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Recycle your dryer lint and cooking oil into a no-waste fire starter quickly and easily! These no-wax, dryer lint fire starters are a great alternative to the chemical-laden fire starters sold at stores.
Electricity here in Spain is very expensive. (It’s not that the electricity itself is that much more expensive, or maybe it is, but half of our electric bill is made up of taxes.) Plus, I live in an area where it never snows and the houses just aren’t prepared for the cold. It’s not common for houses to have central heating or natural gas.
While we have small heater/air conditioning units, they aren’t enough to heat our house. So, we eventually installed an iron fireplace with a fan to help heat our living room.
Starting a good fire
Once a summer camp counselor, I got pretty good at starting camping fires. In fact, I got so good at it that one year I was called to one of the boys’ campsites to help their counselor start their campfire after he failed miserably, much to the dismay of his boys. 😉
The trick is to go slow and add small twigs first, leaving room for air, and then slowly building the fire up with kindling and progressively larger sticks and logs.
While I like the challenge of starting the fire without any help, when I’m cold and cranky I just want to get it started as quickly as possible. That’s where a good firestarter comes in handy!
Egg carton firestarters
At first, I tried making dryer lint firestarters with egg cartons after seeing tutorials online. Many people place dryer lint in each compartment of cardboard egg cartons. They then cover the lint with melted wax. Once the wax cools and sets, you can cut out each section to make individual firestarters.
The advantage of this technique is that you end up with mostly waterproof fire starters.
Unfortunately, they also have a lot of disadvantages. Not only are they messy and somewhat time-consuming to make, but they also take up a lot of space. (I tend to spill the wax and my hands got sore from trying to cut out all of the waxed egg carton compartments.)
Plus, paraffin wax can get expensive. While you can recycle candle wax from old candles, it’s still something extra needed.
As the final straw, once we got our own hens, I no longer had easy access to cardboard or paper egg cartons.
Toilet paper tube firestarters
If you don’t have access to egg cartons, you can use paper towel or toilet paper tubes instead (The cardboard tubes inside toilet paper rolls). After cutting the cardboard tubes into smaller pieces, the cardboard edges can be folded inwards to form the bottom of the tube. It can then be filled with dryer lint and/or sawdust and covered with melted wax. The top edges can then be folded inward to seal the tube.
While it’s another option, I still wanted something simpler that didn’t take as much effort and didn’t take up so much space.
Other ideas
I experimented with lots of other household items.
You can burn lots of different things you’d normally throw in the garbage: dryer lint, wine corks, pine cones, cotton balls, etc.
Wax isn’t the only option for fuel either. Rather than melt wax in a pot over the stove, vaseline (petroleum jelly) is much easier and less messy to use. I’m not a huge fan of petroleum jelly, though, and, again, it’s another thing you’d need to buy to make your DIY fire starters.
Alcohol is another fuel option that works relatively well. Some people use cotton balls or wine corks soaked in alcohol. This is a popular lightweight option for those who go backpacking. (I show how gel fuel is made with alcohol in my post about how to make hand sanitizer.)
My no-wax method
Then it occurred to me to try using oil. Oil is much cheaper than the other options and provides a decent burn time.
Materials
These simple homemade fire starters use simple materials: dryer lint and oil. The oil serves as the fuel and the lint as the wick. (You’ll also need a glass jar or another container for storing it.)
To collect dryer lint, clean it off the lint traps of your clothes dryer. (I store mine in a mason jar in a cupboard in my laundry room after each load of laundry until I collect enough.) Dryer lint is perfect for starting fires because it ignites easily, but it needs something to keep it burning: the oil.
For the oil, you can use any inexpensive cooking oil. If you deep fry foods, you can actually recycle the used cooking oil and use that! How’s that for a no-waste option?
Procedure
Pack some dryer lint into a small glass jar. After adding some dryer lint, cover it in some oil. Add more dryer lint and press it into the oil below to help absorb it. Add more oil over top and continue to add layers of dryer lint and oil until you fill the jar (or until you have used up all of your materials).
