How to Wash Beeswax Cappings

Beeswax cappings seal a honeycomb so it can hold honey.

You can remove the honeycomb and insect fragments from beeswax cappings for a purified natural wax. Beeswax cappings are the sheets of wax cut off the comb when you harvest the honey. Most beekeepers use heated knives to remove the wax cap and expose the stored honey. You can form clean beeswax into candles or use it in a variety of household applications. Refine the wax caps during honey collection to get the most out of your bee colony.

Things You'll Need

• Stainless steel pot
• Colander
• Wash tub
• Flour sack or tea towels

Instructions

1. Break the cappings into chunks that fit inside a stainless steel pot. Add water to the wax until most of the wax chunks are floating.

2. Heat the water and beeswax over a stove burner set to medium-low until all the wax has melted. Turn off the burner. Allow the water to cool until the beeswax congeals into a solid mass.

3. Lift the hardened beeswax out of the water. Discard the water and rinse the pot. Break the capping wax back into chunks in the same pot.

4. Add clean water until the wax chunks begin to float. Return the steel pot to a medium-low burner until the wax has fully melted.

5. Lower a colander into a clean washtub large enough to contain all off the beeswax and water mixture. Line the colander with a flour sack or tightly woven tea towel. Pour all of the hot water and wax through the lined strainer and into the washtub.

6. Remove the beeswax from the washtub once it cools and solidifies. Knead the wax inside clean and dry towels to remove excess moisture. Leave the beeswax uncovered in a well-ventilated room for several days until it has fully dried.

Tips & Warnings

• Melt the cleaned wax in a double boiler so you can pour it into molds. Double boilers use steam to evenly heat the upper vessel and melt the wax.

References

• Majestic Mountain Sage: Tips & Hints: Cleaning Beeswax
• Local Harvest: Beeswax and Beeswax Candles