Eleven Ways to Reuse Fireplace Ashes

A wood fireplace is a great addition to any home. Who doesn’t enjoy sitting next to a warm, crackling fire on a chilly winter night? One of the regular maintenance items of burning wood is the need to regularly clean out the ashes. What do you do with the ashes? How do you go about disposing of them? Did you know there are many uses for fireplace ashes?

A Word of Warning

Anytime you handle ashes, hot or cold, always wear safety gloves. Ashes mixed with water produce lye, which is alkaline and can be very painful when in contact with your skin. Therefore, always wear gloves and safety glasses when handling ashes mixed with water. Keep vinegar close by to neutralize the burn if it comes in contact with your skin.

Traditional Ash Bucket

Dispose of the Ashes

If you don’t have the time or opportunity to recycle wood ash, or if you have too much and can’t reuse it all, here’s how you can dispose of it safely.

Let the wood and ashes cool down completely. Don’t pour water into your fireplace; it could damage it. If necessary, smother the fire with sand or flour. And then, let the embers cool down for several hours.

Use a metal shovel to transfer the ashes to a metal bucket. Then pour water into the bucket to saturate the ashes thoroughly. Put the bucket outside, away from the house and any flammable material, and wait at least seven days. On garbage day, pour off any extra water and empty your bucket in the garbage bin. If there are compost bins in your area, you can usually put the ash in them. Check with your municipality first.

1. Clean Fireplace Doors

Before throwing the ash away, use it to clean your glass fireplace doors. Dip a damp sponge in powdery ash and use it to scrub off soot residue from the doors. Check out our article about cleaning fireplace doors for more tips on how to get those doors squeaky clean.

2. Melt Ice and Snow

Do you usually use rock salt to melt ice on your driveway and walkways? While rock salt solves getting rid of ice, it can harm the environment, kill plants, and irritate your pets’ paws. Eventually, the salt washes away in waterways and can pose a risk to fish and other aquatic life forms.

The good news is that you have the solution in your fireplace. Sprinkle some wood ash on the ice or snow, and it will melt.

No Mess Ash Pan

3. Polish Silver

Before chemical cleaning agents existed, people used wood ash to polish silver. 

Recipe: Mix two cups of powdery ash with four tablespoons of baking soda, and add just enough water to make a thick paste. Use a cloth or sponge dipped in the paste to polish the silver. You can also use the mixture to clean gold, chrome, and stainless steel!

4. Use as Bleach

Recipe:

  1. Pass the ashes through a metal sieve, leaving you only the finest white or powdery grey ash.
  2. Mix the ashes in a bucket of boiling soft water using a ratio of one-part ash to four parts of water. Soft water, like rainwater, does not have added minerals that could disrupt the lye-making process.
  3. Mix well, then let the ash settle. You can then use this wood ash lye water as a bleach.

Use about one cup per wash load. Use hot water in your wash to enhance the bleaching effect. Wear gloves while handling your clothes, and rinse your clothes thoroughly before drying.

5. Unclog Drains

Use the finest white or powdery gray ash and make sure that it’s never been wet. Pour one cup of ash into the clogged drain, followed by one cup of heated soft water. Let sit for two to three hours. Flush with water. Your drain should be in perfect working order. Do not combine this method with other chemicals.

6. Enrich Your Compost

Plants love potassium, and wood ash happens to have a lot of it. Add a cup of powdery ash to every 1.5 CU. Ft. of compost. Remember that wood ash will increase alkalinity of your garden soil, so avoid using it around plants that strive in acid soil, like potatoes, tulips, hydrangeas, and others.

WAYS TO REUSE FIREPLACE ASHES - compost

7. Repel Pests

Wood ash is a great method of natural pest control and repels slugs and snails. Sprinkle ash on the edges of each garden row. Avoid direct contact with your plants. Re-apply after each rainfall.

