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About Salt

Salt, sodium chloride, touches our lives more than any other natural compound.

Salt is essential for life and as the body can’t produce it itself, has to be provided in small quantities. Without it, our bodies become chemically unbalanced, our muscles and nervous system cease to function and eventually we die. We die eventually anyway of course, but salt keeps us going for a bit longer.

All our body fluids are salty. Blood, sweat, tears, saliva and the general consensus among experts is that a healthy adult should aim towards a daily intake of five or six grams of salt to maintain a good balance.

Most people probably think of salt as simply a white granular food seasoning. In fact, only 6% of all salt manufactured goes into food. Apparently we use salt in more than 14,000 different ways from the making of products as varied as plastic, paper, glass, polyester, rubber and fertilizers to household bleach, soaps, detergents and dyes. In addition to that it is used for melting snow out of roads. 

Everyone uses salt, directly or indirectly.

- In the Kitchen

. Peeling eggs - Eggs boiled in salted water peel more easily.
. Washing spinach - If spinach is washed in salted water, repeated cleanings will not be necessary.

- In Cleaning

.  Cleaning sink drains - Pour a strong salt brine down the kitchen sink drain regularly to eliminate odors and keep grease from building up.
.  Cleaning ovens - Salt and cinnamon take the "burned food" odor away from ovens and stove burners. Sprinkle spills while oven and burners are still hot; when dry, remove the salted spots with a stiff brush or cloth.

- In Household

. Cleaning flower vases - To remove deposits caused by flowers and water, rub with salt; if you cannot reach the deposits to rub them, put a strong salt solution in the vase and shake, then wash the vase with soap and water.
. Keeping cut flowers fresh - A dash of salt added to the water in a flower vase will keep cut flowers fresh longer.
. Keeping windows frost-free - Rub the inside of windows with a sponge dipped in a saltwater solution and rub dry; the windows will not frost up in sub-freezing weather. Rubbing a small cloth bag containing salt that has been moistened on your cars windshield will keep snow and ice from collecting.
. Deodorizing shoes - Sprinkling a little salt in canvas shoes occasionally will take up the moisture and help remove odors.


- In Health & Beauty

. Cleaning teeth - Mix one part salt to two parts baking soda after pulverizing the salt in a blender or rolling it on a kitchen board with a tumbler before mixing. It whitens teeth, helps remove plaque and it is healthy for the gums.
. Washing mouth - Mix equal parts of salt and baking soda as a mouth wash that sweetens the breath.
. Relieving bee stings - If stung, immediately wet the spot and cover with salt to relieve the pain.
. Removing dry skin - After bathing and while still wet give yourself a massage with dry salt. It removes dead skin particles and aids the circulation.