1. De skunk pets. A handful rubbed on your dogs coat neutralizes the lingering odor.
2. Hide stains on paving, sprinkle 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 deices without hurting soil or concrete underneath.
6. Control pond algae. One tablespoon per 1,000 gallons adds enough potassium 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.
11. Put it in the chickens’ dust baths (or give them a dust bath yourself).
12. Used in small quantities in your compost barrel, to deodorize and balance the alkaline pH
13. Wood Ash is a good water purifier.
SOURCE : http://www.dansdepot.com/blog/13-uses-for-wood-ash/
