The Salt Water Flush, is a long used “hack”, or trick to create an on-demand bowel movement of sorts. By drinking a sea salt solution, we can use the bodies own defense mechanism to temporarily suspend “digestion”, and engage the “elimination” mechanism to remove the salt water as fast as possible from the body.
Why on earth would we possibly want to do this you might ask?
Why should I do the Salt Water Flush?
The Master Cleanse is a liquid only juicing fast, that doesn’t contain any fibre, and therefore no natural bowel movements will occur since it’s fibre that engages our digestion, and the process of peristalsis, (waves of muscle contractions in our digestive track), which passes our food along the disassembly line digestive system.
So we need to hack our system to create an elimination because while taking the lemonade diet, the lemon cleanses and the fast purges and stirs up massive amounts of waste, and stored toxins we need to get rid of, largely through our colon. The Salt Water Flush is a unique and perfectly suited hack as the salt water passes quickly through acting as an top-down enema of sorts.
Many people for ages and ages who aren’t on The Master Cleanse use the salt water cleanse to help with constipation, bloating, colon cleansing etc. There is naturally a vocal cohort of those against this practice, but it’s been proven safe and effective for these purposes for at least hundreds of years, if not thousands.
While Master Cleansing, The Salt Water Flush is Optional
One of our most common and frequently asked questions about the whole of Master Cleansing is about The Salt Water Flush, specifically about if the are alternatives, tips to make it easier or just ways around having to do it all together. Great news if you’re in the camp of many people find the whole sea salt cleanse idea difficult; The Salt Water Flush is optional. But I find it very helpful in addition to the other hack we have at our disposal, the herbal laxative detox tea.
[easyazon_image align=”none” height=”110″ identifier=”B0009F3PJE” locale=”US” nw=”y” src=”https://themastercleanse.org/wp-content/uploads/51kxn4IBGsL.SL110-3.jpg” tag=”mc-ea-cta-us-20″ width=”82″]The Laxative tea is like a deep down purge scrubbing and digging into corners where the salt water flush is more like power car wash blasting away surface grit and grime. Because it can be a challenge, I recommend alternating days on the SWF and the Laxative.
How to Do The Salt Water Flush
The salt water flush recipe is remarkably simple, as is how easy it is to cause confusion and mistakes it would seem:
Salt Water Flush Recipe
- 2 Teaspoons of Sea Salt (grey) Himalayan Sea Salt (pink)
- 1 Liter of Pure Water
That’s it. The most simple recipe in the world I believe.
Now for the fun part. This is where you’ll want to follow these carefully to ensure you’re not stuck wondering, why the salt water flush is not working. There are inevitably many tips to make the seal salt water cleanse easier, but I am going to outline my standard procedure after many, many successful flushes of the saline variety under my belt.
You can even check out the video on YouTube on how to do the Salt Water Flush so it works every time.
9 Steps to Salt Water Flush like a Master
- Wait at least 1 hour after your last food of any kind (including lemonade), or do 1st thing in the morning in a fasted state.
- Pour 1 liter of pure water into a 1 liter glass jar (plastic is ok, but who wants plastic?)
- Mix into the water 2 teaspoons of salt, shaking and stirring until fully dissolved.
- Drink the entire solution in 5 minutes or less. Try to drink in 1 big chug as I did in the video. I think it took me 20 seconds.
- (Optional) Lie on your right side for 30 minutes. This will help the water pass through your system fast and more assuredly.
- Hold It! Through the initial rumbles until you can’t hold any longer. This will ensure a nice big build up and I find sets the stage for the rest of your movements. Once you feel you can no longer hold out, go to the bathroom. A word of warning while you wait for this moment. DO NOT FART!!! You will most certainly not pass only air – if you know what I mean. This is also true throughout the rest of your day. Don’t be fooled or you will be leaving work to change your shorts. The first movement will be rather large and fairly powerful. You will want to flush almost immediately. In order to understand the whole messy details, take a look… if you dare.
- Be prepared for 1-2 hours of movements. This is why I recommend doing the Salt Water Flush in the morning (along with being in a naturally fasted state). You might have 1-7 movements, with the first one being the most substantial, and subsequent movements being lesser and lesser so with each passing flush.
