by Texas Homesteader ~
How do we easily start a fire in our fireplace? I’m sharing step by step instructions to make easy homemade FIRE STARTERS using cardboard egg cartons, natural fiber dryer lint or fabric scraps & melted wax.
(Note: Some links in this post will take you to other related articles for further information. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click and buy something I could receive a tiny commission.)
I’ve seen these homemade fire starters before, it’s not a new concept. But I make them for use in our fireplace. They make starting the fire a breeze.
Making these easy fire starters requires only 3 simple items:
Let me show you how easy these fire starters are to make…
When making fire starters from dryer lint you need to make sure the content is natural fiber since some synthetic fabric fibers like polyester or microfiber fleece don’t burn well.
We don’t use our dryer often because that lint pulled from the lint trap is actually our clothing being beat up and broken down by the dryer.
But occasionally we’ll dry a load of 100% cotton denim jeans. That’s when that dryer lint will actually serve a purpose!
Instead of dryer lint you can use small scraps of natural-fiber material for your homemade fire starters. I often use small scraps cut from RancherMan’s torn jeans to fill those cardboard egg cups.
I’m forever making things out of his old worn jeans like my favorite no-sew pocket coasters or rustic denim gift bags. So I’ve always got small scraps of denim left.
Remember what I always say: “Use whatcha GOT!” Just make sure to use natural fibers for best results.
It’s easy to assemble homemade fire starters:
You’re done!
Wax is obviously flammable. So it’s safer to use a double-boiler system to melt it.
But whatever you use to hold your melted wax will be near impossible to clean again. So here’s how I made my double boiler:
I took the largest tin can I could find. Using a pair of pliers I fashioned a small pour spout.
For the wax it’s cheapest to just use old candle wax from candles that no longer burn. Colored or scented, it doesn’t matter, but pillars that aren’t contained in a glass container were easiest to work with.
I chipped up the wax and placed it inside the can, placed the can in a pan of water and turned on the stove burner.
As the water slowly heated up, the wax melted beautifully.
Now comes the scary part – dealing with a hot can filled with hot melted wax and trying to transfer said wax from tin can to little egg cups.
To assure I was protected from the hot metal. I used my *hot jar gripper to grip the hot metal can.
Then I used a pair of pliers to firmly hold the can & help me pour slowly and steadily.
Hot wax can burn badly. But by going slowly and staying careful and focused I was able to easily pour this hot melted wax into each of the egg cups.
(For safety: no kids, pets or distractions in the kitchen until after the hot stuff is done!)
I’d placed my egg carton on a piece of newspaper in case the hot melted wax oozed out of the cardboard. (Spoiler Alert: It DID!)
I also placed the newspaper/egg carton on an old cookie sheet to contain any melted wax.
The wax did slightly melt through the cardboard egg carton and onto the newspaper beneath it. So it was a good thing I took these preemptive steps.
After the wax cooled I broke apart each of the cups I placed my homemade fire starters in a chunky metal pitcher we keep near the fireplace.
There’s nothing quite like staying toasty-warm in the blustery winter months with the help of a roaring fire.
(remember: Fire Safety First – read my recent post about the importance of regular chimney cleaning)
We have a beautiful freestanding antique Franklin-style cast iron fireplace. I absolutely love it.
Without a gas fire starter it often takes a little longer to get the fire started. But these homemade firestarters make starting that fire fast and easy.
To use our homemade fire starters RancherMan places one of the cups directly onto one of the logs in the fireplace to fully utilize the ignition power of these little gems and then he lights the fire starter and places smaller kindling-type wood on top.
The firestarter catches fire easily and the flames reach up through the other logs and start our fire without any other assistance from us.
RancherMan’s words to me were “Wow, that’s easy. Can you make me a bunch of these??”
Again please remember that I’m sharing a procedure that works well at our homestead. This project worked beautifully for us. We’ve never experienced any wax buildup in our fireplace nor any negative results at all.
But there are lots of variables. Starting a fire in your fireplace should always be done with the utmost fire safety in mind.
So if you decide to give it a try you’ll be doing so at your own risk. Please do your research & make sure it’s the best thing for your home too.
But I’ll always make sure these fire starters stand ready for our cold-weather fires at our homestead!
~TxH~
This post categorized in
All ‘Use Whatcha Got’ Posts
C’mon by & sit a spell! Come hang out at our Facebook Page. It’s like sitting in a front porch rocker with a glass of cold iced tea. There are lots of good folks sharing! And you can also follow along on Pinterest, on Twitter or on Instagram.
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How do we easily start a fire in our fireplace? I’m sharing step by step instructions to make easy homemade FIRE STARTERS using cardboard egg cartons, natural fiber dryer lint or fabric scraps & melted wax.
Table of Contents
- Homemade Fire Starters To More Easily Start A Fire
- Simple Materials For Homemade Fire Starters
- Drier Lint For Fire Starters – Only Natural Fabrics
- Using Fabric Scraps For Fire Starters
- Assembling My Homemade Fire Starters
- Safely Melt Wax Using Homemade Double Boiler
- How To Safely Pour Hot Melted Wax
- Tips For Containing Leaked Wax
- Homemade FireStarters. DONE!
- Starting A Fire In The Fireplace Without Gas Log Starter
- Using Homemade Fire Starters In Our Fireplace
- Use Your Best Judgement
- Other ‘Use Whatcha Got’ Ideas
(Note: Some links in this post will take you to other related articles for further information. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click and buy something I could receive a tiny commission.)
Homemade Fire Starters To More Easily Start A Fire
I’ve seen these homemade fire starters before, it’s not a new concept. But I make them for use in our fireplace. They make starting the fire a breeze.
