The first time I heard someone suggest putting a bowl of salty water on the window sill in winter, I laughed. It sounded like something your eccentric aunt might swear by, the same aunt who buries coins under the lemon tree for “good luck.” But a few winters ago, in a chilly brick rental in Melbourne’s inner north – the kind of place that seems to inhale cold and exhale damp – I was ready to try almost anything. Mould bloomed in the corners overnight. Condensation dripped down the single-glazed windows, pooling on the sill and quietly rotting the timber. My power bill was climbing, my socks were never quite dry, and the air carried a permanent hint of must. Then a neighbour mentioned, over the clink of mugs and the smell of strong tea: “You know you can use salt water, yeah? Like how we use foil in summer. Different season, same idea.”
From Summer Foil to Winter Salt: Two Sides of the Same Aussie Story
If you’ve ever survived an Australian summer in an older home without decent insulation, you probably know the aluminium foil trick. Tape a shiny sheet behind the curtains or on the window and it reflects a chunk of that savage sun back out, helping keep the room cooler. It’s not glamorous, but when the nor’wester is frying your brain and the ceiling fan is doing little more than moving hot air around, you don’t care how it looks. Function over aesthetics. Survival mode.
Winter, though, is sneakier. The heat loss is invisible. Your windows fog up, the air feels heavy, and you start to notice black specks of mould on the bathroom ceiling, behind cupboards and along window frames. You crank the heater, but the room still feels clammy, like a badly ventilated tent. That’s where the humble bowl of salty water comes in – the cold-season cousin of the summer foil hack.
On the surface, foil and salty water don’t have much in common. One reflects radiant heat, the other quietly absorbs moisture. But both are born of the same mindset: working with your environment, not against it. Paying attention to the way light, air and water move through your home. And finding cheap, almost homemade ways to tilt things in your favour.
The Science in the Steam: Why a Bowl of Salt Water Helps
Imagine a frosty July morning in Hobart or Canberra. You wake to find your bedroom window completely fogged, little streams of water trickling down to the sill. That condensation is your warm indoor air meeting the cold glass, dumping moisture as the air cools. It’s exactly the kind of environment mould loves – still, damp, cool, and undisturbed.
When you place a bowl of salty water near the window, you’re inviting a tiny, passive dehumidifier into that microclimate. Salt is hygroscopic – a fancy way of saying it attracts and holds onto water molecules. The salt solution will gradually wick moisture from the air immediately around it. It won’t magically dry your entire house, but it can make a surprising difference in small, problem-prone zones: sills, corners, near cupboards on external walls, or by the bed where you breathe out warm, moist air all night.
This is the same basic principle used in those little silica gel sachets you find in shoe boxes, or the refillable dehumidifier tubs stacked in supermarket aisles each autumn. The bowl of salty water is the DIY, shoestring version. Simple, visible, and adjustable: you can literally see when the salt has done its job because the water level changes, the crystals soften or the solution looks murky. Instead of technology humming in the background, you have a quiet experiment happening on your window ledge.
How to Use the Salty Water Trick at Home
You don’t need special gear. If you’ve got a bowl, tap water and table salt, you’re set. The key is to be intentional: treat it like a mini home project, not just flinging a bowl around and hoping for the best.
Here’s a simple way to start:
- Choose a shallow, wide bowl or dish – more surface area means more contact with the air.
- Fill it halfway with warm tap water.
- Stir in a generous amount of salt (plain cooking salt works fine) until no more will dissolve and you see a bit of salt sitting on the bottom.
- Place the bowl on or near the window sill where condensation is worst, keeping it stable and out of reach of pets and kids.
- Check it every few days – top up the water if it’s low, add more salt if it’s all dissolved.
What you’re really doing here is creating a small zone where moist air has a place to “dump” some of its water content before it reaches the coldest surfaces. It’s not a full replacement for ventilation, heating or proper insulation. But it’s a handy extra tool, like pulling on a jumper before you reach for the heater remote.
And in true Australian fashion, it’s makeshift, practical, and cheap – perfect for renters in draughty terraces, students in share houses, or anyone trying to manage rising energy bills without shivering their way through the season.
The Quiet Battle Against Mould in Aussie Winters
In many parts of Australia, winter doesn’t always look dramatic. We don’t all get snow-dusted roofs and postcard scenes. Instead, the cold creeps in sideways: grey days, persistent drizzle, a house that never quite feels dry. If you live in Brisbane or Sydney, you might joke about having “mould season” more than “winter” – that time when towels refuse to dry and your wardrobe starts smelling suspiciously earthy.
Mould is more than a cosmetic nuisance. It can aggravate asthma, irritate eyes and skin, and leave you feeling perpetually stuffy and tired. Yet, many of us still treat it like a housekeeping failure instead of what it really is: a sign your living space and local climate are in a slow-motion argument about moisture.
