I found this at:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/phot...336142,00.html
Since it is a stupid slideshow, I copied the text:
1. Nourish Your Compost Heap: Mix charcoal into your compost pile to increase its carbon content.
(If the pile smells like ammonia, it needs carbon.)
2. Disguise an Imperfection: Rub charcoal onto scratches on dark wood floors and furniture to
temporarily "stain" them until you have time for a real repair job.
3. Keep Air Fresh: Place charcoal, in open bowls or perforated plastic bags, in your fridge or drawers
to banish odors.
4. Make Cut Flowers Last Longer: Put a lump of charcoal beneath the cut stems in a vase to help the water
stay clean and clear.
5. Use it as Mulch: Break charcoal into chunks about 1 inch in diameter and spread them on beds or
beneath bushes to keep soil moist and suppress weeds.
6. Entertain Kids (or Adults): Use a piece of charcoal to draw hopscotch squares or other game templates on your sidewalk. Wash away the marks with a quick squirt from your hose.
7. Keep Driveway Deicers from Clumping: Before storing rock salt and sand to use this winter, mix a few lumps of charcoal
into the bag or bucket. They'll soak up dampness and prevent these materials from freezing or caking together.
8. Decorate Your Yard: Turn lumps of charcoal into a scare- crow's eyes for Halloween or a snowman's face in wintertime.
9. Help Potted Orchids Grow: These bloomers benefit from charcoal's alkalinity. Mix small pieces with your potting medium (e.g., bark or wood chunks) to nourish the flowers.
10. Keep Rust Off Tools: Place a few lumps of charcoal in your tool box to absorb moisture and keep the metal from oxidizing.
NOTE: I also searched for other uses for Charcoal Ash, but there really aren't any other than:
1. Killing weeds or grass - some have spread charcoal ash on the perimeter of their grass or in between pavers / stones where they don't want grass to grow.
2. Shoving down gopher, mole, or other burrowing rodent holes to run them off.
3. Killing garden slugs if sprinkled on the perimeter of a garden.
4. Making lye for homemade soap. http://www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com/make-lye.html
I was thinking about mixing my ash in garden soil, but evidently it throws the Ph of the soil way off and will most likely stunt or kill any plants.
Also if you use lighter fluid or Match-Light pre-soaked briquettes the ash is especially toxic and harmful -- just more proof that lighter fluid is bad news.
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/phot...336142,00.html
Since it is a stupid slideshow, I copied the text:
1. Nourish Your Compost Heap: Mix charcoal into your compost pile to increase its carbon content.
(If the pile smells like ammonia, it needs carbon.)
2. Disguise an Imperfection: Rub charcoal onto scratches on dark wood floors and furniture to
temporarily "stain" them until you have time for a real repair job.
3. Keep Air Fresh: Place charcoal, in open bowls or perforated plastic bags, in your fridge or drawers
to banish odors.
4. Make Cut Flowers Last Longer: Put a lump of charcoal beneath the cut stems in a vase to help the water
stay clean and clear.
5. Use it as Mulch: Break charcoal into chunks about 1 inch in diameter and spread them on beds or
beneath bushes to keep soil moist and suppress weeds.
6. Entertain Kids (or Adults): Use a piece of charcoal to draw hopscotch squares or other game templates on your sidewalk. Wash away the marks with a quick squirt from your hose.
7. Keep Driveway Deicers from Clumping: Before storing rock salt and sand to use this winter, mix a few lumps of charcoal
into the bag or bucket. They'll soak up dampness and prevent these materials from freezing or caking together.
8. Decorate Your Yard: Turn lumps of charcoal into a scare- crow's eyes for Halloween or a snowman's face in wintertime.
9. Help Potted Orchids Grow: These bloomers benefit from charcoal's alkalinity. Mix small pieces with your potting medium (e.g., bark or wood chunks) to nourish the flowers.
10. Keep Rust Off Tools: Place a few lumps of charcoal in your tool box to absorb moisture and keep the metal from oxidizing.
NOTE: I also searched for other uses for Charcoal Ash, but there really aren't any other than:
1. Killing weeds or grass - some have spread charcoal ash on the perimeter of their grass or in between pavers / stones where they don't want grass to grow.
2. Shoving down gopher, mole, or other burrowing rodent holes to run them off.
3. Killing garden slugs if sprinkled on the perimeter of a garden.
4. Making lye for homemade soap. http://www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com/make-lye.html
I was thinking about mixing my ash in garden soil, but evidently it throws the Ph of the soil way off and will most likely stunt or kill any plants.
Also if you use lighter fluid or Match-Light pre-soaked briquettes the ash is especially toxic and harmful -- just more proof that lighter fluid is bad news.
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