How to Clean Beeswax for Candles and Crafts

There are some projects that you know are not going to be particularly easy or tidy, but you want to do them just to have the experience of doing it once or twice. That’s the frame of mind that I approached this project. I had heard that it was very difficult to clean (or “render”) beeswax using used comb or burr comb. But opportunity knocked on my door when my colleague, beekeeper Janet, offered me three big bags of burr comb (I’ll explain what that is below). Given my candlemaking experience, I figured I would try this out and see how it went.

I’m actually super thrilled with the results and all-in-all it wasn’t that hard. It was messy, and potentially dangerous, and now I have several dirty pots, pans, and bowls to deal with. Eh… small price to pay for FREE beeswax for candles and crafts, in my opinion. So, I thought I’d share this process with you and let you decide for yourself whether this project falls in the “maybe in my next lifetime” category.

So first, some warnings:

Warning: This is a messy and potentially dangerous project. Read all the instructions and pay attention to what you’re doing. The owners of this blog will not be held responsible for any damage you may cause to yourself, your belongings, or others. Do not do this project with children.

More specific warning: Beeswax is flammable, so never melt it directly on the stove. Use a doubleboiler as indicated in these instructions. It also gets VERY HOT. Be extra careful when you pour it and really try to do it outside the house. Beeswax is also VERY HARD to get off of surfaces. It’s not impossible, but trust me when I tell you to use pots and bowls that you’re not too concerned about. My suggestion is to go to Goodwill and buy some used pots to use specifically for this purpose

Ok, those of you left reading carry on!

Supplies and Materials

Honeycomb from a beekeeper after the honey has been extracted. This will be gross and dirty

Or

Burr comb. This is comb that the honeybees make to fill in areas of the hive, and they don’t fill it with honey. It’s quite easy for a beekeeper to remove and is cleaner than used comb. This is what I used.

The process is the same for either kind, you’ll just have a lot more gunk to strain out using used comb.

Water

A heat source to boil the comb and water. I did this on my stovetop but I would really recommend doing this outside if you can, using a propane stove like this, which I desperately want to buy after doing this project. If you do it in your kitchen, be very careful not to spill the beeswax and be sure to cover you counter surfaces with a trash bag or something that will protect it.

A screen or strainer to strain the first batch of beeswax. I bought a cheap metal splatter guard and it worked well. Use something that you can throw away afterwards.

Cheesecloth or pantyhose for the final strain.

Silicone molds or a container lined with parchment paper for the final pour. I used silicone molds that are about the size of big ice cubes and it was perfect!

Steps to clean beeswax into usable wax for candles and crafts

1. Fill your pot (not one you like too much) with the comb and you can mash it down or use a knife to cut it up a bit.

2. Add water to cover the comb plus 2 inches more.

3. Bring to a boil and boil vigorously for 30 minutes, being careful not to let it boil over onto the stove.

4. CAREFULLY AND PREFERABLY OUTDOORS, have another big pot ready and position a screen over it. I used a splatter guard that you can use for kitchen chores and it worked well. But you can use a metal strainer or even just a window screen that you don’t care about. Pour all of the contents from the boiling pot into the new pot.

Discard the strained material. This could potentially be flammable so be careful what you do with it. Don’t throw it in the trash and then have the trash near a flame. Duh, right?

Leave the pot for a few hour or overnight, until the beeswax has risen to the top and hardened. This is a great time to make a perfect cup of tea, perhaps, or creating some unique wall art with crystals. Every spare moment of your life can be spent making your space more adorable and livable, or finding ways to live your best life. Don’t just sit around twiddling your thumbs (or god forbid, doing something heinous like working).

5. At this point, the vast majority of gunk should be strained out, but not all of it. Particularly on the underside, you’ll notice it’s still a bit dirty. That’s ok. We will fix that, I promise. Now you want to get a pot on the stove (you can use the same one that you used before). Add a few inches of water to the pot and then position another pot inside as a double boiler. Add your cleaned beeswax to the top of the double boiler (it doesn’t go in the water – you’re melting it in a container above boiling water). You might have to cut the beeswax up to fit into your double boiler.

6. Gently boil until the beeswax is completely melted.

7. Now, get ready to strain it a second time, this time using cheesecloth or pantyhose. I used cheesecloth. It’s not expensive, and you will just throw it out afterwards. I attached my cheesecloth with a rubber band to a large glass measuring cup that I already use for beeswax.

Pour the melted beeswax over the cheesecloth into a vessel that you can use to pour the wax into the mold. I used a glass measuring cup. Once strained, CAREFULLY remove the cheesecloth and discard.

8. Pour the strained, melted beeswax into a container such as a rectangular pan lined with parchment paper, or into molds, ice cube trays, etc. I used a silicone cube tray and it worked amazing, and gave me almost 1 ounce cubes of wax, which will be great for making crafts with, without having to cut beeswax (which is very hard!!)

9. Let it dry and harden, and remove from molds.

Ok, so not a 10 on the easy scale, but not too bad, right? I got 13 ounces of beeswax out of about 2 grocery store plastic bags of burr comb. I’ve used it to make beeswax candles and also plan to make some beeswax wraps that you can use like plastic wrap on your leftovers (tutorials to come!)

Have you ever tried this process? Let us know if you have any more tips in the comments.