This is why metalwork in marine environments is so prone to rust. Saltwater is five times as corrosive to metal as freshwater. The first issue here is the risk of corrosion. However, it doesn’t make sense to create supplies of saltwater for use inland when there are so many downsides.
![salt iturn n water salt iturn n water](https://i.pinimg.com/474x/e5/93/64/e5936410655b3a269e40ccdf4c88fc70--camping-survival-drinking-water.jpg)
This could be a major consideration if a fire breaks out on board a boat or off-shore structure.ĭo you make use of the seawater or use up your limited supply of clean drinking water? For example, you may find that firefighters working out at sea will make use of seawater if it is more plentiful than freshwater. Saltwater is a great tool if you have a lot of it on hand. Saltwater can work really well, but there are also problems such as, Surely the addition of salt would help to control the fire more effectively. You may ask why saltwater isn’t more commonly used in firefighting if salt is such a good agent for extinguishing fires. Why don’t firefighters use saltwater to put out fires? This is much easier to do if you can reduce the fire’s intensity with the salt first. One of the best options is to put a lid over the pan, or some kind of alternative cover to limit that oxygen supply. It is a bit like using a candle snuffer, just on a much bigger scale. Without oxygen, it will die out pretty easily. Smothering the fire means using appropriate tools and extinguishing agents to take away the oxygen the fire needs. Never use water to put out a grease fire because this can agitate the oil and make the fire more dangerous. It is best to leave the pan where it is and find a way to smother the flames. There is often the instinct to pick up the pan and take it outside where it will do less damage.īut, this is very risky as the fire could come into contact with other flammable materials on the way out or cause burns. So, it is important to know what to do and what not to do if a pan catches fire. An uncontrolled fire in a kitchen can cause extensive damage and put lives at risk. Let’s take a moment to remember just how dangerous grease fires are. Salt is just one part of the process of tackling a grease fire.
![salt iturn n water salt iturn n water](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6a/6f/46/6a6f46222d3860b580bc227d7375da57.jpg)
The large crystals could work well in that smothering process if you have enough of them.Īt its core, sea salt has the same composition as table salt as sodium chloride so there should be no worries about the melting point here either. Sea salt is an option if you have a container in your kitchen. Sprinkling salt from a salt shaker isn’t going to cut it. The greater the mass landing on the flames in a shorter space of time, the better the results. This means opening up the container and dumping as much salt as possible onto the fire.
![salt iturn n water salt iturn n water](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fb/49/db/fb49dbb6ef1e7e79f01db123f129c7cb.jpg)
The downside is that you will need to use quite a lot of it for a notable effect on the flames. The positive side of this is that salt is quite readily available and it shouldn’t be too difficult to use if you are faced with a kitchen pan fire. You can reduce the intensity of the fire by starving it of oxygen and then control the blaze more easily. This then means that you can use the substance to smother the fire with relative ease. Therefore, you can put it in a fire and there is a strong chance that it won’t be affected by the flames. This mineral compound will not burn and will not melt until it reaches temperatures above 1,472 degrees Fahrenheit.
![salt iturn n water salt iturn n water](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qynBiW21gxQ/hqdefault.jpg)
The salt that you have at home as table salt is just a crystalized form of sodium chloride. Salt is a brilliant choice for fighting fires for three key reasons: it doesn’t burn, it has a high melting point, and it is effective at smothering a flame. Why is salt a good choice for fighting a fire? Can you use salt in a large kitchen fire?.Is it better to use salt rather than baking soda?.Why don’t firefighters use saltwater to put out fires?.Can you use sea salt to put out a fire?.Why is salt a good choice for fighting a fire?.For example, there is an especially high concentration of salt in the Mediterranean Sea, so it's very easy to float there. One of the really neat things about saltwater is that things float in it more easily than in regular water. The seawater in the ocean has a lot of other interesting things in it than just salt, though - in addition to fish, plants, and plankton (microscopic sea critters), there's all sorts of minerals and other elements. One big difference between salt water and plain water is that these ions make the salt water conduct electricity much better than pure water. Salts (both ordinary table salt and other salts) are chemicals that fall apart into electrically charged particles (called ions) in water. If you take a glass of water from your kitchen and add salt, you've got saltwater. This may sound like an overly simple answer, but saltwater is water with salt in it.