Salt is an incredibly versatile substance with a multitude of uses beyond seasoning your food. You can use salt for cleaning, deodorizing, and even deicing sidewalks and driveways in the winter.
In this blog post, I’ll explore some of the many ways that salt can be used around the house to make life easier. From helping remove red wine on carpets to scrubbing a cast iron skillet, you’ll find plenty of practical tips for using salt in your day-to-day cleaning tasks.
How Salt Can Be Used as a Cleaning Agent
Salt can be used as an effective cleaning agent and can be used to help with a variety of cleaning tasks around the house. Salt’s ‘superpowers’ are as an abrasive agent (scrubbing) and as a desiccant (absorbing liquids) so we will see those abilities used in the methods below.
Unless otherwise stated throughout these cleaning suggestions, we will be using common table salt or kosher salt (both are sodium chloride).
When combined with other ingredients, such as lemon juice, vinegar, or baking soda (also a salt!), salt can be used to scrub away dirt and grime from various surfaces and deodorize at the same time!
Salt for Carpet Stains
#1 – New & Wet Carpet Spills
Professional carpet cleaners often suggest using salt as a desiccant for wet carpet spills, in particular for red wine, but this method can also be used effectively for spills from colored sodas or drink mixes.
- First: BLOT (not rub) as much of the spill out of the carpet.
- Throughly cover all of the stain with dry salt – either table salt or kosher salt will work.
- Let the salt sit for 15-30 minutes. You can PRESS the salt into the stain with a paper towel or clean rag if it seems like the spill soaked down into the carpet. This steps allows the salt to absorb the spilled liquid.
- Vacuum throughly.
- If the stain is still visible, you can re-wet the area with club soda or other clear sparkling water, then apply a new layer of salt to absorb what it can. Repeat the waiting and vacuuming steps.
#2 – Old Set-in Carpet Stains
Salt’s rough texture and abrasive properties can be used to scrub at an established stain, but the problem is that it can also break down the fibers in the rug or carpet and can make a permanent mark just from rubbing and abrasion.
However, you can make a topical carpet cleaning paste from ingredients that you have at home. I would say up front that I would not use this method on an expensive rug or on rug materials like silk, but typical ‘stain release’ carpet that is found in many modern homes should hold up fine with this process. I would first test it in an inconspicuous area to make sure your carpet doesn’t discolor, fade or show other distress from this salt for cleaning method.
- Start by completely vacuuming the area to remove any dirt or debris.
- Make a paste my mixing equal parts of salt, borax, and white vinegar. For example, three tablespoons of each would form enough paste for a medium sized stain.
- Gently rub the paste into the stained area and work it down past the surface of the carpet.
- Let the paste sit on the stain until it is dry – at least a few hours.
- Vacuum away all of the cleaning product.
#3 – Salt for Cleaning a Cast Iron Skillet
Cast iron pans are usually ‘seasoned’ so that they develop a natural coating that is pretty simple to clean. Sometimes though, you really burn something in them that needs more scrubbing power – salt is the answer!
Cast iron aficionados usually try to avoid using dish soap in their pans because it can strip the seasoning. Using salt instead can remove burned on debris without harming pan surface.
Pour enough salt into the pan to coat the bottom surface. I am using a little over a tablespoon for this 11″ Cast Iron Skillet.
Tip and rotate the pan to distribute the salt. This skillet is really oily, so I’m going to let it sit for a few minutes before the next step.
Scrub the salt throughout the pan, releasing any stuck on food particles or ‘carbonized’ bits. You can also use the salt to scrub the outside of the pan, which will remove some of the rust. I generally only care about what the inside of the pan looks like.
My skillet is so well seasoned that even rough scrubbing with salt doesn’t affect the seasoned surface. Dry your pan, or allow it to air dry. If your pan surface doesn’t looks a shiny as mine, you might want to give it a thin coating of vegetable oil before storing it away for the next meal.
You can use this same method on other pots and pans, too! It also can help removed that baked on & sticky oil coating that tends to stick in the corners of cookie sheet and pizza pans.
#4 – Make Your Own Dishwasher ‘Soap’
Instead of using commercial dishwasher detergent, you can make an effective cleaning mixture from equal parts salt, baking soda (a salt: sodium bicarbonate) and washing soda (also a salt: sodium carbonate). After mixing your three salts, place about 1.5 tablespoons in the dishwasher dispenser before running your next load of dishes.
If you have very hard water, you may want to use a bit more washing soda than the even proportion. If you’d like to know more about these salts and other useful household salts, be sure to see our article What Is Salt?
#5 – Unclogging and Deodorizing Drains
Salt can be an effective way to rid your drain of stinky odors. A 1/2 cup of salt dissolved in a gallon of hot (but not boiling) water, slowly poured down a drain can work wonders to flush foul fume-causing debris down the drain.
For actual clogs, salt can also be effective. We’ve written an entire article on that subject, so if your drain is plugged, please see Salt To The Rescue: How To Unclog Drains Naturally.
#6 – General Cleaning Spray
If you combine salt with white vinegar and a very small amount of dish soap, you can make an effective cleaning solution that can be uses as a multi-purpose cleaning spray that is great for many surfaces.
