6 unique uses of salt that go beyond cooking and taste

Salt is the most basic yet the most important ingredient in our kitchen that is added to every single dish that we prepare.

Be it any cuisine, salt is one thing that amps the flavour of the ingredients single-handedly.

Adding salt to the food not only helps in cooking it faster but also prevents iodine deficiency by providing the nutrient in sufficient amounts.

Apart from flavouring up the food, there are a number of useful hacks that you can do with salt. Read on to some unbelievable uses of salt and how they can help you.

1. Bathing Scrub
To prepare a natural bathing scrub using salt, just follow these easy steps. Take a large bowl, add 1 cup sea salt, 1 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp peppermint or tea tree oil and 2 tbsp orange/lemon zest. Mix well with a spoon to get a coarse mixture. Transfer this mixture into a jar and use a scoop of it while bathing as a body scrub.

2. Check egg freshness
Do you know that you can check the freshness of eggs by dropping them in salt water? To do this experiment, you need one fresh egg and one stale one. Now just take two glasses of water, add ½ tsp salt to each of them and give a nice mix. Drop a fresh egg into one glass and the stale egg into another glass. The fresh egg will sink and settle at the bottom and the stale egg will float on the top. This is how you can always check whether the eggs that you are consuming are fresh or not.

3. Soothe an itchy throat
Suffering from an itchy or painful throat? Instantly soothe your throat by gargling with salt water. Take a glass and fill it with lukewarm water (make sure the water is neither too hot nor cold). Add ¼ tsp of salt and give a mix. You can also add a pinch of turmeric, as it too contains anti-inflammatory components. Now take a big sip from the glass, gargle for a few seconds and then spit it out. Repeat this step to finish the whole glass. Do this procedure 2-3 times a day to quickly heal the throat.

4. Clean beauty blenders
You can even clean dirty beauty blender in a jiffy with salt. Just fill a bowl with some water and add 1 tsp salt to it. Dip your beauty blenders in the water and slide the bowl in the microwave for 1 minute. Now take out the bowl and let them remain soaked for 10-15 minutes. Now squeeze out the blenders and wash them in running water to get spotless blenders.

5. Fix clogged sink
A clogged sink is an issue that we all face every now and then. To fix a clogged sink is a huge task in itself. Not anymore, as you just need salt and hot water to fix it. Just sprinkle 2 tbsp salt on the sink drain and pour 2-3 cups of boiling water on it. Leave the sink untouched for 10 minutes and it will unclog on its own.

6. Keep worms at bay
If you often see earthworms wriggling around the entrance of your home, then the best way to prevent them from entering inside is by sprinkle salt at the entrance. Just create a line of salt on the entrance using 3-4 tablespoons of salt and this will instantly ward off earthworms.