
How to make a salt bath
EPSOM, Utah — It’s a small, two-bedroom house in an affluent suburban neighborhood that feels a bit like an alien outpost in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
The home is filled with all the comforts of home, including a large TV, a fireplace, a refrigerator and a kitchenette.
And it’s all tucked away behind a locked gate.
It’s all here to be rented out, the home owner says.
The Utah Salt Bath has been a popular summer destination for tourists and locals alike for decades.
The house, located in a quiet residential neighborhood in the affluent Epson Salt Lake Valley, is the first house in the world to be built entirely out of recycled materials.
But its owner, Roberta Johnson, says the house has taken on a life of its own.
She says she has received calls from around the country, and even more from the world, wanting to rent out their home for an entire weekend.
So far, she’s sold 10 houses in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
She said the houses have been sold for $300,000, but she has no plans to charge a penny.
But some residents aren’t buying it.
The Epson salt bath, which is a place where tourists come to soak and get cleaned in a natural environment, has become a lightning rod for controversy.
Johnson said the community has received numerous calls about the salt bath and how it is damaging the environment.
Johnson told ABC News she received an email from a person saying the house was “totally a trash dump,” and that she had to remove it.
She said she has not received any complaints from residents, and has no intention of evicting them.
But Johnson says if she did, the Salt Bath could become a magnet for invasive species.
“If we can remove the trash, that would make it more attractive,” she said.
The Salt Bath sits in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
The area has a high concentration of tall grasses, scrubby ridges and a dry climate that attracts birds, including bald eagles.
The home sits in an area with no water and no electricity, but is heated by a solar-powered heater.
Johnson says she had originally intended to put the house up for sale to a private owner, but the Utah Legislature put the plan on hold while the building was being built.
Johnson has also sold the Salt Bodies other homes in the area, including one in which a couple bought the home to live in for about $150,000 in 2014.
The family, who also owned a home in New Zealand, said they had never had any problems with the Salt baths and felt it was their choice to purchase the Salt House.
Johnson said the Salt Houses are a great family destination and they had a great time renting the home.
She told ABCNews.com she hopes her home sells for a lot more than it currently is worth, but that it will be up for auction sometime in 2018.