- Take your first lemonade after your first movement. You want enough time to pass for the liquid to pass through your stomach and into your colon before your stomach is ready to process your lemonade.
- Start your day when movements are 15 minutes apart. After that you should be ok to hold it until you can find a washroom should you have to go to work, or out into the public world. For this reason I choose to undergo this process in the evening, with nowhere else to go for the rest of the day. (Also, because I like to have a shower following, and truth be told, I am not exactly a morning person.) The Salt Water Flush isn’t exactly pleasant, but it’s critical to an effective detox.
The original book says 2 teaspoons, but I have used 1 tablespoon almost every time and it works for me the same. The last time I did the cleanse, I tried it each way (once with 2 teaspoon and then again with 1 tablespoon), and each time I had success.
Top 3 Salt Water Flush Tips
Can’t stand the taste of Salt Water Flush? Here are some simple tips to get that ” sucker” down.
- Chug: I like to “pound it” – perhaps because I like to pretend I am still in college, and the sea salt is actually a keg stand. I also move into the bathroom and in front of the mirror
- Focus: Shake it well and move to the sink. I like to “pound it” – perhaps because I like to pretend I am still in college and the sea salt is actually a keg stand. I also move into the bathroom and stand in front of the mirror. Somehow, by watching myself, I can manage to drink the whole liter in one try, spilling very little. This too is a challenge in itself, especially once your stomach has become very small from taking no solids. Chances are, you will feel full halfway through, so just keep going. Stopping only makes you taste the salt, and will activate your gag reflex. While it is not required to drink the solution in one go, you will find that the taste is such that you will want to get it down quickly. It is not awful, but it is not exactly pleasant, and therefore I choose to get it over with. I also enjoy the little challenge.
- Shoot & Chase: I haven’t tried this method but it seem reasonable. Split your water into two 500 ml containers. Mix all the 2 teaspoons into 1 container. Drink that one first. Then chase it with the plain water ASAP. That’s critical because you want the two “doses” to mix into one inside your stomach. This should cleanse your palate quickly, removing the taste of salt and getting your mind off the unpleasantries.
Check out our full post (9 other tips) on the salt water flush tips here.
Top 11 Questions and Concerns about The Salt Water Flush
The following 11 questions are listed in order of frequency received (as well as some variations on the same question. We cover these questions in detail in our frequently asked questions section of the website as well as many more so if you’re still challenged to tears about this process and your determined to get this down, make sure you check the answers in full.
- Can I do the Salt Water Flush at Night? When do I do The SWF? Can I Salt Water Flush after Eating? When do I do the SWF if using the Laxative too?
- You can do the Salt Water Flush at night, or at any time (as long as on an empty stomach). But I find the best is in the morning because you’re naturally fasted, it makes a nice routine and it’s out of the way for the day. You may tend to forget, or not have time to get it done in the evening. (full answer here)
- The Salt Water Flush is Not Working, Why? What to do? I am not Losing Weight. I am bloated / Constipated
- There are only a few reasons why. Here’s the top 3. #1 too much or too little salt. #2 wrong kind of salt. #3 You didn’t do it on an empty stomach. [highlight]NOTE:[/highlight] There have been many questions about this process. The fact is, however much some claim it hasn’t worked for them, it can work for absolutely everyone. The key is to adjust the amount of salt in order to create the right solution for your individual needs. Also make sure you don’t used iodized table salt. Un-iodized organic sea salt is essential.(full answer here):
- Are there Alternatives to The Salt Water Flush Recipe? Is it Really Necessary?
- The top alternative is to NOT DO IT. It’s optional. Besides that there isn’t really an alternative. There are some tips to make it easier (covered below). You can substitute the salt. You can’t remove the water. Not much to work with. So if you just can’t take it, stick with the laxative detox tea. (full answer here)
- Is the Salt Water Flush Safe? Don’t you die from drinking salt water? What happens to my body from all that salt (especially if it fails to “flush” and pass through me.
