Salt has many uses! Here are some that may be handy!

This article is about the term as used in chemistry. For the chemistry of table salt, see Sodium chloride. For more information about table salt, see Salt.
The blue salt copper(II) sulfate in the form of the mineralchalcanthite

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of related numbers of cations (positively charged ions) and anions (negative ions) so that the product is electrically neutral (without a net charge). These component ions can be inorganic, such as chloride (Cl⁻), or organic, such as acetate (C₂H₃O₂⁻); and can be monatomic, such as fluoride (F⁻), or polyatomic, such as sulfate (SO₄²⁻).

There are several varieties of salts. Salts that hydrolyze to produce hydroxide ions when dissolved in water are basic salts, whilst those that hydrolyze to produce hydronium ions in water are acidic salts. Neutral salts are those that are neither acid nor basic salts.Zwitterions contain an anionic centre and a cationic centre in the same molecule, but are not considered to be salts. Examples includeamino acids, many metabolites, peptides, and proteins.

Usually, non-dissolved salts at standard temperature and pressure are solid, but there are exceptions (see Molten salts and ionic liquids).

Molten salts and solutions containing dissolved salts (e.g., sodium chloride in water) are called electrolytes, as they are able to conduct electricity. As observed in the cytoplasm of cells, in blood, urine, plant saps and mineral waters, mixtures of many different ions in solution usually do not form defined salts after evaporation of the water. Therefore, their salt content is given for the respective ions.

Salt is in just about every home. It’s essential to many baking and cooking needs, and I consume it regularly to help regulate my blood pressure. But what else can it be used for? Check out the below ideas for using salt around your home!

Put Out a Fire   If you have a fire place, use salt when putting out the fire. It will eliminate the amount of soot produced, making your fire place cleaner and safer.

Deodorize Shoes   Can’t solve your homes stinky shoe problem? Put salt in the shoes overnight. The salt will soak up all of the odors leaving your shoes smelling clean.

Rid Your Garden of Snails and Slugs  If you have a snail and slug problem in your garden try sprinkling salt around the garden. Snails will avoid the salt and any that don’t essentially will be poisoned by it because it is a drying agent.

 Salad Crisp If you signed up to bring a salad to a party, but can’t keep it in the fridge or have a ways to travel, sprinkle some salt on it a few hours before it will be eaten. The salt will maintain the freshness.

Avoid Browning Apples   If you are sick of your apples browning after you cut them, soak them in lightly salted water for a few minutes (1-3 minutes tops). It will prevent them from browning throughout the day.

 Remove Wine Stains   If you dump salt on a wine stain or similar stain as soon as it happens, the salt will pick up the liquid making it far easier to clean up.

Restore Your Sponges   Mix ¼ cup salt per liter of water and soak sponges in the mixture overnight. The salt will restore the sponges to their previous clean and shape-holding state as well as sterilize them. Try putting them in the dishwasher as well for an extra germ killing clean.

Set Colors in Laundry   Add in 1 cup of salt to a load of laundry that contains items that have strong colors. The salt will set in the color making the items no longer bleed colors in the wash.

 Cure Bad Breath   Mix in 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of salt into a cup of warm water. Gargle the mixture twice a day and it will eliminate bad breath.

Do you know any other ways to use salt around your house?