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October 14, 2010
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Southeastern, New Hampshire
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Picked Scouringrush Horsetail to use as a pot and pan scrubber. The silica crystals
in the stem were traditionally used for scouring. I tried it on dirty pots, a wooden
spoon and glass bowls and it worked extremely well and it kept working without any
loss of scrubbing capability.
I saved some Scouringrush Horsetail so I can lash it together and try to make a
more stable “scouring pad.” Also, I want to repeatedly reuse the stems
to see how long they last.
In Japan, the stems are boiled and then used as fine sandpaper to finish furniture
and other workworking projects. Reportedly, the Scouring Rush Horsetail works better
than fine sandpaper to provide a smooth finish. I boiled up the stems, but I don’t
know what to do with them next. I’ll try letting them dry, lashing them together
(or perhaps cutting them into flatter pieces) and then using on a piece of red oak that
I recently finished with natural stain and resin.
The picture on the lower right shows two bundles of Scouringrush Horsetail. The bundle
on the left was used for washing dishes, especially pots/pans. The bundle on the right
was in boiling water for 20 minutes and then dried for a day. I used it as fine sandpaper
on a piece of finished wood.
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