List of the Important Salts and their Uses

Sodium Chloride or Common Salt (NaCl)

1. Used in cooking food as well as for cooking gas.
2. Used as a preservative in pickles and in curing meat and fish.
3. Used in the manufacture of soap.
4. Used to melt the ice in winter in cold countries.
5. Used for making chemical likes washing Soda, baking soda etc.

Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)

1. Used for making soap and detergent
2. Used for making artificial textile fibre (rayon)
3. Used in the manufacturing of paper
4. Used for purification of bauxite ore
5. Used in de-greasing metals, oil refining and making dyes and bleaches

Sodium Carbonate or Washing Soda (Na₂CO₃.10H₂O)

1. Used as cleansing agent
2. Used for removing permanent hardness of water
3. Used in the manufacturing of glass, soap and paper

Baking Soda or Sodium Bi-carbonate (NaHCO₃)

1. Used as neutralising agent (antacid)
2. Used for making baking powder
3. Used  in fire extinguisher

Bleaching Powder or Calcium Hypochlorite

1. Used as bleaching agent in cotton industry and paper industry for bleaching cotton and linen as well as wood pulp respectively
2. Used for disinfecting drinking water
3. Used for making chloroform (CHCl₃)
4. Used for making the wool unshrinkable

Plaster of Paris or Hemihydrate Calcium sulphate, CaSO₄ 1/2 H₂O

1. Used in hospital for setting fractured bone
2. Used for making toys, decoration material cheap ornament, chalk etc
3. Used for fire-proofing material
4. Used for making surface smooth.