House Care
- Deter Ants
Sprinkle salt in doorways, on window sills and in cabinet corners. Ants don’t like to walk on salt.
- Extinguish Grease Fires
Keep a box of salt near your stove or oven. If a grease fire flares up, douse the flames with salt (never use water on grease fires; it will splatter the burning grease). When salt is applied to fire, it acts as a heat sink and dissipates the heat from the fire — it also forms an oxygen-excluding crust to smother the fire.
- Drip-proof Candles
If you soak new candles in a strong salt solution for a few hours, then dry well, they will not drip as much when you burn them.
- Keep Cut Flowers Fresh
A dash of salt added to the water in a flower vase will keep cut flowers fresh longer.
- Make Play Dough
Use 1 cup flour, ½ cup salt, 1 cup water, 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons cream of tartar. Stir the flour, cream of tartar, salt and oil and slowly add water. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until the dough becomes stiff. Spread onto wax paper and let it cool. Knead the dough with your hands until it reaches a good dough consistency.
- Deter Patio Weeds
If weeds or grass grow between bricks or blocks on your patio, sidewalk or driveways carefully spread salt between the cracks, then sprinkle water or wait for the rain to wet it down.
- De-ice Sidewalks And Driveways
This may be one of the oldest tricks in the book! Lightly sprinkle rock salt on walks and driveways to keep snow and ice from bonding to the pavement allowing easier shovelling/scraping. But do not overdo it; use the salt sensibly to avoid damage to plants.
- Tame A Wild Barbecue
Toss a bit of salt on flames in barbecue grills to reduce the flames from food drippings and calm the smoke (like water does).
