How to make homemade fire starters that'll get your fire crackling immediately. 3 different ways to make fire starters with lint, wax, sawdust, belly button lint ... whatever you have on hand. They'll start with one match and burn for 10 minutes.
Why go to the trouble of making fire starters? I mean, that seems like a pain. You’re probably wondering when exactly would any normal human being ever need a fire starter. I'd like to address this with my comprehensive list of possible scenarios where a person might need to use a fire starter:
- When they want to light something on fire.
I make a few versions of homemade fire starters because apparently I like to light things on fire, and I like to have things burst into flames, with ease. Most of the time I just buy my fire starters at my local dollar store but sometimes I run out and need to make some.
If you want to make some too, press on and make your own DIY fire starters. Here are the 3 types of fire starters you can use as campfire starters or for wood burning fireplaces.
Table of Contents
Fire Starter Squares
Burn time: 4 minutes
Materials
- Paraffin wax or candle stubs
- Sawdust
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment paper
Instructions
- Chop your wax up so it will melt more quickly. Melt it in a double boiler or in everyone's favourite coffee warmer; the microwave.
- I create a makeshift double boiler for melting wax by putting a metal can inside a small pot with water in the bottom of it. Put your wax inside the can and simmer the water on the stove, gently melting the wax without ruining your pot.
2. Line a baking pan with parchment paper, tin foil or plastic wrap and then fill it with sawdust. Pack the sawdust down a bit with the palms of your hands.
3. Drizzle your melted wax over the entire tray.
4. Let it sit until it's hardened and then cut into squares.
They look just like a delicious caramel dessert.
Now is probably a good time to say don’t feed these to your children or leave them out where children will feed themselves with them. It’s not gonna kill ’em or anything, it’d just be embarrassing for you if they said they were the best dessert you’ve ever made.
I go through 7 face cords of wood every year so I also go through a LOT of fire starters. Here's my post on how to stack wood so it's tidy and doesn't fall over.
Egg Carton Campfire Starters
Burn time: 9 minutes.
Materials
- Cardboard egg carton
- Parrafin Wax or candle stubs
- Sawdust, wood chips, cotton balls, dryer lint, belly button lint and/or paper towels
Instructions
- Shove whatever you have on hand in the cups of a cardboard egg carton. Lint, sawdust, wood chips, cotton balls or paper towels.
- Chop your wax up so it will melt more quickly. Melt it in a double boiler or in everyone's favourite coffee warmer; the microwave.
- Place your egg carton onto a baking sheet lined with tin foil or a surface you can easily scrape wax drips off of.
- Pour wax into each egg carton cup, let them harden and then pull them apart into individual cups.
These suckers will light up with one match.
Easy Homemade Fire Starters.
Burn time: 5 minutes
These don't burn as long or as easily, but they DO work and you can whip a couple of them up in only a second.
Materials
- Cardboard egg carton
- Candle stubs
- Dryer lint
Instructions
- Stick a candle stub into the cup of an egg carton.
- Pack dryer lint around the stub.
- Sprinkle chopped up wax on top of the lint. (optional - helps it to burn better)
Homemade Fire starters
Make a bunch of fire starters out of an egg carton, lint and some melted wax. They light easily and burn for almost 10 minutes.
Materials
- Paraffin wax or candle stubs
- Sawdust
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment paper
Tools
- No special tools required.
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or tin foil or plastic wrap).
- Fill the tray with sawdust and press it down with the palms of your hands.
- Melt wax in a double boiler
- Pour melted wax over sawdust distributing it evenly.
- When the wax has hardened, cut into squares.
Notes
To create a make shift double boiler that'll save your pots, place a tin can inside a pot that has 1" of water in the bottom. Fill can with wax then gently heat the pot over low heat until the wax is melted.
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mollydolittle
Ok, that works, but too much work for me. I liked the method you posted in "How to build a fire"..much easier.
Kim Merry
I have made these as well, I use old scented candle pieces to melt over them. They smell nice too!
Nicole2
Karen, do you have to buy empty egg cartons, since I'm sure you haven't bought eggs in forever?
Karen
Nicole2 - Heh. People bring me egg cartons now so I have them when people need eggs and forget to bring me their baskets. (I give everyone a small wicker basket for their eggs and when they want some, they're to bring it to my house and I fill it) ~ karen
Elizabeth
I have made these before but the wax? Not so good for the chimney.
Now I use just the dryer lint or just the egg carton.