Simple Materials For Homemade Fire Starters
Making these easy fire starters requires only 3 simple items:
Cardboard such as egg cartons, toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls.
Dryer lint or small cotton scraps (see note below regarding dryer lint)
Melted wax such as old used candles.
Let me show you how easy these fire starters are to make…
Drier Lint For Fire Starters – Only Natural Fabrics
When making fire starters from dryer lint you need to make sure the content is natural fiber since some synthetic fabric fibers like polyester or microfiber fleece don’t burn well.
We don’t use our dryer often because that lint pulled from the lint trap is actually our clothing being beat up and broken down by the dryer.
But occasionally we’ll dry a load of 100% cotton denim jeans. That’s when that dryer lint will actually serve a purpose!
Using Fabric Scraps For Fire Starters
Instead of dryer lint you can use small scraps of natural-fiber material for your homemade fire starters. I often use small scraps cut from RancherMan’s torn jeans to fill those cardboard egg cups.
I’m forever making things out of his old worn jeans like my favorite no-sew pocket coasters or rustic denim gift bags. So I’ve always got small scraps of denim left.
Remember what I always say: “Use whatcha GOT!” Just make sure to use natural fibers for best results.
Assembling My Homemade Fire Starters
It’s easy to assemble homemade fire starters:
Tuck natural fiber dryer lint or fabric scraps into cardboard cups.
Pour melted wax onto natural fibers, evenly coating the top.
Cool overnight
If using egg cartons, pull apart individual fire starters
You’re done!
Safely Melt Wax Using Homemade Double Boiler
Wax is obviously flammable. So it’s safer to use a double-boiler system to melt it.
But whatever you use to hold your melted wax will be near impossible to clean again. So here’s how I made my double boiler:
I took the largest tin can I could find. Using a pair of pliers I fashioned a small pour spout.
For the wax it’s cheapest to just use old candle wax from candles that no longer burn. Colored or scented, it doesn’t matter, but pillars that aren’t contained in a glass container were easiest to work with.
I chipped up the wax and placed it inside the can, placed the can in a pan of water and turned on the stove burner.
As the water slowly heated up, the wax melted beautifully.
How To Safely Pour Hot Melted Wax
Now comes the scary part – dealing with a hot can filled with hot melted wax and trying to transfer said wax from tin can to little egg cups.
To assure I was protected from the hot metal. I used my *hot jar gripper to grip the hot metal can.
Then I used a pair of pliers to firmly hold the can & help me pour slowly and steadily.
Hot wax can burn badly. But by going slowly and staying careful and focused I was able to easily pour this hot melted wax into each of the egg cups.
(For safety: no kids, pets or distractions in the kitchen until after the hot stuff is done!)
Tips For Containing Leaked Wax
I’d placed my egg carton on a piece of newspaper in case the hot melted wax oozed out of the cardboard. (Spoiler Alert: It DID!)
I also placed the newspaper/egg carton on an old cookie sheet to contain any melted wax.
The wax did slightly melt through the cardboard egg carton and onto the newspaper beneath it. So it was a good thing I took these preemptive steps.
Homemade FireStarters. DONE!
After the wax cooled I broke apart each of the cups I placed my homemade fire starters in a chunky metal pitcher we keep near the fireplace.
Starting A Fire In The Fireplace Without Gas Log Starter
There’s nothing quite like staying toasty-warm in the blustery winter months with the help of a roaring fire.
(remember: Fire Safety First – read my recent post about the importance of regular chimney cleaning)
We have a beautiful freestanding antique Franklin-style cast iron fireplace. I absolutely love it.
Without a gas fire starter it often takes a little longer to get the fire started. But these homemade firestarters make starting that fire fast and easy.
Using Homemade Fire Starters In Our Fireplace
To use our homemade fire starters RancherMan places one of the cups directly onto one of the logs in the fireplace to fully utilize the ignition power of these little gems and then he lights the fire starter and places smaller kindling-type wood on top.
The firestarter catches fire easily and the flames reach up through the other logs and start our fire without any other assistance from us.
RancherMan’s words to me were “Wow, that’s easy. Can you make me a bunch of these??”
Use Your Best Judgement
Again please remember that I’m sharing a procedure that works well at our homestead. This project worked beautifully for us. We’ve never experienced any wax buildup in our fireplace nor any negative results at all.
But there are lots of variables. Starting a fire in your fireplace should always be done with the utmost fire safety in mind.
So if you decide to give it a try you’ll be doing so at your own risk. Please do your research & make sure it’s the best thing for your home too.
But I’ll always make sure these fire starters stand ready for our cold-weather fires at our homestead!
~TxH~
This post categorized in
Other ‘Use Whatcha Got’ Ideas
Outdoors & Garden
- Make A Cute Porch Lantern
- Predator Guard For Our Martin House
- Trick Birds Away From Garden Strawberries
- How Leaves Greatly Benefit Your Garden
- Protecting Tender Seedlings
- Assuring Safety Around An Underground Cistern
Indoors & Décor
Cleaning & Organization
- Safer Straight-Pin Storage
- Finding Free Storage Lids For Canning Jars
- Tame Electrical Cords
- Save Your Fingernails When Cleaning
- MYO Chalkboard Labels
- Keeping Boots Stored Neatly
Misc
All ‘Use Whatcha Got’ Posts
C’mon by & sit a spell! Come hang out at our Facebook Page. It’s like sitting in a front porch rocker with a glass of cold iced tea. There are lots of good folks sharing! And you can also follow along on Pinterest, on Twitter or on Instagram.
If you’d like to receive an email each time a new blog post goes live it’s EASY to subscribe to our blog!