This cleaning spray helps with quick cleanups of sticky residue on kitchen counters or if something gets spilled on vinyl or laminate floors.
This salt for cleaning spray is gentle enough to work on the surfaces inside your refrigerator for wiping up food dibbles and stuff stuck on the bottom of dressing or condiment bottles.
In a 16 ounce spray bottle, add 1/4 cup white vinegar, 2 tablespoons table salt, a tiny drop of dish soap (my preference is Dawn Dishwashing liquid because of the grease cutting agents) and then fill the bottle with water and shake well to mix. Start cleaning stuff!
#7 – Salt for Cleaning the Oven
Dulled-down ovens can be brought back to cleanliness using salt! Similar to the subject of cleaning drains above, this topic deserved it’s own article. You’ll find all the details to get a sparkling clean oven here: The Power Of Salt: A Natural Way To Clean Your Oven.
Once you do get the oven clean, a nice tip that I learned from a woman who runs a commercial cleaning business: go get a teflon oven mat. They go in the bottom of your oven, easily survive oven temperatures, and collect a host of oven spills. You can then pull them out, rinse them off in the sink and put them back in the oven when dry. This is SO MUCH easier than cleaning the bottom of the oven. They can be cut to the exact size of your oven compartment with a pair of scissors – so pick out one that is a bit oversized.
#8 – Revive Your Iron
I’m not quite sure why my steam iron seems to pick up sticky stuff – after all, I use it to press clean clothes, but it does seem to develop a dark gray coating in some areas on the iron surface. People who live in areas with very hard water can also develop mineral deposits on the iron surface.
You can use salt’s abrasive qualities to easily clean the surface. Just get a piece of parchment paper (or even office paper will do) and sprinkle the surface with salt. Heat up the iron to a medium setting. Press the iron down on the salt firmly and iron the salt into the paper for a minute or two. Once the iron is cool, use a slightly damp cloth to remove any remaining salt on the surface. The paper allows you to easily dispose of the remaining salt.
#9 – Remove Scum From a Flower Vase
By design, many flower vases have a narrow neck, which makes them hard to clean. I have a variety of bottle brushes, but certain vases defy cleaning.
Salt can be an effective way to get the scummy coating out of your flower vases. Pour in some salt: about 1/3 cup for a medium vase, but adjust this for your vase size. You want a fairly concentrated solution. Add hot water to the top of the vase. Let the water sit for 5 minutes. Now put your hand over the top of the vase and shake vigorously. Sometimes I pour a little of the water out so I can get better water movement in the vase when I shake. Empty out the salt water and rinse. You should see a vast improvement in the interior appearance of your vase!
#10 – Prevent Oil from Spattering
Okay – this is not exactly a cleaning tip, but it is an avoiding cleaning tip and I like that even better. To reduce how oil tends to splatter when it’s hot, add a pinch or two of salt to the oil before placing food in the oil. Salt will lessen the splattering during the cooking process.
#11 – Removing Rust From Surfaces
Rid yourself of rust with a solution made from salt and the juice of one lemon or lime. Start by forming a paste, then leave it on the rusty surface for several hours before brushing it away with a firm-bristled brush. You can also use the leftover lemon or lime rind as a scrubbing tool.
The salt will act as an abrasive while the acidity of the citrus juice works to disintegrate the rust deposit. After thoroughly scrubbing, rinse off with water and dry completely before putting back into use.
This technique can work on surface rust deposits in porcelain or ceramic sinks, bathtubs, patio furniture, and more.
For a deeper dive into the similar subject of removing rust from metal tools and cast iron pans, see this article: Salt And Rust: The Ultimate Combination For Clean Metal.
#12 – Removing Dust from Silk Flowers
We come to the final, and one of my favorite hacks for household cleaning: getting the dust off of silk flower arrangements. I have collected a number of realistic looking silk flowers over the years and use them all over the house. Over time, though, they start to look a bit sad after collecting a light layer of dust (and sometimes those tiny spider webs or filaments). Salt gives me a great way of freshening my flowers!
To clean silk flowers with salt, a stiff bag works best for this method: you can use either plastic or paper, but you want the bag to hold it’s shape and be big enough to let the flowers be completely within the bag. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of table salt, close up the bag and shake. I like to do this outside on the driveway in case there is a hole in the bag. The salt will help knock the dust and particles off of all the surfaces.
I have a few very long silk flower stems that are hard to fit entirely in a bag, so I just hold a small bag closed around the main flower/leaf groups and shake each one.
These Peony stems are about 30 inches long, so I used an extra large ziplock bag and just held it closed about halfway down each stem. I blew some air into the bag to puff it up – giving the salt some room to shake around.
The salt I used for cleaning is on the left (eeeww!) compared to fresh salt out of the container on the right. The silk leaves, in particular looked noticeably brighter green after cleaning!
Final Thoughts
Salt is a powerful and versatile cleaning agent that can be used to clean a whole host of other household items or surfaces. Plus it won’t cost you much! So next time you need to clean something, think about using salt for cleaning as a quick and effective solution!
Spray Bottle Photo by Photo by feey.
