How To Clean Beeswax - Melting, Filtering, and Storing

Have you ever seen how they clean beeswax that is taken from the beehives after harvesting honey? In this post we will show you how to remove residues and keep only a clean, beautiful, yellow beeswax bar :) At the end of the post watch our educational video where we show in detail the whole process, which actually is a very simple one.

After centrifugal extraction of honey we obtained about 800g of beeswax. This wax is mixed with remains of honey and impurities, so it needs to be cleaned to be used, for example to make candles, soap,  and other natural products.

The process of cleaning wax involves melting and filtering. If you are curious to know more about beekeeping or are even thinking about starting out as a beekeeper, we will show you step-by-step how to melt, filter, and store beeswax.

Necessary Materials

To Melt

• 1 Large pot

To Filter

• 1 Bucket 
• 1 Cotton cloth
• Clothes pegs (to attach the cloth to the bucket)
• 1 Soup ladle
• 1 Spoon or Spatula
• 2 Pot stands

To Store as a Bar

• 1 Boiler to melt wax
• 1 Large pot
• Silicone molds
• Airtight containers

How To Do It

Melt

1. Place a large pot on the stove.
2. Add water up to 3 to 4 inches in height.
3. Put all the wax in the water. 
4. Wait for the water to start boiling.
5. When it boils, wait 5 minutes and then turn off the heat. 
6. Remove the pan from the heat and place it on top of a pot stand.

Filter

1. If filtering is done on a table or a surface that might be damaged by heat, use another pot stand to place the bucket on top.
2. Secure the cloth to the bucket using clothes pegs. This cloth can be an old t-shirt. It is important that the cloth is made of cotton to ensure a good filtration of impurities.
3. Use a soup ladle to place the liquid gradually on the cloth, so that it is not immediately full of impurities, which will hinder the filtering work. Use a spoon or a spatula to stir the wax and help to filter faster. After filtering, in order not to waste the wax left on the cloth, the process of melting and filtering can be repeated.
4. Allow the wax to cool down in the bucket for 24 hours. If the bucket is on the outside or in a place where debris might fall on top of the wax, a lid should be used.
5. After 24 hours separate the wax from the water, that is, take the wax out of the bucket and discard the water.
6. Wash the wax to remove residues.

Store

1. To make it easier to store and use, break the wax into pieces and melt it again using a boiler that is proper to melt wax.
2. Place the boiler in a hot water bath in a large pot as this kind of boiler has a handle, so it needs some space.
3. After the wax is completely melted pour it into a silicone mold and wait for it to cool down.
4. When the wax is cold, remove the bar from the mold and cut just enough quantity for each use.
5. To cut the bar just use a kitchen knife.
6. The wax must be stored in an well-sealed container, so as not to be attacked by moths, and is kept in a cool, dry place.

With this cleaning process we obtained a 100g bar of beeswax. This was the amount we obtained from one shallow super. The smell of this pure wax is wonderful and we will use this bar to make our homemade natural products.

Just like plants, beekeeping is undoubtedly fascinating! 

To get a better vision of what we just explained, check out our educational video. If you haven't subscribed to our YouTube channel yet, take the opportunity to do so if you don't want to miss any of our videos.

VIDEO - How To Clean Beeswax