10 Surprising Uses for Epsom Salt

[oneh2obabe]

Make sure to check the label before you buy - it should have drug facts or a Pharmacopeia's USP label certifying it's safe for human use.

IN THE HOUSE
• Make a Tile Cleaner: Skip pricey tile cleaner and combine equal parts dish soap and Epsom salt to form a scrub you can use in the bathroom and kitchen.

• Soak Up Stains: Wine spill on the tablecloth? Wet stain with cold water. Sprinkle salt over stain and let sit for 10 minutes. When salt has absorbed most of the liquid, launder as usual.

• DIY Handsoap: For a light exfoliating hand wash, combine Epsom salt with baby oil.

ON YOUR BODY
• Make a Lip Scrub: Apply a mixture of 3 tablespoons Epsom salt and 1 teaspoon of petroleum jelly and gently rub for super smooth lips.

• Clean Up Your Feet: Mix 1/2 cup of Epsom salt in warm water and soak your feet for 10 minutes to remove odor, soothe achy feet and sluff off dead skin.

• Volumize Hair: Combine equal parts Epsom salt and conditioner and apply to dry hair. After 20 minutes rinse and style as usual. The salt prevents flat hair by soaking up excess oil.

• Soothe Skin: Relieve burns and itchy skin by adding 2 tablespoons Epsom salt to 1 cup water. Dab with a cotton ball or spray on affected area.

IN YOUR BACKYARD
• Fertilize Your Plants: Sprinkle near the roots once a week to give your plants a growth boost. The magnesium and sulfate make the prime nutrients (nitrogen and potassium) in plant food more effective.

• Keep the Slugs at Bay: Pour a thin trail along the edge of your garden to keep slugs away. Add a little near your garbage can, too - raccoons don't like the taste, either!

• Keep Your Lawn Green: Add 2 tablespoons to a gallon of water and sprinkle on your lawn. The magnesium provides essential nutrients and prevents yellowing and the loss of green color.

Find more useful ideas for Epsom Salt at the
Epsom Salt Council ( http://www.epsomsaltcouncil.org/ ) and
Saltworks ( http://www.saltworks.us/gardening-with-epsom-salt.asp ).

[daria]

Thanks for the tips. I already use a few of them (especially the foot soak after a long day at work!), but you made me smile, because I remember my Grandma using them in her flower gardens. <3

[Lady tehMa]

Roses, tomatoes and peppers particularly like them :)

[Stuffit]

Thanks for the tips! Slugs and Raccoons...my nemeses.....

I suppose this would wash away after each watering/rain and have to be repeated regularly?

[Type_O]

I mix Epson salts with vinegar and a few drops of lemon oil as fabric softener. This not only smells nice, softens your clothes, but also does not create the lint fabric sheets do.

Left over tea is a great way to clean and disinfect windows. I use this especially for outside windows with plants/gardens beneath as it is safe to use. Because tea stains (especially white frames), be prepared to wash, wipe, and rinse, right away - unless using green or white tea.
When cleaning inside windows, I spray my cleaning rag with tea so - as to not stain our white frames. My mom recently drove out east and back. She picked up a small cup of tea, grabbed some napkins, and washed her windows - bugs and all, worked like a charm!

Tea is also fantastic when dusting wood furniture, hardwood floors -as it disinfects as well as add shine.

Diluted Tea is also a great way to dust live plant leaves, spray a clean rag with diluted tea, wipe the top part of the eaves lightly, and watch them shine!

[Jo]

If you're feeling lazy you can fill your tub with water and about two cups of epsom salts - after which a quick wipe will remove all soap scum etc.. I discovered this by accident when soaking in an epsom salt bath - went to rinse the tub afterwards and found that it was spotless, lol.

[I Think]

Make a saturated solution of Epsom Salts in warm distilled water and add an ounce to each cell in a car battery and it will rejuvenate an old battery by desulfating the plates.