Put a Glass of Salt in Your Car: Here’s Why Some Drivers Try This Simple Trick
Water can stain fabrics, damage carpeting and insulation, create unpleasant odors, and contribute to corrosion when it reaches vulnerable metal components.
Modern vehicles also contain extensive electrical wiring, sensors, connectors, and electronic modules. Depending on where water enters, prolonged leaks can eventually cause much more expensive problems than foggy windows.
Herbs & Spices
Salt and Corrosion: An Important Warning
Salt should always remain contained.
Salt itself sitting dry in a container is one thing. A concentrated salty liquid spilling onto metal is another.
Salt can accelerate corrosion when moisture and susceptible metals are present. This is one reason vehicles in areas where roads are heavily salted during winter require particular attention to corrosion prevention.
Autos & Vehicles
Do not deliberately scatter salt around your vehicle’s carpet, floor, trunk, dashboard, or ventilation system.
Is Coarse Salt Better Than Table Salt?
You may encounter claims that coarse salt is dramatically more effective because the crystals are larger. In practice, moisture absorption depends on more than crystal size, and ordinary sodium chloride is not necessarily the best passive dehumidifying material available.
Coarse salt does have a practical advantage: it can be less messy and easier to handle than very fine salt.
Visual Art & Design
But drivers should not assume that switching from table salt to rock salt transforms the trick into a powerful dehumidifier.