Karen
Elizabeth - For what it's worth ... I actually wondered about wax starters so I asked my chimney sweet about these a couple of years ago (actually the sawdust and wax starters that you buy at the store) and he said they're fine. The wax burns off just like it does with a candle so it's not like your chimney gets coated in wax. ~ karen
LS Nelson
That's comforting to know (because my gut was screaming that it can't be okay to burn wax in a woodstove) but what about the plastic fibres in the dryer lint from fleece and anything else that might have polyester in it? I try to avoid buying or using fleece but I do have some (from before I realized it's made of plastic) and I don't think I'm going to remember what's in each laundry load so I can sort my lint.
Phyllis
Not only are you clever...but hilarious too!! Is the "fella" missing a red sweater...only you could come up with fashionable/designer lint!..Thanks for the recipe and the giggle!!
Denise
Wow, not only are you clever, but your audience ain't bad either! I'm pulling out this idea when milder weather comes and we start using the outdoor wood burner. It can be a pain to start and this sounds like just the ticket ... not to mention the fun putting it together. Thanks. I am a recent fan and look forward to your blog every morning!
Bev
I save the dryer lint for my hubby, but it doesn't always "take". Now, I have a plan! Go to the dollar store ;)
Brenda j
You forget to mention Darned purdy too! hahahahaha...ooops sorry; too much laughter here.
Gayla T
This is just a great idea I had forgotten all about. Now I need a tutorial on making a fireplace. I'm serious. My new old house doesn't have one and I miss it. I have a window at the north end of my living room that is totally useless and would be a perfect place for one. I've been looking at the fake ones which would fit great but I don't know if I'd like fake fire. It would be a lot cleaner. I'm torn.
Richard Silk
REAL fireplace -- fake ones are undergoing regulation by Obama (in the USA) with ridiculous restrictions. Before you know it they may even try to regulate the fireplace itself.
Phoenix
I love love love your firestarters! However, hubby would be dissappointed in me if I started using props to start fires. We live in South Africa, where a good fire is essential for an evening with friends. He taught me how to build a fire from scratch, starting small, talking to it, loving it and making it promises we both know I will never keep. But it works! I can now start a fire with wet wood, a bit of kindling and nothing else.
That said, I am going to try these starters. Just because sometimes a girl must rebel!
Barbie
.....again! Why or Why don't we have a wood burning fireplace??? However we are putting a fire pit in outside sooooooo I will be needing something like this! I will have to try them...of course they would also be awesome to take on a camping trip.
Julie shinnick
Cool! Fire! Good to know just in case they outlaw the manufacture of firelighters for some silly reason!
Leena
What happened to the cover of the egg carton? Couldn't you just shred that and use it instead of lint or cotton. Just to simplify the recipe.
Gail
Someone said the carton will leak (haven't tried this yet) and to use the lid to sit the bottom in to catch the leaks/stains, etc. I would throw the lid on the fire too.
Gail
I am now on my second batch of these!! Every time my fire goes out in my insert, I use one and it works every time! I did use the lid under the carton and no stains. Also, went out and gathered pine needles in addition to the other suggestions!
Another thing I learned was to cut up the wick that is in the candle and stick a small piece in the wax while it's still warm.
Jenny
Now I wish I had a fireplace. That's one drawback of living in Arizona...there's a definite lack of need for one.
becky mercado
Yeah...great explanation. I think my town has more Dollar Stores than McDonalds ... though it's close. Hate bugles ... but I buy those dollar pool noodles for wreaths. Back to the point. I start my fireplace with a gas jet and a match and whoosh. Much easier. Maybe most people don't have jets ... hmm.... stuff u learn on the internet. Yeah... you proved you could do it .... did do it... but hey...too much work. Go back to the dollar store.
becky@reinventingtheinventory.com
Liz E.
Definitely a Girl Scouting classic. But I love how colorful your lint is--makes these look so upscale compared to my drab light blue-gray ones.
lindyb
I thought the same thing - 'Her dryer lint is pretty!'
Jeneen
Karen,
I have never heard of this...what a great idea!!! This is so cool!!! I wondered if I could post your article on my blog, giving you credit of course, and share with my readers. I absolutely love this!!! Thank you so much for sharing this. We recently tried to start a fire in our new firepit to do s'mores, after many many tries, it finally started. Wish I had known about this little trick then and it would have been a lot easier.
Richard Silk
"New" fire pit? Outdoors? #1 issue with fireplaces and pits -- ventilation. To work *well* a fire needs a way to suck air up from beneath the flames (hence the need for fireplace irons.) If using a recessed pit that's dug into the earth, or lined with bricks, you need to design either 1) a cross-stacked wood pattern or 2) some form of *lower* grille (barbeque style) for the fuel/wood to rest upon. Just remember: fires burn from the *bottom up* -- not the top down.
Lori
Not really true. Did you ever see a "council Fire", burns from the top down.