The best way to fully saturate the lint with the oil is to press on the lint as you add each layer. Keep pressing until the lint is fully covered with oil.
Cover the jar with a lid and store it near the fireplace. If you store it in a cute jar on your mantle, it’s an attractive way to start fires without needing a lot of space.
How to use them
To use your fire starter, pull off a small piece of oily dryer lint and ignite it. It should burn for long enough to help you start your fire! It’s really that simple.
Video
No-Wax Dryer Lint Fire Starters
Materials
- dryer lint
- cooking oil (can be used cooking oil)
- glass jar
Instructions
- Pack dryer lint into a small glass jar and cover it with oil. This is most easily done if you work in layers.
- To help saturate the lint with the oil, press on the lint as you add it over the oil from the previous layer. Keep adding layers of lint and oil until your jar is full, or until you have used up all of your materials.
- Cover the jar with a lid and store it near your fireplace.
- To use your fire starter, pull off a small piece of oiled dryer lint and ignite it. It should burn for long enough to help you start your fire!
This post was originally posted on December 15, 2014. It was later republished, adding clearer and instructions and video.
How to Make Olive Oil From Scratch
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JEAN DUNCAN
Instead of egg cartons, I use empty toilet paper rolls. Just put in loosely, I didn’t even use oil.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Yeah, there’s a lot of ways to do it!
Erika Wright
I do it that way too. Works great
Debi
Thanks for your honest information. >^..^< Debi
Sharon Petersen
How long will these jars last if kept in a cool dark place?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Sharon,
They should keep as long as the oil would have kept otherwise. I’ve left them over from one year to the next and they usually start to smell like they begin to go rancid- which isn’t very pleasant. If that doesn’t bother you, though, they still work to start fires. I often use oils leftover from frying, so the quality of the oil isn’t as good anymore. That will also affect how long it takes to go rancid. In any case, it’s not really a big deal here if the oil is going rancid in this application. It doesn’t smell pleasant, though, so you can always toss it if it bothers you! 😉
Sage
I do LOVE this idea!! I will share it with some campers I know. I do know I have had oil(unused) get moldy in my fridge before. I call it unused because the bottle was previously opened and I poured what I needed into a measuring cup. I did find it weird the oil in the bottle got moldy, but am living in a new,warmer climate. It gets up to 120 degrees,sometimes a little higher in Summer. Just wanted to share that…mine is grocery store brand with preservatives. Great recipe for fire starter tho! I’m too old to go out camping with my health issues and live in an area with high wildfire danger anyway.
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Hi Sage,
Thanks!
That’s interesting about the oil. Normally, oils don’t get moldy. They go rancid, but there is usually no concern for bacterial growth/mold, unless it’s been contaminated with water somehow. Perhaps humidity got into the bottle?
For things like a homemade body butter or scrub, you don’t need to use preservatives because they are oil-based and don’t have water-based ingredients. That said, it’s highly recommended to add one if you’ll be using them in a humid environment or you are likely to contaminate them with water if using wet hands with them, etc.
Belinda
For all to consider…. I appreciate you are trying to come up with solutions but, even if all of your clothes are made of natural fibers most clothing is a blend of various types of plastic. Therefore the Lint is a high percentage Plastic. Do you think burning plastic in your bbq or in any fire really poses no problem?
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Both my son and husband have major issues with polyester and synthetic fabrics. My son has atopic dermatitis and reacts badly to synthetic fabrics. Most of his clothes are organic cotton. My husband has issues with polyester ever since he was seriously burned in a fire at work and had to wear a polyester pressure garment for several months. I’m the only one who has any synthetic fabrics, and I have very few of them as I also prefer to wear natural fibers. (Most of those garments are dresses that don’t end up in the dryer ever anyway.)
All of our towels and sheets are 100% cotton.
I plan on adding a caution when I get to updating this post (I’m updating EVERY post on my blog as quickly as I can with as much helpful information and with cautions when necessary).
That said, I don’t believe that having a small amount of polyester in the lint that is burned in either a closed fireplace or a wide-open space poses a great risk. Polyamides can release a small amount of cyanide when burned, but polyester, from what I’ve read, not so much.