- The salt water flush is perfectly safe. Admittedly it is a little harsh, especially on your internal gut flora (microbiome), which you’ll want to replenish with a [easyazon_link identifier=”B0055OV0MI” locale=”US” nw=”y” tag=”mc-ea-cta-us-20″]probiotic[/easyazon_link] after your master cleanse is complete. If the flush fails, the amount of salt is only 2 teaspoons. The AVERAGE intake is nearly 2 teaspoons per day. So half the western population is taking more (in some cases much more) than 1 SWF per day in the food. And that’s table salt. The benefits of sea salt vs. table salt (and salt in general) are being proven every day as well, so the amount of salt you might absorbed is isn’t something to worry about. Yes, people lost at sea die from drinking salt water, but that’s because they drink it over and over again, and die of dehydration after many days because the bladder passes more water than it takes in due to the salt content. If you’re lost at sea, I don’t recommend the SWF (or the Master Cleanse for that matter). (full answer here)
- Do I need both the Laxative and the Sea Salt Flush?
- No. The SWF is optional. Repeat. The SWF is optional (but highly recommended). The senna laxative herbal detox tea is mandatory (or at least 1 movement a day is mandatory. (full answer here).
- What kind of Salt do I use? Is Table salt OK? Is Un-iodized Sea Salt Ok?
- You must use Sea Salt or Himalayan Sea Salt. You can not to the Sea Salt Cleanse, or the Sea Salt Flush without sea salt. Himalayan salt is still sea salt because it comes from an ancient ocean that was once present in where the Himalayans are today. (full answer here)
- “Sea Salt Flush”
- How can I Drink all the Salt Water? It’s hard? How to make it easier?
- My number 1 tip is to chug it all. Just get it down. Learn to manage the gag reflex. Concentrate, distract, trick yourself. Lots of our top tips include making the salt water taste better including warming the water, adding some lemon to the water (just a little). We’ve compiled a whole list of these tips in our full FAQ post. (full answer here).
- How long do I wait until I start the lemonade after taking the sea salt?
- Wait until you’ve had your first movement. You want the salt water to pass through your stomach and into your colon so that your stomach can switch gears and start digesting instead of flushing. This is another reason to not take too long to tae the whole salt water liter. The longer you wait to start your lemonade the worse you’ll feel as you need that energy first thing in the morning.
- Can I keep doing the SWF during the Ease-Out or after the master cleanse (to help with constipation for example).
- Of course. But you’ll want to still make sure you’re not taking it on an empty stomach, and use it like a silver bullet, reserved for special occasions. This is one of those things you don’t want to over do. It’s hard on your system and if you’re doing it every week, you’ll never rebuild your gut microbiome (good bacteria). If you’re still persistently constipated, you’ll need additional therapies to address the cause. Typically however, TMC has a knack of clearing up the issues that may have created your constipated state. So wait and see, but as always, be wise.
You also might want to check out our FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions page will address most questions as well this Common Mistakes page.
What Else can I Expect from the Salt Water Flush?
Of course, along with the sea salt, you will be expelling waste. During the first 2 days you will be moving out remaining solid matter in the digestive tract from the days prior to this. If you began your diet immediately, this will be more true than if you Eased-In, and therefore have only juice in your system. Regardless, you’ll be surprised to see (if you dare look) that for days and days you will continue to expel solid matter. Gross, to be certain, but also empowering. You really begin to understand the value of this process when you recognize the elimination of waste that has been stored in your body for months, even decades.
Can I use regular salt that is uniodized? or does it specifically have to be sea salt?
Lemonade Diet Day 3
I knew that this cleanse was not going to be easy and I really don’t want to quit. I keep trying to empty out my system the corrct way but my body just seems to want to do the opposite!
On Saturday, the first day of the diet after I had already eased in, I did not take the laxative tea at night because I was out that night and I would’ve rather done it naturally with just the SWF.
