7 surprising ways to use salt around the house

You can't tell by looking at her but the iconic Morton Salt Girl has turned 100. For a century she has toted an umbrella and a free-flowing container of salt to illustrate the company's motto: "When it rains it pours." Back in the day salt tended to clump in damp weather. And although that may seem like a quaint notion today, some of Morton Salt's household tips have withstood the test of time. Here are a few to try.

Before we get started, keep in mind that although Consumer Reports tests plenty of cleaning products we haven't tested these particular home remedies that we found on the Morton Salt website. But they seem like economical solutions to some everyday problems. You're bound to have a carton of salt in your pantry so if you run out of your go-to cleaner, you can always use salt in a pinch.

• Clean a coffee carafe. Add 4 teaspoons salt, 1 cup crushed ice and 1 tablespoon water to a glass coffee carafe at room temperature. Gently swirl until clean then rinse.
• Remove haze from a vase. Mix ⅓ cup salt and 2 tablespoons vinegar into a paste. Spread it on the inside of the glass vase and let stand for 20 minutes then scrub and rinse. Increase the recipe for larger vases.
• Pick up an egg. Dropped an egg? Instead of trying to scoop up the slippery innards, cover the egg with salt then wipe up everything with a paper towel.
• Rid metal of rust. To get the rust off metal scissors or bike handlebars, make a paste using 6 tablespoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Cover the rusted area, rub with a dry cloth then rinse.
• Vanquish wine stains. If you spill wine on a cotton shirt, pour salt directly on the stain to absorb the liquid. Then soak the shirt in cold water for 30 minutes and launder.
• Overcome odors. Freshen your kitchen by using salt to get rid of food smells. Pour ½ cup of salt into your garbage disposal and run it. Remove fish odor from your hands by sprinkling salt on a lemon, rubbing it on your hands and rinsing. Offset the garlic smell on your cutting board by pouring salt on it, rubbing it lightly and rinsing in soapy water.
• Chill wine or champagne. Quickly cool a bottle of bubbly by layering ice and tablespoons of salt in an ice bucket until the mixture reaches the neck of the bottle. Add water to ice level and in 10 to 12 minutes you're ready to pop the cork.

Everyday cleaners that aced our tests

For other kitchen helpers, check the results of our tests of all-purpose cleaners, paper towels, dishwasher detergent, and laundry detergent. Here are our top picks:

• Paper towels: Bounty DuraTowel
• All-purpose cleaners: Pine-Sol Original
• Dishwasher detergent: Cascade Complete ActionPacs
• Laundry detergent: Tide Ultra Stain Release and Tide HE Plus Bleach Alternative (tie)
  

Fun fact. To celebrate the Morton Salt Girl's birthday, the company is sponsoring a Halloween costume contest and will award $1,000 to the best costume inspired by the company's mascot. If you have a yellow dress and an umbrella, give it a shot.

—Mary H.J. Farrell (@mhjfarrell on Twitter)