How to Clean and Render Beeswax

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Every beekeeper seems to have a different method for rendering wax. For cleaning the wax from only one or two hives, I use a very simplified process that can be completed in about an hour.

by Sara Paul Raffel

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9.5k Views

Step 1 of 22

A word about beeswax... Anything the wax touches directly will be unusable for other purposes. Use something disposable, like a metal coffee can, or a bowl that will forever be dedicated to rendering.

Step 2 of 22

Place a drop cloth on the floor and some butcher paper on the counter. If you drop any wax, this will make cleaning up infinitely easier. Then, clean and cut off the top of an empty milk carton.

Step 3 of 22

Take the cheesecloth and put it on top of the milk carton. You will want to fold it over a couple times so that there are multiple layers. Use a rubber band to keep it in place.

Step 4 of 22

Gather all of your dirty wax. Here I have a mixture of cappings and chunks of broken comb. There is also a good amount of honey still in there, which will get separated out.

Step 5 of 22

Scoop the wax into a metal bowl or coffee can.

Step 6 of 22

Fill a pot with water, and turn on the flame.

Step 7 of 22

A word about safety... Beeswax is highly flammable. Never heat it directly on an open flame (hence the double boiler), never leave it unattended, and always have a fire extinguisher handy!

Step 8 of 22

Place the bowl of dirty wax on the pot, creating a double boiler. Increase the heat, until the water in the pot comes to a boil. The bowl will get very hot, so wear pot holders when handling it.

Step 9 of 22

The wax will start to melt from the perimeter.

Step 10 of 22

Soon, it will be mostly liquid, except for some big chunks. Remember to check the pot periodically to see if you need to add water.

Step 11 of 22

Continue melting it. The chunks will get smaller and smaller. You can turn up the burner, as long as the actual wax does not begin to boil.

Step 12 of 22

While the wax is melting, I stick the entire milk carton in a plastic bucket. We'll be pouring hot wax into the milk carton and this bucket will catch the leaks and spills.

Step 13 of 22

Make sure there is enough give in the cheesecloth to hold all of the debris. There is probably more debris then you think there will be!

Step 14 of 22

When the wax has completely melted, you will notice that the debris will be on the bottom, and the clear wax will have floated to the top.

Step 15 of 22

Carefully pour the melted wax through the cheesecloth, into the milk carton.

Step 16 of 22

The debris will gather in the cheesecloth, and the melted wax will drop below. Don't worry about any honey that is in the liquid dropping below.

Step 17 of 22

Let the beeswax cool and harden overnight. The pure wax will have floated to the top and hardened. Any honey that was mixed in will be sitting at the bottom.

Step 18 of 22

After waiting patiently for it to harden, rip the milk carton away from the wax.

Step 19 of 22

The block of wax will be sticky with honey on the bottom side.

Step 20 of 22

Gently run the block of wax under warm water to remove the honey.

Step 21 of 22

Place your wax on a scale to see how much you ended up with!

Step 22 of 22

Look at the beautiful golden color! Now it's time to think about what you are going to do with your wax. I think I will make lip balm with it! Stay tuned...

You're Done!

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This guide was made by:

Sara Paul Raffel

San Francisco, California

Following

Librarian, Beekeeper, Gardener, Healthy home cook

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Leave a Comment

I have always purchased several pounds of large blocks wax. Fascinating to have learnt something new! We wanted to raise bees, but unfortunately for us, zoning law wouldn't permit it. Make sure you check zoning laws prior to doing this or raising chicken, hens, roosters for eggs, goats, llama, et. We're currently going on our 2nd year of looking for a house/land that'll allow us to raise what we want! Thanks so very much for showing us how to render wax!

Heidi Feldman last year

Thanks everyone! The first year I kept bees, I did not know what to do with the wax cappings, so I threw them out! I have been kicking myself ever since. Now, I make sure to render it every year, and have come to really enjoy making things from it.

Sara Paul Raffel (author) last year

Would love to see the bee keeping process too... should you be so inclined after you show us how you make lip balm from your wax. I find the entire subject fascinating and yet I know not much about it.. LoL Very cool tutorial, thanks so much for sharing :-)

Shine W last year