In an emergency, chances are you’re going to be burning a lot of wood. Whether for heat, cooking, morale, lighting wood fires will most likely be a regular part of life. This means you’ll probably have a seemingly endless supply of what seems to be useless wood ash. We as any good survivalist knows, no item is even useless – especially when resources are limited. So before you throw all that ash off to the side, here’s 10 great uses for your fire’s byproduct that you can use today or in a SHTF scenerio.
1. De-skunk pets. A handful of ash rubbed on Fido’s coat neutralizes the lingering odor.
2. Hide stains on paving. By sprinkling ash directly on the spot.
3. Enrich compost. Before the organic compound get applied to soil, enhance its nutrients by sprinkling in a few ashes. Adding too much, though, ruins the mix.
4. Block garden pests. Spread evenly around garden beds, ash repels slugs and snails.
5. Melt ice. It adds traction and de-ices without hurting soil or concrete underneath.
6. Control pond algae. One tablespoon per 1,000 gallons adds enough potassiumm to strengthen other aquatic plants that compete with algae, slowing its growth.
7. Pump up tomatoes. For the calcium-loving plants, place 1/4 cup right in the hole when planting.
8. Clean glass fireplace doors. A damp sponge dipped in the dust scrubs away sooty residue.
9. Make soap. Soaking ashes in water makes lye, which can be mixed with animal fat and then boiled to produce soap. Salt makes it harden as it cools.
10. Shine silver. A paste of ash and water makes a dandy nontoxic metal polisher.
We’re very excited to announce the upcoming release of our first book by ExpertPrepper.com’s lead writer – Skip Tanner. In just a few short weeks we’ll be unavailing this new manual entitled “The Expert Prepper’s Ultimate Survival Guide” This is going to be an incredible resource and we want you to be the first to get your hands on it – so – be sure to sign-up for our newsletter on the homepage so you don’t miss out!
