Making ash lye and learning from mistakes

I believe this is the first or second time I’ve posted in this community, so greetings to everyone this September. I hope you are all calm, healthy, and happy—especially happy, since happiness allows us to focus on our own lives and be highly productive.

As I mentioned in a previous post where I made a natural cleaner, one of my concerns is the polluting and toxic nature of the cleaning products I use at home. This worry stems from having pets (a dog and cats) and the presence of many bees inside my house—yes, I have several stingless bee nests not only in the garden and patio but also inside the house, right in the doorways to the rooms. Consequently, I try to use the least harsh products possible, and one such alternative is wood ash lye.

I have made wood ash lye before, but I did so intuitively—without properly measuring proportions or allowing the product to sit for the right amount of time—so the resulting lye’s cleaning power was far from optimal. Furthermore, obtaining clean wood ash—produced without the use of any accelerants—is very difficult; people who cook with wood often add such agents, which ruins the lye and renders the ash unsuitable for use in the vegetable garden.

However, about a month ago, my friend Ismael—who sadly passed away tragically just a few days ago—gave me approximately 4 kilos of clean, pure wood ash, ideal for use in the garden and for making lye. So, ten days ago, I set out to make lye—but in a more proper way—and to document the process. This allowed me to obtain a high-quality product, though I also made mistakes during the preparation that have served as a learning experience for the future.

Based on my online research, I found that the ideal amount of ash to produce 1 liter of lye is 300 to 350 grams of wood ash per liter of water; therefore, to obtain one liter of lye, you need the following materials:

• 300 grams of clean wood ash, free of contaminants such as accelerants, charcoal, etc.

• 1 liter of clean water.

• 1 glass or plastic container, large enough to hold the mixture while it rests.

• 1 stirring tool, made of wood or plastic. Don't make the mistake I did of using a random branch or a piece of particleboard to stir, as it will ruin the product.

• 1 container for straining the mixture.

• 1 piece of linen or fine cloth to act as a strainer.

• 1 piece of string to tie the cloth.

• 1 bottle to store the resulting lye.

The process is very simple: just add the ash to the water, stir well, cover the container (you can use a bag), and let it sit for several days, stirring the mixture daily. In my case, the mixture sat for 10 days, but you can let it sit for 3 to 7 days. This is where I made the first mistake: I used a branch to stir the mixture, and the branch shed small particles that remained in the liquid.

Once the time has passed, you can uncover the mixture and strain the lye using the cloth. I made two more mistakes here: The first is that it is not advisable to stir right before straining, as the ash remains suspended in the liquid and slows down the straining process. The second mistake was using this piece of particleboard (I thought it was a piece of solid wood), which practically disintegrated in the lye and stained it a yellowish color. The lye should be as clear as water, provided you use clean ash, as I did. In the photos, you can see how that stirrer turned out.

Next, it's time to bottle the product, and it's ready. I used an empty vinegar bottle. I will use this bleach only for cleaning floors and walls, as I don't think it is suitable for laundry given the color it has taken on. I will certainly keep the outcome in mind so as not to repeat the same mistakes in the future.

The remaining ash will serve as fertilizer and insecticide for my plants; in fact, I plan to dilute the lye in water and spray the vine in the indoor garden, which is suffering from a severe infestation—I think using it as an insecticide will be effective.