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Salt's Strength
The Sensational Salt!
While there are dozens of ways to use salt at home, the most common industrial use is in making chemical compounds. Salt is key to the manufacture of steel, aluminum, rubber tires, soap, certamics, textiles, and inks and dyes, not to mention thousands of medical applications. Once, mining or extracting salt was so complicated that salt was very expensive and people were often paid their wages in salt. All animals, including human beings, require sodium for life and health, yet the human body cannot manufacture sodium on its own. When we lack salt, our muscles don't work properly, our food doesn't digest, and our blood circulation and heart are affected.
The Many Uses Of Salt:
Candles
Stop new candles from dripping by first soaking them in a strong solution of 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup salt for several hours. Let candles dry, then burn as usual
Remove coffee or tea stains from light-colored cups and mugs.
Rub the stained areas with salt and a little water. Then wash as usual.
Pick up a dropped egg.
If an egg breaks on the kitchen floor, sprinkle salt on the mess and leave it there for 20 minutes. You'll be able to wipe it right up.
A dash of salt in laundry starch keeps the iron from sticking and gives linen and fine cottons a glossy, like-new finish.
Soothe a bee sting.
Wet the sting right away, then cover it with salt.
Eliminate a grease fire.
Pour salt on top to smother it. (Never use water on a grease fire.)
Clean up oven spills.
If food boils over onto the oven floor, sprinkle salt on top to stop smoke and odor from forming. When the oven is cool, it'll be easy to brush away the spot.
Clean burned-on food from a stovetop burner by sprinkling it with a mixture of salt and cinnamon, then wipe away immediately. The mixture will give off a pleasant smell and cover up any burnt odor the next time you turn on the burner.
Color bleeding.
Add a 1/2 cup salt to wash cycle to prevent new colored fabrics from running.
Kill poison ivy.
Add three pounds of salt to a gallon of soapy water. Spray it onto leaves and stems.
Make cream whip more easily and egg whites whip faster and higher. Add a pinch of salt.
Test for rotten eggs.
Put an egg in a cup of water to which you've added two teaspoons of salt. A fresh egg will sink, but one that's iffy will float.
Clean the brown spots (from starch) off a nonstick soleplate (the bottom of your iron).
Sprinkle salt on a sheet of waxed paper, slide the iron across it, then rub lightly with silver polish.
Repel fleas.
Wash the doghouse with it.
Kill grass growing in cracks in the cement or between patio stones. Sprinkle salt on the grass and pour very hot water over it. Or sprinkle coarse salt on the grass, let stand all day or overnight, then pour hot tap water over it.
Kill weeds
Boil 1 quart (32 ounces), of water, then add 2 tablespoons salt and 5 tablespoons vinegar. While still hot, pour mixture directly onto weeds between cracks on sidewalks and driveways.
Clean a glass coffee pot.
Fill it with 1/4 cup of table salt and a dozen ice cubes. Swish the mixture around, let it sit for half an hour, fill it with cold water and rinse.
Halt the mountain of suds from an overflowing washing machine. Sprinkle salt on the top.
Clean artificial flowers. Put them in a bag of salt and shake the bag. Take a look at the color of the salt and you'll see what you've accomplished.
Keep windows frost-free. Dip a sponge into salt water and rub it on windows, and they won't frost up even when the mercury dips below 32 degrees; for the same effect on your car's windshield, put salt in a little bag made of cheesecloth, moisten it slightly and rub it on.
Clean tarnished copper. Fill a 16-ounce spray bottle with hot white vinegar and three tablespoons of salt. Spray it onto the copper, let it sit briefly, then rub clean. (Don't do this to lacquered copper.)
Keep radishes safe in the garden.
Salt worms (cutworms) will be repelled if you sprinkle seeds with table salt, then cover with dirt.
Keep potatoes and apples from turning brown once they're sliced. Put them in salted cold water.
Clean a cutting board.
Cover it with bleach and salt, scrub it with a stiff brush, then rinse with very hot water and wipe with a clean cloth. Repeat with each use
Health and Beauty
Exfoliation
After you take a shower or bath and while your skin is still wet, sprinkle salt onto your hands and rub it gently all over your skin. this salt massage will remove dry skin and make your skin smoother to the touch. It will also invigorate your skin and get your circulation moving. Try it first thing in the morning to help wake up or after a period of physical exertion.
Itchy Skin
Soaking a tub of saltwater can be a great itchy skin reliever. Just add 1 cup table salt or sea salt to bath water. This solution will also soften skin and relax you.
Oily skin
To reduce oiliness, fill a small spray bottle with tepid water, add 1 teaspoon salt, and spray on your face. Blot dry.
Mouthwash
Mix 1/s teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda into a 4-ounce (120 ml), glass of water. Use this solution to gargle and freshen breath.
Odors on Hands
To remove onion odor from your hands, sprinkle on a little salt, then moisten with a bit of vinegar. Rub hands together and rinse.
The simplest remedy for minor sore throat pain is a warm saltwater gargle (even if it taste yucky!). Just add 1 teaspoon salt to 8 ounces (240 ml), warm water, and gargle serval times a day. See a physician if sore throat persists longer than 3 days or is accompanied by a high fever.
*** I've tried this many times before and it actually works!
Burns or Injuries
A severe burn in your mouth from eating something very hot can be relieved by rinsing with saltwater every hour or so. Use 1/2 teaspoon salt in 8 ounces (240 ml), warm water.
