There are plenty of uses for salt you might be missing. Read on—and bulk up.

Cooking

• Prevent moldy cheese by wrapping it in a napkin soaked with salt water before storing.
• Egg whites beat fluffier and firmer when you add a pinch of salt first.
• Smooth wrinkled apples by putting them in mildly salty water.
• Hot cocoa, warm milk and herbal teas taste better with a pinch of salt.
• Fish scales will fall off faster by cooking fish in salt water.

Cleaning

• Sponge yellowed armpits with salt water until the stains disappears.
• Soak pans in salt water over night to remove stubborn burned on food. Be careful not to use this on delicate non-stick coatings.
• Mix salt and lemon juice to clean piano keys.
• Remove lipstick stains from glassware by rubbing the edges with salt before washing.

Outdoors

• Prevent frost from accumulating inside your car by rubbing the glass with a solution of 2 tsp. salt to 1 gallon of water.
• Deice sidewalks with table salt if you’ve run out of the rock variety.
• Use salt to clear out unwanted weeds. This is great for cracks in the driveway and or between stepping stones.
• Banish snails and slugs by pouring salt on the vermin.
• Clean flowerpots with salt and a stiff brush. No need to worry about a muddy mess.

Around the House

• Keep ants at bay by pouring salt in their path. Consider laying salt around their favorite cupboard.
• Salt shakers will pour more easily if you add a few grains for rice in your shaker first.
• Keep cut flowers looking fresh by adding a little salt to the water.
• New brooms last longer if you soak the bristles in hot salt water for 20 minutes.

Your Skin

• Banish sore eyes with a saline solution.
• Polish your teeth with dry salt sprinkled on your toothbrush.
• Sore throat? Gargle salt water, rinse, and repeat as necessary.
• Bath salts: Fill your tub with 1 cup for soft skin or to ease ache and pains.
• Dandruff? Scrub your scalp first with salt before shampooing.