That’s why small, low-tech moves matter. Combining the salty water trick with habits like cracking a window after a hot shower, not drying clothes in the same room you sleep in (where possible), and using exhaust fans properly, can subtly shift the balance. You’re not chasing a perfectly dry home – that’s unrealistic in coastal or humid parts of Australia – but you are aiming for “drier than mould would like.”
Think about that bowl on the sill as a visible reminder: the air in your home is constantly trading moisture with the outside, with your breath, your cooking, your laundry. By tending to it, rather than ignoring it, you start to notice the small patterns – which rooms fog up first, where the musty smell lingers, which corners feel coldest to the touch. That awareness is as useful as any gadget you could buy.
Salty Water vs. Other Low-Tech Winter Hacks
The bowl trick doesn’t exist in isolation. It sits alongside other, very human strategies for surviving winter in houses that were mostly designed with summer in mind. Many older Australian homes, especially pre-insulation era weatherboards, fibro cottages, or brick rentals, leak heat and trap damp like it’s their job. So we improvise.
Some of us snake old towels along the bottom of doors to block draughts. Others line windows with bubble wrap or cling film. A thick curtain over a cold, rattling sash window can feel like wrapping your house in a winter coat. Aluminium foil has its moment in summer; in winter, it’s blankets over gaps, door snakes, and bowls of salty water aligned along the sill like quiet little guardians.
To get a feel for how the salty water trick compares with other simple hacks, here’s a compact guide:
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| Hack | Main Purpose | Best For | Cost / Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowl of salty water | Reducing local moisture and condensation | Window sills, damp corners, small rooms | Very low / minimal |
| Aluminium foil on windows (summer) | Reflecting radiant heat | West-facing or unshaded windows | Very low / quick to apply |
| Heavy curtains or blinds | Reducing heat loss, blocking draughts | Living rooms, bedrooms | Medium / one-off set-up |
| Door snakes / rolled towels | Stopping cold air from sneaking in | Under external and hallway doors | Very low / easy DIY |
| Portable dehumidifier | Actively pulling moisture from the air | Very damp rooms, laundry areas | Higher / ongoing power use |
In many Australian households, especially where budgets are tight, these hacks aren’t about perfection. They’re about making the home feel a little more liveable: the bathroom mirror that doesn’t fog as badly, the window sill that stays drier, the bedroom that smells fresher when you climb into bed.
Small Rituals, Big Comfort: Making Winter More Liveable
There’s something almost ritualistic about tending to your home in winter. You stir salt into the bowl, place it on the sill, and in doing so, you’re acknowledging that the season has changed. The way you live nudges a little closer to the way the land around you feels – damp soil, low clouds, brisk mornings where your breath steams in the air as you put the kettle on.
Australians often talk about being “outdoorsy,” but so much of our seasonal experience happens indoors: wrapping hands around a hot mug, pulling on wool socks, listening to rain on old tin roofs. The salty water trick belongs to that quiet, intimate side of winter living. It’s not flashy, it doesn’t need an app, and no one can upsell you on a deluxe version. You just do it, observe, adjust, and gradually come to understand your own place a little better.
It’s also strangely grounding. On those gloomy afternoons when the sun seems to set before you’ve even hit your stride, there’s comfort in small, manageable tasks. Wiping the condensation from the glass. Refreshing the salt in the bowl. Cracking the window for ten minutes when the rain pauses. All of it adds up to a feeling that you’re not simply at the mercy of the weather, but in a conversation with it.
So next time the winter air settles over your suburb and your windows begin to sweat, consider that bowl by the sill. Think of it as the winter twin of the aluminium foil shimmering on summer glass – two simple, almost old-fashioned gestures of resilience in a country that swings from scorching to shivering with barely a pause in between.
FAQ: Bowls of Salty Water, Condensation and Winter Comfort
Does a bowl of salty water really reduce condensation?
It can help reduce condensation in the immediate area, especially on smaller windows or in problem corners. It’s not as powerful as a mechanical dehumidifier, but many people notice less moisture on nearby glass and sills when they use it consistently.
What kind of salt should I use?
Any cheap, plain salt works: table salt, rock salt or cooking salt. You don’t need specialty salts. The important part is that there is undissolved salt left in the bowl, so the solution stays saturated and continues to draw moisture.
Is this safe to use around kids and pets?
Only if the bowl is out of reach. Salty water can be harmful if drunk, and pets may be curious. Place bowls high on window sills or shelves where little hands and paws can’t knock them over or sip from them.
How often should I change the water and salt?
Check the bowl every few days. If the water looks dirty, smells odd, or the salt has fully dissolved, tip it out, rinse the bowl, and start again with fresh water and salt. In very damp rooms, you might refresh it weekly.
Will this replace a dehumidifier or proper insulation?
No. It’s a helpful supplement rather than a full solution. For serious damp or mould issues, good ventilation, adequate heating, insulation, and sometimes professional advice are important. The bowl trick is a low-cost way to improve comfort and reduce condensation where those bigger fixes aren’t possible or are still a work in progress.
