Sodium Uses
Sodium uses are many, especially if you include all the varieties of sodium in addition to the type that is found in table salt. Obviously, seasoning and preserving are two uses for sodium. But there are many more.
Salt is used for more purposes than any other mineral. Americans consume more than sixteen tons of salt in their lifetimes, although only a small percentage of that is ingested. The single greatest use of salt is as a raw material in producing chemicals. Salt is used to produce chlorine and caustic soda.
All animals, including humans, require salt to maintain their body systems and keep them healthy. Since your body can't manufacture sodium or chloride, they are nutrients you must take in from outside sources. Livestock and poultry don't always get enough salt in their forage, so their feed is supplemented with salt. It can be mixed with feed or fed free-choice, and is an excellent source of trace minerals as well. Salt blocks are a handy way to give salt to horses and cattle.
Salt is the most effective and economical highway de-icer on the market today. Highway salt works best at temperatures near freezing, because melting occurs quickly and less salt can be used.
Hard water can be re-conditioned by water softeners, which use sodium to remove the hard metal ions from “hard” water and replace them with “softer” sodium. Soft water gets clothes cleaner, makes it easier to lather in the shower, and eliminates hard water deposits.
Sodium is used to make chlorine and caustic soda. In making paper, the caustic soda is used to process wood fibers. Salt is used to fix dye batches in the textile business. It is used in metal processing and aluminum-making, to remove impurities. Salt is used by rubber manufacturers to separate rubber from latex. It is used as a filler in drier-detergent processes.
Ceramics makers use salt in heated clays; soap-makers use salt to help separate the soap from water. Oil and gas drillers use salt in well drilling. Leather tanners use salt to cure and tan hides. Salt has even been used to seed clouds, to create rain in desert areas.
Salt is an excellent cleaning agent, by itself or with other substances. A solution of salt and turpentine restores whiteness to yellowed bathtubs and shower enclosures. Salt and vinegar together make a paste that is used to clean tarnished brass or copper.
Salt helps destroy moths and it repels ants. Salt and salad oil in a paste helps remove white marks caused by hot dishes or water, from wooden tables.
Sodium uses are diverse and plentiful, and sodium been used for many years for a wide variety of tasks.