Brits have bizarrely been told to put a bowl of salt in their windowsills with the cold winter months fast approaching.
It sounds like a weird superstition that one of your grandparents tells you to do, but it turns out that there’s a key reason behind using this common food item, and your health could benefit from it.
Not only is it getting colder, but the clocks are going back this Sunday (27 October), bringing on shorter, darker days. Yay.
A home and garden expert has weighed in on exactly how salt can help combat some of the problems that winter brings.
It could save your health and your home (Getty Stock Photo)
It’s that time of the year…
One of the main issues brought from the drop in temperature is condensation around your home, which can result in problems such as mould – and we all know that this can be detrimental to your long-term health.
According to Posh.co.uk, a bowl of salt can minimise condensation, and it does it by making your home dryer and therefore lowers the risk of mould growing.
Here’s the science: Condensation is caused when air inside is warmer than the air outside (I’m looking at you, radiators), and when the warm air from indoors makes contact with the colder window, condensation forms on the glass.
But how does salt help exactly, I hear you asking?
Salt absorbs moisture from the air, therefore making it less damp and reducing condensation – essentially, less moisture in the air equals less condensation formed.
One of the experts over at Posh.co.uk explained: “A constant build up of condensation in the home isn’t great and in some cases, it can cause mould growth which can be dangerous for your family.”
You should put more salt by bigger windows (Getty Stock Photo)
“Salt has the ability to naturally absorb moisture from the air and essentially dries it out so that when it does come in contact with the glass, there are less droplets of condensation that will form,” Ellis said.
The expert continued: “It’s a really easy trick that requires no effort at all. Simply fill a shallow bowl or a small jar with some salt – this can be table salt or rock salt.”
He further added that the amount of salt to use will depend on the size of the window you’re putting it next to – the bigger it is, the higher amount of salt you should put in the bowl.
However, he clarified ‘one small bowl should be fine’.
“The same bowl of salt should last you a couple of days. You’ll know when it’s time to replace it because the salt will appear damp and will begin to clump together,” he concluded.