Weatherize to Save Energy
April 25, 2011How Much Water is Your Home Wasting?
April 25, 2011
The ashes left behind from a wood fire are a valuable and versatile by-product. Here are 7 great uses for your leftover ash:
1. FIRE STARTERS: Lumps of charcoal (the black chunks, not the grey/white ash) shouldn’t be removed from your fireplace. These will help kick-start your next fire and get it producing heat far faster than a fire just started with wood alone.
2. FILTER: Leftover charcoal can be pounded with a hammer and then ground into a fine powder with a mortar and pestle or blender. This can then be used as a filter medium. Note that it’s not quite the same as activated charcoal that you buy, so don’t rely on it for filtering drinking water.
3. PEST DETERRENT: Sprinkle the ash around the border of garden beds to repel snails and slugs.
4. COMPOST: Add a dusting of wood ash to each layer of your compost heap as you go.
5. FERTILISER: Ash contains potash (potassium carbonate), phosphate, iron, manganese, boron, copper and zinc and can be quite beneficial as a natural fertiliser. Wood ash increases the pH or alkalinity of soil, so use sparingly. Black charcoal is a little different in that it has a much higher ratio of carbon- so this can be used more liberally.
6. DEHUMIDIFYING: Lumps of charcoal placed in a can punched with holes can help reduce moisture in areas such as closets , basements, under sinks etc.
7. CLEANING: Dip a damp rag into ash and use to clean silverware, brass and glass. Ash added to a scourer can also give your scouring a bit more oomph.
If you live in South Africa and need environmentally friendly water conservation and solar energy solutions, contact us for a free quote. Our WWF award winning water systems include, rainwater harvesting systems, grey water irrigation systems, grey water recycling systems, swimming pool backwash recycling systems, toilet flush mechanisms and other water-saving devices (see product demo).
We are also authorized South African JoJo Water Tanks dealers and offer the full range of JoJo water tanks and JoJo tank stands. Yes Solar offers high quality solar water heaters to reduce your electricity bills by up to 40%. Offset your carbon footprint by switching to green insurance cover, now available in South Africa!
