Eco Friendly

Clean Your House With Salt

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by Rona Sharp
Clean your house with salt
Cleaning with salt is one of the easiest ways to be a little “greener” at home. Salt has a multitude of uses as a natural cleaner. It’s very, very cheap, does no harm to the environment and it’s easily available. The salt we are talking about here is table salt, or sodium chloride. Any table salt from the supermarket or grocery store works fine.

How you use salt in your cleaning routine
Salt dissolves easily in water and can be used by itself or mixed with several other environmentally-friendly cleaners. You can combine it safely with vinegar, lemon juice, or even washing up liquid.

Mix salt with vinegar for a good general purpose cleaner. Don’t use it on linoleum, waxed surfaces, or marble. The vinegar may cause damage to the surface. Salt and vinegar will also remove stains from teacups and teapots. Salt and vinegar solution leaves glass and tiles shining.

Try using salt for washing the dishes if you run out of liquid dishsoap. Just sprinkle a tablespoonful or so into the water. Rinse the dishes well afterwards. You might want to wear gloves or use a skin cream after using it as salt is rather drying for your skin.

Oven and stove spills can be covered with salt. Let the mixture stand for a few minutes. Add a little water if necessary, then wipe up. The salt absorbs the liquids and helps lift them from the surface. It is particularly good at absorbing grease and oils.

Salt can be a great cleaner for cast iron pans. Sprinkle salt around and then wipe clean. You can even do this instead of washing it in water. It seems to work as a scouring paste does. Alternatively, use it with hot water. Rinse the pan afterwards and brush with oil. Salt appears to help protect the surface and makes it more like a non-stick pan. As you use this method, pans seem to develop a patina that helps them slough off dirt.

Add a few tablespoons of salt and a very little water to burnt pans as soon as the damage occurs. This makes them easier to clean. Most of the damage lifts right out with a normal pan scourer.

Salt can be mixed with lemon juice to clean metals. Use lemon juice or lime juice and salt to clean brass and pewter. Sprinkle salt into an empty squeezed-out lemon half and rub down the metal. Rinse off the gunk and buff the surface to a shine with a soft cloth. Be careful to rinse away the salt and juice carefully or your brass may turn green! This is because of the copper in the brass and is quite harmless. It will wash off.

If you haven’t yet tried cleaning with salt, have a go next time there’s a cleaning job to be done. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how effective it is and you’ll be flushing fewer toxic chemicals into the water system and the environment.

About the Author:
I have a background in alternative medicine and education. I’m currently building a web site on green living called Greenfootsteps.com. The main focus is simple ways to green up your life without breaking the bank. There are articles on green cleaning, organic gardening and alternative health strategies.

Buy the book: Green CleanImage Source: http://flickr.com/photos/amandawoodward/240195192/

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