Some Forgotten Uses of Common Products

Aside from making a volcano in the younger grades of school vinegar and baking soda have other uses. They have been used for years together and separately as a cleaners and deodorizers. Pay attention and you will see that advertising today is trying to bring back some of the everyday uses. New products with colorful packages are nothing more than these old basics.

Baking soda &/or vinegar can be used to clean many surfaces. If it is made of glass or stainless steel it can be cleaned with either. Even stubborn stains can be tackled with these common chemicals. Jars, glasses, thermoses, coffee pots, cooking pans and baby bottles can be cleaned and deodorized with them. Appliances and counter tops can also benefit. Dishwashers, stoves and refrigerators can be cleaner and smell nicer with the help of vinegar &/or baking soda.

Stains on formica, plastic or marble can be taken care of with a paste of baking soda and it can be used to remove melted plastic bread wrapper from a toaster.
Baking soda can also be used for forgotten purposes like smothering fires without hurting the surfaces it comes in contact with (including cloth). Added to the laundry, baking soda fights grease and oil stains on clothes and smell in diapers. As a poultice it can reduce the pain of burns and the itch of bug bites. It can even be used as a toothpaste or a mouthwash.

Another often forgotten but still effective substance is vinegar. It can have many uses as a grease cutter and streak reducer. Use it to clean windows without leaving streaks or eliminate mildew, dust and odors on surfaces by wiping them with a vinegar-soaked cloth. Clean food containers with a vinegar-dampened cloth to keep them smelling fresh and clean fireplace bricks with undiluted vinegar. Adding vinegar to your catsup and other condiments can make them last longer. And even though it may seem odd, pouring boiling vinegar down drains unclogs and cleans them. A mixture of apple cider vinegar and honey has been used as a cure-all to many things including obesity, hay fever, asthma, rashes, food poisoning, heartburn, sore throat, dandruff, brittle nails and bad breath. Even the more common place uses for vinegar have been neglected. Adding a few drops of vinegar to water prevents discoloration of peeled potatoes and you get fluffier rice by adding 1 tsp. of vinegar to the cooking water.

Our grandparents may have been misguided in some of the notions about why vinegar and baking soda worked but not the knowledge that they did work. In some cases we would be doing ourselves a good turn by using some of the older chemistry today.

Body Temperature

We know that your body temperature works like an internal clock. Variations in body temperature indicate and induce the feeling of being awake or being tired. Body temperature also controls the metabolism, circulation and other involuntary activities of our body. The rise and fall of body temperature during the day should not be misinterpreted as the need to rest or sleep. This happens many a times during the day depending upon the body’s activity level at a given time.

In order to recharge your physical energy. it is recommended, to take a nap of 10 – 45 minutes during the day. This nap should be taken when your body temperature has dropped and you feel sleepy. The nap should not be more than 45 minutes and you should not enter deep sleep. Deep sleep will only induce further fall in body temperature.

When you wake from your power nap, you may feel drowsy and lethargic. It is important to get your body back to normal temperature with the help of light physical movement and exposure to light. A rise in body temperature induces the feeling of alertness, feeling of being energetic resulting in better concentration levels.

Reduction in body temperature induces the feeling of lethargy, tiredness and drowsiness.

It is understandable if you feel tired even when you lead a sedentary lifestyle. This does not mean you need more sleep, but means that you need more movement and less sleep. This happens due to frequent dropping of body temperature.

Salt- More Than Just A Spice

Although you may not realize it, simple table salt has a great number of uses other than simply seasoning your food A chemist would probably be able to tell you why it works, all I know is it does.. My goal is not to debate the salt in food issue, but show you a few other uses for salt.

Around the house some uses may be outdated because salt was replaced by a more modern chemical. Just remember modern does not necessarily mean better only different.
If you sprinkle salt on your shelves it keeps ants away.
Try adding a little salt to the water your cut flowers will stand in. They will last longer.
To fill plaster holes in your walls, use equal parts of salt and starch, with just enough water to make a stiff putty.

Salt has been used as a natural cleaner for ages.
Mix salt with turpentine to whiten you bathtub and toilet bowl.
A mixture of salt and lemon juice can be used to clean piano keys or remove mildew in many places.
Clean brass, copper and pewter with paste made of salt and vinegar, thickened with flour.
Use salt to clean your discolored coffee pot & clothes iron.
Clean greasy pans with a paper towel and salt.
Soak enamel pans in salt water overnight and boil salt water in them the next day to remove burned-on stains.
Before using new drinking glasses, soak them in warm salty water for awhile.

Salt can be used as a neutralizer on variety of stains.
Pour a mound of salt on an ink spot on your carpet; let the salt soak up the stain.
Cover wine-stained fabric with salt, then later rinse in cool water.
To remove grease stains in clothing, mix one part salt to four parts alcohol.

Salt is used as an eliminator to get rid of odors in lots of places.
Freshen sponges by soaking them in salt water.
Remove odors from sink drainpipes with a strong, hot
solution of salt water.
Sprinkle salt in milk-scorched pans to remove odor.
Remove offensive odors from your stove with salt and cinnamon.
Salt and soda will sweeten the odor of your refrigerator.
If a pie bubbles over in your oven, put a handful of salt on top of the spilled juice. The mess won't smell and will bake into a dry, light crust which will wipe off easily when the oven has cooled.
Sprinkle salt in your oven before scrubbing clean.

Outside salt can be used as a helper.
Use salt for killing weeds in your lawn.
Sprinkle salt between sidewalk bricks where you don't want grass growing.
Rub any wicker furniture you may have with salt water to
prevent yellowing.
When cleaning up, eliminate excess suds with a sprinkle of salt.

Inside, salt can be used to enhance your medicine cabinet.
Soak toothbrushes in salt water before you first use them;
they will last longer.
Use equal parts of salt and soda for brushing your teeth and only the dry salt sprinkled on your toothbrush makes a good tooth polisher.
Mildly salted water makes an effective mouthwash.
Rinse a sore eye with a little salt water.
Use it hot for a sore throat gargle.

In the kitchen, salt needs to be moderated more than it used to be but still can be used.
Rub salt on your pancake griddle and your flapjacks won't stick.
Soak fish in salt water before descaling; the scales will
come off easier.
Test the freshness of eggs in a cup of salt water; fresh
eggs sink; bad ones float.
Add a little salt to your boiling water when cooking eggs.
A cracked egg will stay in its shell and salty water boils faster when cooking eggs.
Clean your greens in salt water for easier removal of dirt.
Add salt to green salads to prevent wilting.
Soaking wrinkled apples in a mildly salted water solution perks them up.
Fruits put in mildly salted water after peeling will not
Discolor.

As you can see, common table salt can be put to use in lots of places besides on french-fries. Some you may have known and, some you may not have known. I can only hope that at least one gave you an ‘I should have remembered that’ moment like it did for me.