So the next morning (Day 2) I did the SWF when I woke up thinking it would be easy since I was on an empty stomach ready to flush out my system. What I did though, instead of making the whole quart of water so salty and trying to drink it all, I put the 2 tsp. of sea salt in 4 four ounces of water and took it like a shot and then drank the rest of the water. After I do the shot I’m sitting on the couch finishing up the rest of the water and my stomach started hurting extremely and I felt really nausious so I’m like okay just drink the water, I suddenly had to pee and got a slight headache, next thing I know I am sitting in my couch and vomited everywhere!! After that I felt a lot better, but barely any results when I went to the bathroom, so I decided to get the laxative tea.
Last night I had a glass of the laxative tea and planned on doing the SWF this morning… Not the case when I woke up. I got up about 5, made the SWF the normal way this time except I did not use as much water because I figured that is the reason I threw up, I mean I am not even 5’0 and weigh about 105 so I’m tiny. Anyways, as I’m making the SWF my stomach was cramping so bad I thought I might as well just take the SWF into the bathroom with me, as soon as I sat on the toilet the cramping got worse and My head started to feel really fuzzy and airy and my vision starting getting dark, so I ran into my moms room no pants on and told her I felt like I was about to blackout, then I ran towards the bathroom feeling for the toilet because I couldn’t see anything and as soon as I sat down.. Well yeah. I felt better after that but still was fuzzy and blinded, so my ma put a cold rag on me cause I was sweating bullets and she made me drink a small glass of orange juice (100% all natural ;)) once I got my vision back and I felt better, I decided I was still going to try the SWF because I’m determined to do this cleanse right.
This time I didn’t chug it all within 5 minutes, it took me about 15-20 minutes to finish it, and it was not as bad as I thought. Thankfully I had no stomach aches this time or nausea so I went and layed down, it took about an hour and a half or two for it to even feel like it was going to work (which is about right now as I’m typing this) but not much result compared to the other things I am reading about people’s experience in there comments.
So I am wondering if I would be alright just doing maybe a little more than half a cup of the laxative tea at night to get me to flush out my system and not even worry about the SWF, I really do not want to go through all of that again. If you have any suggestions please help me, I know it was a lot! But I refuse to quit now.
Thank you!
I am on day 5 of the MC. I did the SWF the first day, but found it unpleasant. I decided to just stick with the tea at night. The only problem that I am finding with this is that I only get to sleep between 5 and 6 hours a night since I’m woken up like clockwork to make my way to the bathroom. As long as you are doing something to induce a bowel movement you should be fine. Since you are not eating solid foods during this, you do need to do something, whether it be the SWF or drinking a laxative tea, to create a BM.
Master Cleanse – Day 2
I did the SWF yesterday morning and it took a couple hours to kick in but it sure did the trick. This morning and for the rest of the week, I plan on doing the SWF in the evening as I don’t have time in the morning before work. My question is; how long after my last cup of lemonade do I need to wait in order for the SWF to work?
Thanks!
Master Cleanse – Day 3
I had a serving of lemonade around 4pm yesterday and did the SWF when I got home from work at around 6:45pm. It worked within 15 minutes. SWOOSH!
Going strong on day 3. No real hunger pains to report, but my girlfriend and I have some serious food cravings.
Swf day 1so the instructions say do it in the morning… well its monday morning and since I started I havent been able to stop. Its like a a overflowing septic tank from the movie meet the parents. Now im scared to go to work. Do this on a weekend or at night people. Smh
MasterCleanse Day 1
I did the mastercleanse again and i am on my first day, again. I feel a little bit hungry but tolerable. I can still control my hunger and i am not craving on foods. Thank god!
Anyway, I hope that i can do this for 40 days. :)
Day 4 Lemonade Diet
Feeling good, no cravings :)
Day 1 I was able to do the SWF. Day 2 took only a laxative tea in the morning, I had class early morning so I didn’t have time to do the flush. Day 3 and 4 I puked the SWF right back up!!! I am doing the same as Day 1, but I cant keep it down. Any Advice?
I’m new to this too…I’m on Day 4 and I struggled through my 1st SWF. I felt like it was all going to come back up. I found that it is easier if I take a shot glass and dissolve 1/2 tsp salt in the glass and then fill it with water from a 1 C glass. I leave the rest of the cup pure water. I take the salt water fast like a shot and chase it with the pure water. Repeat 4 x. I don’t end up with that salt flavor in my mouth and I don’t gag or throw it up. This technique worked as well as when I did it the other way, but was a LOT less painful.