8. Absorb Bad Odors

Wood ash, like baking soda, absorbs and neutralizes foul odors. Leave a small bowl filled with wood ash in the fridge or in a room to neutralize unpleasant smells. Change the ash every few days.

Ash bucket

9. De-Skunk

Did you or your pet come in contact with a skunk? Use cooled ash and rub a handful on the affected part of your skin or your pet’s coat. Let sit for a few minutes, then rinse thoroughly. Dry and repeat as necessary.

10. Algae Control

Is algae overtaking your ornamental pond? In that case, you don’t have to resort to chemical algaecides to resolve the problem. Just sprinkle about one tablespoon of wood ash for 1000 gallons of water. The potassium in the ash strengthens other aquatic plants, which will compete with the algae and keep it under control by slowing its growth.

11. Make Soap

Save money and recycle wood ash by making your own soap.

Recipe:

  1. Boil one cup of powdery ash in five cups of soft water.
  2. Use a stainless-steel pot, as the lye will eat right through an aluminum pot.
  3. Transfer the liquid lye to another pot once the ash has settled on the bottom.
  4. Boil it down to have a higher concentration of lye. When an egg can float on top, it means it’s ready.
  5. In another pot, heat about one pound of fat. It can be anything from cooking lard to vegetable oil or meat fat. Heat it until it turns to liquid fat. Add some more until you get one cup of liquid.
  6. Add this hot grease to the boiling lye, and stir until it gets to the consistency of thick cornmeal mush, then turn off the heat.
  7. Stir in two tablespoons of salt with chopped herbs or essential oils.
  8. Line a small wooden box, approximately 2″ × 3″ × 6″, lined with waxed paper, and pour your mixture in it. Let it cool, then take the soap out of the mold.

This recipe only gives an overview of the process. For more details about how to make larger quantities, read this article from PrimalSurvivor.net explaining how to make wood ash soap.

Clean Out That Fireplace!

With this list, you’ll never run out of ideas about what to do with your ashes! You can recycle ash in many ways, and it’s ecological to boot! So, clean out that fireplace and make good use of those ashes!

Below is a list of fireplace and grill stores that service ()

Auburn, AL

Top Hat Chimney Sweeps
1280 Financial Ct.
Auburn, AL 36830

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Elk Grove, CA

Custom Fireside Shops
9097 Elk Grove Blvd.
Elk Grove, CA 95624

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Sacramento, CA

Custom Fireside Shops
5455 Auburn Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95841

