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I thought I would dig back through some old newsletters and found some great tips on beneficial ways to use wood ash this winter!

This information was featured way back in a Chemistry Cachet newsletter from 2016.

We have thousands of new readers now (or more), and I thought a blog post would be a great idea for this tip.

Wood ash is something many of us have an abundance of this time of year, but there are some really neat ways you can repurpose this ash so it doesn’t go to waste.

Not only will this keep you from wasting it, but it actually has benefits that will come in really handy.

Beneficial Ways To Use Wood Ash

What Makes Wood Ash Beneficial?

If you are using hard woods in your fireplace, fire pit, or for outdoor cooking, then you can save the ashes for something around your house. In fact, it has many unique uses!

The majority of wood ash composition is calcium carbonate. This is a type of liming agent that increases alkalinity in things like soil (which is why it has numerous plant benefits). Due to the size of wood ash, it also reacts quickly in soil or compost. It doesn’t need much breakdown time with the powder substance. This texture also makes it helpful for absorption and fine scrubbing (more on that below).

Wood ash also has a distinct odor making it helpful for certain insects.

Let’s talk more about the things you can do with it!

Deter Bugs

Wood Ash has been shown to work well at deterring bugs from plants. Slugs, snails, and even ants will stay away from wood ash. You can sprinkle soil or pots with a little ash to keep bugs away. 

A little goes a long way for this! I very light sprinkle every couple of weeks should be good enough. I like to reapply the ash after it rains or if it has been damp outside. 

Soak Up Grease On Asphalt Or Concrete

With the texture and composition of wood ash, it works really well at absorbing grease like stains. If you have oil or grease spilled on a concrete or asphalt texture, you can pour wood ash on top to soak up the grease. You can take a broom or large scrub brush and scrub the area to get even more grease up. Follow up with a rubber hose to rinse off or bucket of water.

I was curious if this tip would leave a residue on concrete? It does for a little bit, but rinses off really well leaving no residue! And it won’t leave any residue on asphalt. 

Clean and Buff Tarnished Metal

With the chemical composition of wood ash containing calcium carbonate, you can use it on tarnished metal. Not only does it clean off debris and rust, but you can follow up with a cloth like microfiber and buff it out. This is great for large metal items or small ones.

The wood ash texture is really good for fine scrubbing, so it makes a great substance on metal.

Use Wood Ash in Compost

Wood ash is also fantastic to add to your compost pile. Make sure you do it right though because it is very strong. I mentioned above that wood ash is so fine, it breaks down fairly quick in soil or compost. Wood ash also has a high alkalinity, so always start off with small quantities in the compost pile. Here is a good breakdown on slowly adding it to compost.

Use it in the Garden

There are also ways to use wood ash in your garden. Again, the benefit of wood ash is going to be raising the pH of the soil, but also adding calcium and trace minerals too.

Do not add wood ash to acid loving plants though! Since it will raise the pH level of the soil, it is better to use wood ash around plants that thrive in alkaline soils. Vegetable and herb plants benefit from wood ash.

Sprinkle on the Lawn

Grasses react well with lime and potassium, so you can sprinkle wood ash around your lawn during the winter. This can nourish the soil and get grass ready for growth in the spring. There isn’t much scientific studies on this particular tip, but I used to sprinkle wood ash in my backyard in the winter. My grass in the backyard always looked more green and healthy when spring came along! So, I think it is a good tip to use 🙂

Hard Woods Are Best

Don’t forget, the tips in this post are best with hard woods. You can use the ash from a fire pit or bbq pit as long as you haven’t used charcoal or lighter fluid on it. Just plain wood ash is safest for plants!

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