The
DRSNews
May
2006
Published by subscription only, by Dave’s Repair
Service
©2006 All Rights Reserved
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In this issue:
Sixty Uses for
Common Salt
(Next month, back to appliance
tips - I promise!) |
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Watch Peregrine
Falcons Feeding their Young -LIVE- in Harrisburg, PA! |
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Since I seem to be wandering off the appliance repair
topic a lot lately, I thought I’d continue down that road in this issue,
with two more subjects that I found really interesting. Next month,
we’ll get back on track with DIY appliance help. (No really, we will!)
Last issue we listed the many uses for good old WD-40.
Here’s an intriguing list of some 60 uses for another even more common
substance: Salt. I haven’t tried all of these, but plan on trying a lot
more of them.
1) ‘Wish I could remember where I got these so I’d
know who to thank, but I can’t figure out how this originally found
its way onto my hard drive. It’s a pretty amazing list.
Ready? Here goes:
1. Soak stained hankies in salt water before washing.
2. Sprinkle salt on your shelves to keep ants away.
3. Soak fish in salt water before scaling them; scales
will come off easier.
4. Put a few grains of rice in your saltshaker for
easier pouring.
5. Add salt to green salads to prevent wilting.
6. Test the freshness of eggs in a cup of salt water;
fresh eggs sink; bad ones float.
7. Add a little salt to your boiling water when cooking
eggs; a cracked egg will stay in its shell this way.
8. A tiny pinch of salt with egg whites makes them beat
up fluffier.
9. Soak wrinkled apples in a mildly salted water
solution to perk them up.
10. Rub salt on your pancake griddle and your flapjacks
won't stick.
11. Soak toothbrushes in salt water before you first use
them; they will last longer.
12. Use salt to clean your discolored coffee pot.
13. Mix salt with turpentine to whiten you bathtub and
toilet bowl. (Not sure I'd use this on my fiberglass tub!)
14. Soak nuts in salt brine overnight and they will
crack out of their shells whole. Just tap the end of the shell with
a hammer to break it open easily.
15. Boil clothespins in salt water before using them and
they will last longer.
16. Clean brass, copper and pewter with paste made of
salt and vinegar, thickened with flour
17. Adding a little salt to the water keeps cut flowers
looking fresh longer.
18. Pour a mound of salt on an ink spot on your carpet;
let the salt soak up the stain.
19. Clean your iron by rubbing some salt on the damp
cloth on the ironing surface.
20. Adding a little salt to the water when cooking foods
in a double boiler will make the food cook faster.
21. Use a mixture of salt and lemon juice to clean piano
keys (not sure if this is just for ivory keys, but I'd be careful with it on
newer plastic ones).
22. To fill plaster holes in your walls, use equal parts
of salt and starch, with just enough water to make a stiff putty.
23. Rinse a sore eye with a little salt water.
24. Mildly salted water makes an effective mouthwash.
Use it hot for a sore throat gargle.
25. Dry salt sprinkled on your toothbrush makes a good
tooth polisher.
26. Use salt for killing weeds in your lawn.
27. Eliminate excess suds with a sprinkle of salt.
28. A dash of salt in warm milk makes a more relaxing
beverage.
29. Before using new glasses, soak them in warm salty
water for a while.
30. A dash of salt enhances the taste of tea.
31. Salt improves the taste of cooking apples.
32. Soak your clothes line in salt water to prevent your
clothes from freezing to the line; likewise, use salt in your final
rinse to prevent the clothes from freezing.
33. Rub any wicker furniture you may have with salt
water to prevent yellowing.
34. Freshen sponges by soaking them in salt water.
35. Add raw potatoes to stews and soups that are too salty.
36. Soak enamel pans in salt water overnight and boil
salt water in them next day to remove burned-on stains.
37. Clean your greens in salt water for easier removal
of dirt.
38. Gelatin sets more quickly when a dash of salt is
added.
39. Fruits put in mildly salted water after peeling will
not discolor.
40. Fabric colors hold fast in salty water wash.
41. Milk stays fresh longer when a little salt is added.
42. Use equal parts of salt and soda for brushing your
teeth (hmmm, doesn't sound all that appealing!)
43. Sprinkle salt in your oven before scrubbing clean.
44. Soaked discolored glass in a salt and vinegar
solution to remove stains.
45. Clean greasy pans with a paper towel and salt.
46. Salty water boils faster when cooking eggs.
47. Add a pinch of salt to whipping cream to make it
whip more quickly.
48. Sprinkle salt in milk-scorched pans to remove odor.
49. A dash of salt improves the taste of coffee (def.
have to try this one!)
50. Boil mismatched hose in salty water and they will
come out matched.
51. Salt and soda will sweeten the odor of your refrigerator
(see, this really IS an appliance topic! Also see #60 <grin>).
52. Cover wine-stained fabric with salt; rinse in cool
water later.
53. Remove offensive odors from stove with salt and cinnamon.
54. A pinch of salt improves the flavor of cocoa.
55. To remove grease stains in clothing, mix one part
salt to four parts alcohol.
56. Salt and lemon juice removes mildew.
57. Sprinkle salt between sidewalk bricks where you
don't want grass growing.
58. Polish your old kerosene lamp with salt for a
brighter look.
59. Remove odors from sink drainpipes with a strong, hot
solution of salt water.
60. 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.
Phew! That's one handy mineral!
***
Internet technology is truly amazing! I don’t think
our kids, who’ve grown up with it, can fully appreciate how radically
the Net is changing our world. Now with a few mouse-clicks, from anywhere
on the planet, you can watch a pair of Peregrine Falcons go about the
daily business of nesting and raising their young in Harrisburg, PA!
Live, via a real-time video feed from their nest on the 15th floor
of a downtown office building! (Best viewed during the day, Harrisburg
time, of course)
OK, I know this isn’t an appliance-related topic
either, but if you’re a bird lover like myself, and think, like me,
that any bird that can fly at 200 mph is just cool, this is worth a
look. So again, I hope you forgive the brief departure from DIY appliance
stuff, but I had to tell you about this. Those little Peregrines are
about at their cutest stage right now.
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/falcon/
Click the ‘live Falcon video’ link to watch them in
real-time during the day, Eastern time.
***
Thanks again for inviting me into your inbox! (and
enduring my off-topic rambling once in a while! <grin>)
As always, if you have any topics you’d like to see
discussed here or covered in an online article, let me know and I’ll
do my best to oblige. And don't forget those testimonials! Many thanks if
you've already sent yours in! I'm posting them just as fast as I can!
May God richly bless you and yours,
Dave Harnish
Dave’s Repair Service
New Albany, PA
drs@sosbbs.com
http://www.DavesRepair.com
‘In every generation, the number of the righteous is
small. Be sure you are among them.’
- A. W. Tozer
Matthew 7:13, 14
Copyright 2006 www.DavesRepair.com
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