Really great !!!!
Richard Silk
Certainly! I've built *many* of them in years gone by on my former property. You are apparently missing the point of burning from the "bottom up": if there is no room for air to arise from beneath the flames, the fire will have a very difficult time burning, as opposed to providing air flow *from the bottom up.* Example: say you have a *thick* bed of ash (I used to cook in the yard over simple fires built with scavenged dead wood) and you try building a fire by laying wood into the ash -- you'll have a very difficult time lighting it because the ash blocks the air flow beneath. By putting down bricks (or rocks) and cross-stacking wood *above* these pillars (or simply building a council fire) the air flowing from beneath will provide much better fuel (oxygen) to the wood. Fire burns from the *bottom* up.
Another example: with a simple grass fire or other surface fires (like a stove top) you will not put it out by attacking the flames at the top -- you put fire out by smothering it at the *base* of the flames, which is why they advise on fire extinguisher labels to aim at the "base" of the flames, not the tops.
Lori
Sorry, I'm not missing the point at all.
The type of council fire I was referring to is a four sided pyramid
with a flat top, some as high as 5 feet. Large diameter logs are started
at the base and from there the diameter of the logs decrease.
The fire is ALWAYS IGNITED/LIT FROM THE TOP AND IT BURNS
DOWM. There is always oxygen entering between the logs as they
obviously have not been " Chinked." These type were used by Native
Americans in the midwest. I am not sure if any tribes west of the
Mississippi used that style.
I was a volunteer firefighter and most recently a Fire Life Safety
instructor in commercial High Rise buildings.
I have used and am certified to refill all types of extinguishers, from
the old vintage sodas to dry, Co2 and Halon so I do know how to
operate them. FYI the term you referred to when using a fire extinguisher
is P.A.S.S.
Robert
Yes..I have used these for all nights fire as well...I learned them as "Upside down fires"..big on top, small on the bottom,,,I have had one 5 feet tall burn 5-6 hours with any need to tinker with it...
Great reflector fire!!!!!
Thank you
Robert
Courtney
Another volunteer firefighter here. My favorite part of basic training was fire science. The flames seem to only go upward because heat rises, but the base of the fire (and therefore the flames) can go anywhere with oxygen. Solid objects like logs actually go straight to gas form when they burn, which is why flames look like they're hovering. For a small fire, the standard pyramid stack should work. If a log or two fall in ash, they'll be fine. You just have to make sure there's airflow through the fire, but not so much that it can't light. Air doesn't have to come from underneath either. Wood that is too wet or new, wind, using too much or bad gasoline/lighter fluid can also cause problems with lighting if you're still having trouble with it. Hope that helps clear some things up!
Tricia Rose
I have been using cardboard egg cartons tout simple as firelighters for years and they work fine - do I have to try harder now? Mind you I do have A LOT of lint...
Marti
Finally... a use for dryer lint!
I need a cleverer name. Itchbay got it all, though. Karen, do you Ravelry?
Karen
I've browsed a bit on it, but I wouldn't say I'm active. No time. ~ k!
Marti
Darn. I figured you might have great knitting ideas, too.
Karen
I used to knit a lot. Then I stopped. Now I'm starting again. No brilliant knitting ideas though other than your basic ... knit a row, pearl a row, knit a row, pearl a row with a bunch of other stuff in between. ~ karen
Dina
You can also use dryer lint for your compost bin.
Gail
Yes, I have been using my dryer lint in compost. Going to give these fire starters a try as I do alot of camping and have a wood stove at home.
itchbay
Ha ha! This one of the three things I learned in my ONE YEAR as a Girl Scout in the 6th grade. (I lived in a very small town, and that was the only year we could actually find someone to be our guide.) Except we used dryer lint.
Karen
itchbay - I used dryer lint! Didn't you see? I used all sorts of different things. And all of them worked. ~ karen!
Laura
I give beribboned egg trays of these starters as gifts. I've never had one returned :)
Kristin
We used rolled up cardboard in a tuna can in the Girl Scouts. I like the smallness and lack of metal in this version WAY better and I like that I can 'recycle' my dryer lint!! :-)
Renee Strange
Stuff empty toilet paper rolls with dryer lint, dip in wax, easy peasy.
billy sharpstick
Bear in mind that the dryer lint generated by most modern homo sapiens contains a fairly large percentages of synthetics.
Decide whether or not you really want to burn plastic in your fire. It's up to you, but it smells really bad if there's enough of it. (I got really touchy about this subject after my redneck neighbors started burning tires at their keg parties.)
(If you're the bubble boy, cro magnons or treehugging hippies who do not wear spandex and such, disregard this notice. You probably don't have dryers either.)