How to Clean Beeswax
Pauline Aslin
Having harvested your beeswax how do you clean it in order to use it?
I USE a lot of beeswax sources are blended then unrefined beeswax’ and WASH
for candles and polish, thoroughly cleaned and gleefully point out anybleached using equipment flecks of pollen. They may Beeswax will normally
soaps and skin creams, not readily available in the not win prizes but they contain some honey.
and have worked out average domestic kitchen. sell well! Fortunately honey
how to clean it over the This refined beeswax will dissolves readily in water
years, first by asking be free of contaminants WASH, MELT AND and so can be washed off.
other beekeepers for such as honey, pollen and STRAIN However, tap water often
their advice and then by propolis and will have lost contains calcium saltsThe theory behind
much of its color and which can react with thetrial and error. cleaning beeswax is very
odor. beeswax. A quick wash in
I am grateful to those simple: wash, melt and tap water to removeWhen cleaning your own
readers who responded to strain. The fun comes excess honey will not give beeswax at home the
my request for information when trying to carry out the calcium salts time tofinished product is very
in the November 2007 Bee these tasks with whatever react but if you feel yourlikely to contain small
Craft. I hope the methods equipment you have to wax needs soaking, thenflecks of pollen and
outlined below will prove hand. use rain water. propolis and even some
useful to those who want honey. You keep repeating There is no magic solution Old brood frames can be
to try cleaning and using the cleaning process until to the challenge and I soaked in rain water
their own beeswax. your beeswax is as clean doubt it is possible to before putting them into a
REFINED OR as you want it to be. clean beeswax without solar wax extractor. This
UNREFINED? making a mess. not only removes honeyBeeswax can be bleached
but also soaks into theby leaving it in sunlight Utensils and equipment
I would like to distinguish cocoons so that when thebut it will also lose some are unlikely to be useable
between cleaning and wax is melted in the solararoma this way. for another purpose ever
refining. For many wax extractor, less wax isPersonally, I like a little again and the working
commercial applications it absorbed by them andcolor and beeswax scent area will be spattered with
is important that the therefore more wax isto my candles. I like to be drops of beeswax at the
beeswax used is the extracted.able to offer my customers very least. I’ve invested in
same, batch after batch. candles in a range of a couple of plastic trays I do not recommend you
To this end, large colors from near-white to from a garden center and wash your cappings as
quantities of beeswax orange. I label my candles they do very well to catch they will contain a large
from a number of different ‘made from natural, much of my mess. amount of very good
Uncapping honeyed frames
over a sieve catches the
cappings and allows honey
to drain off
Straining molten beeswax
Pouring the wax into
molds
(Photos: Pauline Aslin)
Bee Craft America May 2009 Page 19
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