Over 30 great uses for wood ash

The Many great uses for wood ash.

Do you have a fireplace or fire pit? If so you probably use it regularly and generate your fair share of Ash. It builds up and weighs more than one would think. Instead of throwing Ash in the trash, which can even be costly depending on your trash service, follow through with some interesting uses found in this section. Here are a number of uses for wood ash for you to consider.

1. Wood ash is a great odor eliminator. Just sprinkle some ash over smelly areas such as your home’s garbage pails.

2. It may sound absurd, but ash makes a wonderful do-it-yourself tooth paste. Keep in mind ash from specific types of wood can be very abrasive and can damage tooth enamel. There are several recipes for do-it-yourself toothpaste on the net.

3. Create lye water. Lye water is an excellent cleaning solution and sanitizer that you can clean almost anything with. Keep in mind lye is a caustic that should stay out of the reach of young children. The easiest way to make a lye is to boil 3 spoons of white or grey fluffy Ash with water then sift through a coffee filter.

4. Remove furniture stains. An ash and water paste effectively removes stains from furniture fabric.

5. Refrigerator odor eliminator. Put a bowl of charcoal ash inside, turning it over periodically until the odor has been eliminated.

6. Removal of clothing stains. Rub a pinch of Wood Ash into your clothing stain with a piece of white bread to remove stains.

7. Lye can be used to make soap. Lye soap should cure for 6 weeks before using.

8. To combat oily hair, wash it with soap and rinse with vinegar.

9. Bombarding an ant colony with Ash will force them to relocate. Ants cannot move the ash.

10. A layer of ash saves plants from frost in the winter.

11. Ash has a high salt content and can be used to melt ice.

12. Lye water serves as an excellent treatment for an internal cleanse of the intestines.

13. Placing Ash in the nooks and crannies around your home can expel rodent such as mice, roaches and more from your home.

14. The charcoal generated from Ash is a very popular material for filtering.

15. A spoonful of Ash every 1000 liters of water helps promote better health for underwater plants.

16. Making a paste of Ash and vinegar and rubbing it into your pets fur is a great treatment to repel fleas, ticks and lice.

17. The popular household cleaner, sodium carbonate can be made from Ash.

18. Charcoal is often used to filter drinking water.

19. Sprinkling Ash on clothing you stow away is an excellent alternative to mothballs to repel moths.

20. A form of preservation with eggs last for many months. It involves a mix of Ash, salt lime and rice rine. These are known as Immortal eggs.

21. Blurry wine can be filtered via charcoal.

22. A heavy layer of Ash can rapidly extinguish the fire.

23. Ash is very popular among the farming Community. Some farmers use it as a base for compost without nitrogen. Ash will spike the pH level of soil l, helping several types of plants to grow. Ash also returns natural nutrients back into the Earth.

24. Many garden pests hate ash, if you leave it around your plants, notably snails and slugs.

25. Any plant that strives from calcium will do better with Ash mixed into the soil.

26. Ash can be used to treat wounds. Melting homemade soap and lye water and rinsing your wound promotes healing by killing bacteria.

27. Ash can protect and preserve your food. A layer of Ash will deter insects.

28. When placed in a metal container charcoal can effectively remove humidity from cabinets and your basement.

29. Preserve your fruits and vegetables for years. Dig a hole in the ground and fill it with Ash. Just make sure when placing your produce in that they don’t touch each other or any soil. Seal the hole when done.

30. Sodium Carbonate can be used to seal leaks in your pond.

31. It can be used to reduce glare. If you are in a bright snowy area or bright desert dip Chapstick in black ash and rub it under your eyes. This stops you from going to Snowblind.

Did you find this interesting? Have any uses for wood ashes yourself? Please add your comments below!