After a beautiful camp-fire with loved ones, you may let go the ashes leftover from the fire pit, but do you know you can use this ashes in various ways in your daily life. Today we will discover how versatile ashes can be in our daily life.
Why is wood ash good?
Wood ash is good because the wood we used to burn for our need, contains many chemical elements naturally which is very useful and needy in our daily life. Now I will show you the fields where you can use the leftover wood ash which you are tending to throw away.
Uses of fire pit ashes
1.Increasing fertility on the soil
Ashes from the woods can be a good source of natural minerals like potassium, calcium, magnesium etc. which is good for plants. Also it can balance the pH of the soil as it is both acidic and alkaline. Initiate by getting testing the lawn or garden soil to determine its pH. You can easily use wood ash as it is the alternative of Calcium Carbonate. But before using it to your lawn or garden, you must check the pH and condition of your soil.
2.Use as compost
Compost is known as “black gold” as it is the mine of nutrition which your plant need the most. Using wood ash to your compost boost the potassium level and recycles the waste in your compost. So if you want your plant a healthy growth, then add a thin shower of wood ash in your compost and then spray it in your garden.
3.Put out fires
Like sand, a fine wood ash can diffuse a small fire. So, keep a bucket of cooled wood ash near your fireplace to extinguish instant fire.
4.Make soap
Using wood ash and water you can make soap by making lye. First, you have to collect the ash and water. Then take a barrel and mix the ash and water in it. After you mix it in the barrel, make some small hole to drain the water under the barrel. Once the extra water is drained, you will get the lye at the bottom of barrel. Then collect the lye and maintain the pH. Once the pH is 13 or more, you can collect it and use it to make soap.
5.Cleaning paste
Mixing wood ash with water will give you a paste with which you can polish your metals and kitchen items very smoothly. Not only kitchen items, you can also clean the glass items also.
6.Add traction
In winter, all the roads are covered with snow. Over the snow, it’s very tough to drive your transport. So you can have a container of fireplace ash in your trunk of the car. It helps to absorb the sunlight accelerate the de-ice process and give the traction to the car on the road.
7.Soak up driveway’s slip
Sometimes refilling the fuel, we spit the oil in the road by mistake which makes a slippery traction. To remove the slippery, we can put some ash over it, ash will soak the oil of the road. Then you can sweep it with your broom and clean up the spit.
8.Dehumidifier
If you feel your room too damp, then you can use your fireplace ash to dehumidify your room’s dampness. It absorbs excess moisture from the air, and keeps your room comfortable and mold-free.
9.Slow down algae growth
Worried about the extra algae growth in your pond? Why don’t you sprinkle wood ash in the pond as it is rich in Potassium? It doesn’t help to kill the algae but increase the potassium level in the pond, and slow down the algae growth and keeps your pond neat and healthy for your farmed fish.
10.Remove skunk stink
Have you ever faced a skunk in your life? Has your pet ever had a run-in with a skunk? if he ever do, then you know how suffocating and unbearable the stench is. As fireplace ashes absorbs odors, you can sprinkle some ashes where you have faced the skunk. Also you can rub some of it to your pet’s body to smell better.
11.Control garden pests, deter ants and repel mice.
If you love gardening and have a garden, then your common enemy is the garden pests which eats and spoil the crops and veggies in the garden. To control the pests, you can sprinkle some wood ash in the leaves of the plants in your garden which will keep the pests at bay, as wood ash is a natural desiccant.
Also you can sprinkle some wood ash in the mat or in the floor if you are facing ant problem in your house and garden. It will be a red flag for the ants and force them to change their home.
Like the pests and ants, mice also can’t take the abrasive odor of wood ash. So you can spray some wood ash or make a paste line at the entry point of your house and garden to keep them out of your range.
12.Dust bath for the chickens.
If you have ever visited the poultry farm, then you must have noticed that chickens love to take a dust bath. You must have raised a questions in your mind that why do chickens have a dust bath? This dust bath ritual is common in chickens. They take this bath to clean their feathers as they kill mini critters like lice, mites fleas etc. So, to keep the chickens healthy, prepare mixture of soil and wood ash in a tray or container and let them have a nice dust bath.
13.Pottery polish
You may be shocked by learning the fact that you can also use the wood ash to polish your pottery item. Yes, read it right. Wood ash can also be used as increasing the glaze of the earthenware utensils. Just take some wood ash and mix with the water quantitatively. You will get a paste of silver ash color. Add some colors to make beautiful design in your earthen materials.
14.Store seeds
If you have got immature seeds at your house or around you, then you can store seeds in a container with wood ash. Wood ash is a good source of potassium, calcium magnesium. Storing the seeds within the ashes will help the seeds get natural macro elements from it and keep them healthy.
So, fellas in spite of throwing the wood ash away, use it in your daily life. Happy life, happy gardening.