Toothaches
As a temporary remedy for a toothache before going to the dentist, rinse your moth with a mixture of 4 ounces warm water, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and 1 tablespoon salt.
Gums
Swish with 1 tespoon salt in 4 ounces warm water when gums are painful. If you have an abscess, the salt will draw out some of the infection. Any gum pain should be treated by a dentist as soon as possible.
and still more tips...
Mosquito Bite
Treat a mosquito bite by soaking it for a few minutes in saltwater, then applying an oinment made of salt and lard.
Poison Ivy
Help poison ivy clear up more quickly by soaking irritated skin in hot saltwater.
Moths
Salt sprinkled directly on a moth will kill it.
Slugs
You can kill slugs by sprinkling them with a heavy dose of salt. Wait 5 minutes, then sprinkle again.
Canvas
Deodorize canvas bags or any bags that have developed a musty smell by sprinkling the inside with salt, sipping up the bag, and letting it sit overnight. Remove salt in the morning, and allow bag to air out.
Oil Spills
If you accidentally spill oil onto your garage floor, sprinkle salt on it and wait 15 minutes. The salt will help soak up some of the liquid and make cleaning easier.
Windshields
Avoid frosted car windows on a cold morning by rubbing them in the evening witha sponge dipped in a saltwater solution. Use 2 tablespoons salt to 2 cups water.
How It's Made
Salt is produced by evaporation of seawater or brine from other sources, such as brine wells and salt lakes, and by mining rock salt, called halite.
Bonus Tidbits:
- Some people consider spilling salt to be unlucky. This superstion dates back to at least the early days of Rome. In the painting The Last Supper by Leaonardo da Vinci, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus to the authorities, is shown among the disciples with a saltcellar knocked over by his arm.
- In 2002, total world production (of sodium chloride in general, not just table salt) was estimated at 210 million tonnes, the top five producers being the United States (40.3 million tonnes), China (32.9), Germany (17.7), India (14.5), and Canada (12.3).
- Seawater has lots of salt; it contains an average of 2.7% (by weight) NaCl, or 26 million metric tons per cubic kilometer, an inexhaustible supply (note: seawater also contains other dissolved solids; salt represents about 77% of the Total Dissolved Solids).
- There's a huge amount of salt in the world -- about 3.5% of the weight of the world's oceans plus massive underground (and underwater) deposits.
- Although worldwide food uses account for 17.5% of salt production The majority is sold for industrial use - the production of pulp and paper, setting dyes in textiles and fabrics, and the making of soaps and detergents, just to name a few examples.
- In many East Asian cultures, salt is not traditionally used as a condiment. In its place, condiments such as soy sauce, fish sauce and oyster sauce tend to have a high sodium content and fill a similar role to table salt in western cultures. They are most often used for cooking rather than as table condiments.
- Different natural salts have different mineralities, giving each one a unique flavor. Fleur de sel, a natural sea salt from the surface of evaporating brine in salt pans, has a unique flavor varying from region to region. In traditional Korean cuisine, so-called "bamboo salt" is prepared by roasting salt in a bamboo container plugged with mud at both ends. This product absorbs minerals from the bamboo and the mud, and has been shown to increase the anticlastogenic and antimutagenic properties of doenjang.
- Completely raw sea salt is bitter because of magnesium and calcium compounds, and thus is rarely eaten. The refined salt industry cites scientific studies saying that raw sea and rock salts do not contain enough iodine salts to prevent iodine deficiency diseases.
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| The Dead Sea is said to be the site of Sodom and Gomorrah. The salt concentration in it is so high that it allows the body to float easily with no effort at all |
In Religion...
- In the Hebrew Bible, thirty-five verses mention salt, one of which being the story of Lot's wife, who, according to the legend, was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:26) as they were destroyed. When King Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem, he is said to have "sown salt on it," probably as a curse on anyone who would re-inhabit it. (Judges 9:45) The Book of Job contains the first mention of salt as a condiment. "Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" (Job 6:6).
- In one of the Hadith recorded in Sunan Ibn Majah, Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said that: "Salt is the master of your food. God sent down four blessings from the sky – fire, water, iron and salt".
- In the Christian New Testament, six verses mention salt. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus referred to his followers as the "salt of the earth". The apostle Paul also encouraged Christians to "let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:6).
- Salt is considered to be a very auspicious substance in Hinduism, and is used in particular religious ceremonies like housewarmings and weddings.
- In Judaism, it is recommended to have either a salty bread or to add salt to the bread if this bread is unsalted when doing Kiddush for Shabbat. It is customary to spread some salt over the bread or to dip the bread in a little salt when passing the bread around the table after the Kiddush. To preserve the covenant between their people and God, Jews dip the Sabbath bread in salt.
- In the native Japanese religion Shinto, salt is used for ritual purification of locations and people (harae, specifically shubatsu), such as in sumo wrestling, and small piles of salt called morijio (盛り塩, pile of salt) or shiobana (塩花, salt flowers) are placed in dishes by the entrance of establishments for the two-fold purposes of warding off evil and attracting patrons.
Resource(s):
ivillage.com, ideafinder.com, readersdigest.com, wikipedia
Main-Photo credit: Sgt. Pepperedjane
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