MC Day 3
This was a tough day psychologically and physically. I got hungry around 2PM and started craving the food I was fixing for my kids – grilled cheese sandwiches, then fish sticks, and macaroni and cheese. I feel the burn of the cayenne in my mouth, stomach, and bottom! I love the way the lemonade tastes and enjoy it, but I still crave regular SAD diet foods too like pizza and such. I am mostly vegan/vegetarian and eat meat maybe once every blue moon or so, and cheese only occasionally.
I had been doing a raw food detox before an old friend came in to town and wanted to get back on track since I had been eating a small amount of meat when with her. I started the cleanse on Wednesday, but broke down when I ordered a large Papa John’s Tuscan Six Cheese pizza for my kids yesterday (Day 2). The dough looked so chewy and fresh and the sauce was so hot and zesty. The cheese had those garlic parmesean sprinkles on it. I was so hungry and the smell of the fresh pizza was simply too much for me to resist, so I caved.
I felt awful — emotionally and physically! That pizza kicked my butt. My stomach was in knots afterward and I didn’t feel too well. Lesson learned, back on the wagon.
Today was rough, I’m kind of ‘getting over’ the sour, lemony aftertaste now and feeling ready for food, but I am determined to get through it. Psychologically, I miss food. I froze all my prepared vegan food so it wouldn’t tempt me, but right now, I want to throw that vegan lasagna in the microwave and push START. But no. I’ll just wash down those comforting food memories and cravings with another spicy gulp of lemonade and call it a day.
This website is very informative, and writing this has been helpful, but I think it needs to have a crisis hotline for folks like me who end up salivating about a home-cooked meal.
Lemonade Diet Day 7
Hi. I’ve got a lemonade mixture on the rocks next to me as I type. Today was okay. Last night late, I started to get a little headache, but it went away. I notice myself getting up earlier as the fast progresses. Before I would wake up at 4.30AM and roll over going back to sleep. Now I get up, check email, drink a little water. Around 8AM I do some light yoga and that helps really put some structure into the morning. I’m on a holiday now so it’s important to do it because I don’t have that time constraint of, “gotta get it done before work” so I really make an effort to get in 40 minutes of yoga before the morning ends. It’s easy to say, oh, I have all day to do it, but I keep a chart and like to tick it off my list of morning activities if that helps anyone out there.
Then with yoga out of the way, I can prepare the SWF. It’s not pleasant, but it’s not unpleasant. It’s just something you have to do. I can get down the mixture in two or three goes.
Today’s reaction came a bit “quicker” than yesterday’s and it was … well…the stench is remarkable.
Something odd happened while I was in the shower. I was thinking about this holiday and wondering what fun things I could do in the evening. I was like, yeah! I’ll go to a Thai restaurant I’ve been wanting to try. It was like I completely forgot I was fasting. But it wasn’t so hard to snap back into reality.
I made a fresh batch of lemonade and am enjoying it now. That’s all for today. Good luck everyone!
In my personal opinion, it’s better to flush your body out in a slower manner by listening to your body.
Putting just a few pinches of pink himalayan salt on the tongue, letting that dissolve, then drinking a lot of ozonated distilled water, and having some more pinches of salt, then drinking more water, repeating the process, and making sure to not have any more salt than what your body craves/tells you to have.
slower is better and not as destructive to the human body, you have to listen to your instincts
Lemonade Diet Day 1
So I eased in for 3 days and have noticed how much my hunger is decreased. I must admit after doing my flush this morning I was surprised at how nauseated I felt. I measured out 4 cups and separated one. I put a tablespoon of my salt in and let it sit for a few minutes,then I drank a few gulps and chased with the clean water. It took three rounds of drinking and chasing to finish off the salt water but I wanted it over as fast as possible. I felt exceedingly nauseated until my first movement and it has now eased. While I was waiting for the nausea to pass I watched your video. I’m somewhat relieved to see that although you’ve been doing the SWF for a while you still have that “sick” feeling. Thanks for the video and such an informative site. Wish me luck!
Genn