Shola Lee
One mum's incredible £3 hack stops condensation and damp quicker than you can say 'oh, f***, not again.'
We love a big clean, there's just something about using all your pent-up energy on scrubbing that really sorts us out.
Plus, it's cheaper than therapy and now there's a cheaper hack to stop damp dripping into your home.
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Mum-of-one Natasha Murfin swears by her at-home hack, which involved putting salt in paper cups and leaving them on her windowsill overnight.
We know, it reads like something out of Harry Potter but she swears it works.
Natasha picked up the trick from her grandparents, who left salt out to drive away damp in the winter.
And, as the 35-year-old from West Lothian explained, it's a great alternative for anyone who can't afford a dehumidifier: "I can't afford a dehumidifier in every room so I thought, even if it doesn't work, it's only about £3 — I may as well give it a go.
"It worked an absolute treat."
And it's financially sustainable too, with Natasha buying 1.5kg of salt from Tesco for £1.75 and 15 paper cups for £1.15.
She puts each of the cups in every room and lets them work their magic, explaining: "The windows used to drip with condensation, and we would have to wipe them every morning with a squeegee.
"Since using the salt trick, we haven't had to wipe them once.
"I only half fill the cups with salt, and I shake them every morning to check the salt isn't sticking together."
But, it's pretty rare that the salt sticks together, meaning that Natasha doesn't have to constantly fork out money for extra.
And, if you want to be even thriftier about things, turns out that you can even dry the damp salt out to reuse it. you can also use the salt to help with condensation on windows and in all honesty, we're pretty sold on the idea.
If you're wondering how on earth it all works, it's because salt absorbs excess water, as the Scientific American explains: "Salt has a strong ability to absorb water from its surroundings. Above a relative humidity of about 75 percent salt will even become deliquescent, meaning it takes up so much water that it becomes a solution."
So, there you have it, salt could help drive out damp — will you be trying the salt trick?