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Durango, CO

Durango Outdoor Living
140 Rock Point Drive
Durango, CO 81301

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Durango, CO

Four Corner Stoves & Spas
3001 Main Avenue
Durango, CO 81301

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Grand Junction, CO

Stove Depot and Chimney Works
330 North Ave.
Grand Junction, CO 81501

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New London, CT

Family Hearth and Patio LLC
571 Broad Street
New London, CT 06320

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Ridgefield, CT

Yankee Doodle, Inc.
71 Ethan Allen Highway
Ridgefield, CT 06877

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Dover, DE

Byler's Stove Shoppe Inc.
1368b Rose Valley School Rd.
Dover, DE 19904

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Destin, FL

Doodlebuggers Service Network
36054 Emerald Coast Parkway
Destin, FL 32541

Bettendorf, IA

Fireplaces Plus, Inc.
1745 State Street
Bettendorf, IA 52722

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Post Falls, ID

Quality Stoves & Home Furnishings
569 N Syringa St
Post Falls, ID 83854

Rockford, IL

Advanced Chimney Systems, Inc.
3486 Lonergan Drive
Rockford, IL 61109

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Wauconda, IL

Grass Roots Energy, Inc.
28751 N Route 12
Wauconda, IL 60084

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Evansville, IN

Firemaster, Inc.
5300 E Morgan Avenue
Evansville, IN 47715

Jeffersonville, IN

Olde Towne Chimney & Fireplace Sales
915 Nachand Ln
Jeffersonville, IN 47130

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Overland Park, KS

Kansas City Fireplace Center
10470 Metcalf Avenue
Overland Park, KS 66212

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Erlanger, KY

TateBuilder's Supply, LLC
3511 Dixie Highway
Erlanger, KY 41018

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Littleton, MA

Woodstove, Fireplace and Patio Shop, Inc.
60 White Street
Littleton, MA 01460

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Seekonk, MA

The Fireplace Showcase
775 Fall River Ave
Seekonk, MA 02771

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Sudbury, MA

Woodstove, Fireplace and Patio Shop, Inc.
348 Boston Post Road
Sudbury, MA 01776

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Duluth, MN

Duluth Stove & Fireplace
2431 W Superior Street
Duluth, MN 55806

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Minneapolis, MN

Woodland Stoves & Fireplaces
2901 Franklin Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55406

Oakdale, MN

Energy Savers of Minnesota
6298 Highway 36 Blvd N
Oakdale, MN 55128

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Rochester, MN

Brekke Fireplace Shoppe
1904 S. Broadway
Rochester, MN 55904

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Walker, MN

Wilkening Fireplace Company
9608 State 371 NW
Walker, MN 56484

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Fargo, ND

Home Heating, Plumbing & A/C Inc.
701 28th Street South
Fargo, ND 58103

Omaha, NE

Fireplace By Design
13913 R Plaza
Omaha, NE 68137

Epping, NH

The Stove Shoppe
285, Calef Highway Rte. 125
Epping, NH 03042

Windham, NH

The Stove Shoppe
25 Indian Rock Road
Windham, NH 03087

Hamilton, NJ

Bowden's Fireside - Hearth & Home
1731 Nottingham Way
Hamilton, NJ 08619

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Voorhees, NJ

Rettinger Fireplace Systems, Inc.
476 Centennial Blvd
Voorhees, NJ 08043

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St. Henry, OH

Buschur's Refrigeration, Inc.
541 N Eastern Avenue
St. Henry, OH 45883

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Media, PA

Chimney Cricket
101 State Road
Media, PA 19063

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Rapid City, SD

Hebron Brick Company
1543 Deadwood Ave
Rapid City, SD 57709

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Sioux Falls, SD

Hebron Brick Company
2211 W. 50th Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57105-6525

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Vermillion, SD

Kalin's Indoor Comfort Inc.
710 Cottage Avenue
Vermillion, SD 57069

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Manassas, VA

Winston's Chimney Service
11301 Industrial Road
Manassas, VA 20109

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Barre, VT

Chimney Sweep Fireplace Shop
1284 US Rte, 302 Ste 10
Barre, VT 05641-2317

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Bennington, VT

Friends of The Sun
126 Hicks Avenue
Bennington, VT 05201

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Manchester, VT

Friends of The Sun
159 Depot Street
Manchester, VT 05255

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Shelburne, VT

Chimney Sweep Fireplace Shop
3113 Shelburne Road
Shelburne, VT 05482

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White River Jnct, VT

Home Comfort of New England
1255 VA Cut Off Road
White River Jnct, VT 05001

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Burlington, WI

Burlington Fireplace & Heating LLC
857 Milwaukee Ave.
Burlington, WI 53105

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Madison, WI

Top Hat
5117 Verona Rd
Madison, WI 53711

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Morgantown, WV

Rustic By Design
709 Beechurst Ave. Suite 15
Morgantown, WV 26505

Laramie, WY

High Country Stoves & Fireplaces
860 N. 3rd Street
Laramie, WY 82072


For more information, contact your local fireplace and grill store.

2 Responses

  1. DJ
    Thank you for this article. If anyone wants to know about recycling coal smut it can be used to keep saw flies off goose berries and blight off roses. I know: the word COAL usually leads to instant Hissy fits..... Again thank you for this article.
    • Joseph Bodden
      DJ: Thanks for spending some time on WeLoveFire.com. Please tell friends and family members about us!

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