In the interest of transparency, I removed your one-star rating. I’ve only done that one other time with a different recipe. In both cases, it was because the rating was not for the actual recipe or tutorial itself. You didn’t try the tutorial and weren’t rating it. You also were rating the tutorial without taking into consideration that many people do use natural fabrics.
I’m happy to listen to suggestions for updating posts and improving them. I’m happy to add warnings and suggestions and use those when updating posts, which I do often.
Adding an unfair rating, which isn’t rating the effectiveness of the product made, doesn’t do any good for anybody.
Jenny
So I was testing dryer lint in my bathroom sink and found this article. Made the starter, put a piece of it in the sink and it lasted longer than a minute, which I thought was cool. Then it kept going, and going, and after about five minutes I’m thinking “yo, I got stuff to do” and tried to blow it out. When that didn’t work I wound up using a tin cup set over it for several seconds to extinguish the flame. Pretty sure our campfire is going to be a success this weekend. Thanks for the tip!
Tracy Ariza
Hahaha. Your comment made me laugh. Glad to hear it worked well and that you safely put the fire out.
I hope you have a great time at the campfire. I used to be a camp counselor, and thinking about campfires brings back great memories!
Micaela
I have a fake fire place, we use gel cans. Can I just put the dryer lint in the gel cans to start the fire? Would that be safe?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Micaela,
I have no experience using gel cans.
How are they normally started?
I don’t imagine that it would be a problem to place lit dryer lint on the can to start it, but I’m not really sure as I’ve never used them before.
Paul
Thanks for a great idea. So easy and so cheap!
We’re into springtime here in NZ but I definitely will use this and be ready for next winter when we have wood fires to keep us warm.
Tracy Ariza
Hi Paul,
I have to admit I’m a bit jealous. I’m not looking forward to winter coming, and was sad to have to put on a jacket already today. 😉
I’m glad you like the idea, though, and hope it works well for you when things cool down on your side of the world.
Jill
Why not use cheap cooking oil and not worry about the Oder?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Jill,
You can definitely do that! I do that when I don’t have used cooking oil.
I just like having a way to dispose of the oil, and love that this can be a completely recycled project if you want it to be.
I never fry things more than once so most of my oils don’t have much of an odor. I also keep the jar closed, so it’s not something that you really smell.
Ginny
What a great idea! Do you think this would work with bacon grease?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Ginny,
Thanks!
Well, you could try it. I see 2 potential problems (that may not really be that problematic at all).
1. If you don’t reduce the grease enough and any water is left in it, that can affect how the grease works. I got some water in one of my jars once and my fires no longer started so I had to throw it all out and start over again.
2. I’d be concerned about the scent over time. I’m not sure what happens to bacon grease that isn’t refrigerated. It may be perfectly fine for quite some time, but I’m just not sure.
It’s all about experimentation, I guess. 😉
Traci
I’d never use my previous bacon drippings to start a fire! Those are for fried taters, eggs, biscuits, spinach, brussel sprouts, cabbage, green beans, baked beans, ham and beans, etc…
Tracy Ariza, DDS
Haha, agreed!
I save all pork and beef fat from cooking for other food!
Great minds think alike, I guess, and have similar names. 🙂
Teresa
I love the fact that you are recycling things that otherwise would be thrown away! Do you know how long you can store the jars of lint and oil before the oil goes rancid?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Teresa,
The rancidity will depend on the type of oil and how often it was used before you decide to recycle it. That said, I tend to store it with the lint in a covered jar, and haven’t noticed it ever giving off a bad scent. (Some oils have smelled of the food cooked in the oil when you open the jar, but that doesn’t bother me too much.)
Because you aren’t going to be using the oil for cooking ay more, I don’t really worry about rancidity. I’ve had the jars holding the lint and oil all summer, and have used it again in the fall without any issues. I do clean out the jar entirely whenever I use up the lint, though, to start with a “fresh” batch. (I’m not sure you can call it fresh when you’re using used oil, but you know what I mean.) 😉