also get the job done . Morton Salt recommends make a paste using 2 tablespoon of common salt , 2 tablespoonful of cornflour , and 4 to 5 tablespoons of water . After apply the smorgasbord to the wall blemish , allow it to dry , and then grit and paint .

12. Clean Cast-Iron Pans

Anyone who has ever owned acast ironpan have intercourse that they ’re dodgy to care for , but one of the best ways to clean them is belike already in your closet . common kosher table salt can aid scrape away stuck - on nutrient molecule from cast iron . “ Sprinkle saltiness on greasy genus Pan or bake sheets and scrub with a parazoan or brush , ” says Shlomo Cherniak , handyman and owner of Baltimore - basedCherniak Handyman Services . “ The table salt acts as an abrasive and help remove grease and grime . ”

13. Remove Red Wine Stains

Spillingred wineon a rug , sofa , or your wearable can do a panic , but do n’t concern : Salt can come to the rescue . As shortly as the spill go on , splash table salt generously on the stirred region and give up it to sit for a few minute so it can sop up the wine . When all of the liquid has been absorbed , vacuumup the salt that ’s pull up stakes behind .

14. Shine Silver

Genuinesilverware require regular criminal maintenance , and while there are plenty of commercial-grade products available that are contrive to restore silver ’s original effulgence , salt can stand in as a DIY cleansing solution that ’s affordable and eco - friendly . Just conflate salt , baking pop , white acetum , and boiling body of water to create an abrasive solution that will “ absent tarnish and restore shine , ” says Cherniak .

15. Cool Beverages in a Hurry

Is there anything worse than reaching for a cold deglutition only to substantiate you forgot to stock thecoolerorfridge ? While soda can quickly be cool withice cubes , most drinkers do n’t want to dilute their beer and wine with frappe . Making an ice water bath works well , but add salt to the water will help cool the drinkable faster because salt helps melt the crank and lower the temperature of the piddle . In about 10 minutes , your drinkable should be good to go .

16. Revive Dish Sponges

If yourdish spongeis begin to calculate and smack foul , mix a cupful of red-hot weewee , ½ cupful of white vinegar , and 3 tablespoons of salt in a sports stadium and countenance your sponge inebriate overnight . The salt will assist annihilate nasty odors and bacteria .

17. Clean Wooden Cutting Boards

After write out up your dinner ingredients , scatter a generous amount of salinity onto the wood and rub it in . Let it sit for at least 10 minutes and then use the cut half of a Citrus limon to scrub the salt onto the cutting board . Rinse the gameboard with red-hot water and dry out it thoroughly with a clean towel . Ta - da , this is how to clean a wooden cutting board without warping or cracking the wood ! “ The salt helps murder stains and odors from the cutting circuit card , ” Cherniak says .

18. Melt Ice on Walkways

Winter ’s frosty temperatures often lead to wintry sidewalks and driveways , but disperse salt on these surfaces can keep you from slipping and slide . lease it sit for half an hour and then scrape off the slushy intermixture with a bristle brushing , or the boundary of a shovel . Be careful not to get salinity on any of your plants , because it can kill them .

19. Prevent Fruit From Browning

If you ’re tired of your fruit turning an unappetizing specter of brown after you foreshorten it , turn over to salt . After slice your favorite yield , engross the piece of music in a bowl of half-hearted urine with a pinch of cosher Strategic Arms Limitation Talks . overcharge them for at least 5 minutes , and then utilize a cullender to rinse the yield .

20. Clean the Garbage Disposal

Here ’s a simple cleaning hack for one of the often overlooked area in the kitchen : the garbage disposal . Drop a few ice cube and a smattering of coarse Strategic Arms Limitation Talks ( kosher will do ) into the disposal . Turn on the body of water and let the disposition run until the ice-skating rink is all oppress . The salinity ’s abrasive properties will help make clean the disposal blades .

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Woman holding salt shaker in left hand and pointing to it with her right index finger.