How to Clean Beeswax Off Every Surface? [A Step-By-Step Guide]

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You can make many incredible things with beeswax, such as natural candles, lip balms, homemade soap, and so much more. The only downside is that melted beeswax can get on various surfaces such as metals, plastics, wood, or glass.

Learning how to clean beeswax off different surfaces might seem intimidating, but the good news is that it’s actually not that hard. You could easily clean wax off surfaces with items found around your house. The methods for cleaning beeswax will work for raw beeswax or really most types of wax.

How to clean beeswax off any surface? To clean beeswax off any surface, you need to heat the surface using a hairdryer on medium heat, then gently rub it with a piece of cloth. You can also spray a mixture of water and vinegar on the surface, then rub it off with a dry cloth.

I often try and get my project materials (pots and pans) from the thrift store so I don’t even have to clean them but sometimes that doesn’t always work best.

If you are struggling to get beeswax off of a particular surface, I’m going to give you the easiest way so you can learn how you can remove it with materials you might already own, so make sure you keep reading.

Table of Contents

How to Clean Beeswax Off Any Surface

Contrary to popular belief, cleaning beeswax off surfaces is actually pretty easy. You just need to know the proper way to do it! Different surfaces might require slightly different techniques or ingredients, but they all require simple materials you can find at home.

So, let’s take a look at some tips to remove beeswax from different surfaces, such as metals, glass, wood, brushes, and plastics.

How to Clean Beeswax Off Metals

Whether you’re using your butter knife to cut beeswax for a personal project or a spoon to dig it out, your metal tool will inevitably get covered in the stuff. You might have a pot, stainless steel, a pan, or other project-making materials that might get coated. If you don’t buy beeswax pastilles to start your project with, you might also have to deal with a dirty grater.

To clean beeswax off a metal surface, get yourself any type of oil, some dish soap, some hot water, and a couple of paper towels.

Then, follow these steps:

Pour a little oil onto a paper towel
The next step is to rub your metal tool until the wax comes off. (You might need to rub a little harder on some areas to get rid of the stickiness)
Add some dish soap to a different paper towel
Rub off the oily residue from your metal tool using the paper towel
Run your metal tool under some hot water to ensure that the tool is free of soap and oil residue (cold water will not work)
Dry it off with a dry towel

How to Clean Beeswax Off Glass

If you plan on making candles at home, or already do, you might be wondering how best to get the extra beeswax off a glass jar or another glass surface so that you can reuse that jar to make another candle when it’s gone.

To clean beeswax from glass, you’ll need a blowdryer, paper towels, and some dish soap if needed.

If you’re trying to clean a glass table or a glass mirror, you will need to:

Scrape away the beeswax gently with a flat tool such as a plastic ruler or an old credit card
Use a blow dryer set to medium heat to melt off the remaining beeswax
Wipe off the hot wax with a wet paper towel
Dry the area out with a dry paper towel

If your beeswax is stuck in a glass jar, you need to use a similar method:

Use your hairdryer on medium heat to melt off the beeswax in your jar
Wipe it off a little vigorously with a towel
Put your glass jar in some boiling water to melt off excess beeswax
Wipe off the beeswax with a paper towel again

You might have to repeat this process several times because beeswax can be stubborn when it comes to glass jars. If you see any excess wax in your jar after drying it, you can simply scrape it off.

How to Clean Beeswax Off Wood

To remove beeswax from wood, you’ll need some lemon oil, a sponge, a dry towel, and your handy hairdryer. You might also need an ice cube, some cream furniture wax, and a plastic ruler.

There are two ways you can remove beeswax from wood, depending on how much beeswax there is.

If beeswax is covering a large area of wood, you need to:

Use your hairdryer and set it to medium heat
Hold your hairdryer about 6 inches away from the beeswax
Once the beeswax is softened, wipe it off with the dry towel
Put the lemon oil on the sponge and wipe away any remaining loose wax

If beeswax is covering a small area of wood, you need to:

Harden the little wax with an ice cube
Scrape off the hardened wax with a plastic ruler or a gentle flat tool
Rub off the beeswax using a dry cloth
Use cream furniture polish wax on the area if needed

How to Clean Beeswax Off Brushes

To remove beeswax from your brush, you will need some dish soap, any type of mineral spirits, and a bowl.

Here’s what you need to do:

Pour a small amount of your mineral spirits into your bowl
Swirl your brush around in the mineral spirits until most of the wax is dissolved
Rinse off the brush with some water
Pour dish soap onto your brush
Use your hand to massage the dish soap in your brush
Rinse off the brush again with some water

You might need to repeat this process a few times until your brush is completely clean of beeswax.

How to Clean Beeswax Off Plastic

You just need a hairdryer and a dry towel to clean beeswax off a plastic surface. Beeswax should come right off of plastic candle molds (silicone molds), but if not, this method will help with that as well.

The first thing you need to do is use your hairdryer on medium heat, keeping it about 6 inches away from the area. By doing that, you’ll melt the beeswax easily without denting the plastic.

Once the beeswax is melted, use your towel to wipe it off. Then, you can wet another towel or cloth to rub over it to remove any remaining stickiness.

What Dissolves Beeswax?

There are a few substances that can dissolve melted wax. I suggest you try a few of the following solvents and see what works best for you.

These solvents include chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, rubbing alcohol, turpentine, ether, and even vegetable oil. Some also claim benzene and carbon disulfide can dissolve beeswax if it’s cold.

How Do You Dissolve Beeswax in Water?

Dissolving beeswax in just water can be a little tricky. You might need to add a mixture of other substances for it to do the trick.

You could add distilled mineral spirits or an emulsifier to your water, then heat the wax with your mixture at 149 degrees Fahrenheit while stirring. Cool water will not work. Let the mixture cool down, and all your beeswax will dissolve.

You can also add 1 part distilled vinegar and 3 parts water and put it in a spray bottle to spray the beeswax. This can slightly dissolve and soften beeswax. This might be a good method for removing beeswax from fabric.

Some people found that boiling water alone works just fine. They let their beeswax sit in a boiling water solution for a while until it dissolves. This water method might not always work, but it’s worth a try if you don’t want to use anything else.

Note: Keep in mind, that if you decide to wash beeswax wraps or other food wraps for food storage that are made with wax…this combo will dissolve the wax! It’s better to spot clean beeswax wrap.

Most Common Questions About Beeswax

Does Vinegar Dissolve Beeswax?

Vinegar can dissolve a bit of wax, but it can take some time to work. You might also need to mix it with a few other things, such as water and distilled mineral spirits, to dissolve the wax faster.

Does Rubbing Alcohol Dissolve Beeswax?

Rubbing alcohol can dissolve beeswax slowly. Hot alcohol can dissolve beeswax faster, though. So you’re better off heating up some rubbing alcohol if you want to dissolve some beeswax.

Can I Use Olive Oil to Remove Beeswax From My Hair?

You can use olive oil to remove little bits of beeswax built up in your hair. All you need to do is slightly warm up olive oil and soak your hair in it for about 15 minutes. Then you’ll need to wash your hair with dish soap, followed by regular shampooing and conditioning.

What Do You Do With Removed Beeswax?

It’s important to not flush scraped beeswax down the drain of your sink, this can clog the sink! Throw any removed beeswax in the trash OR save in a container to remelt for a later project if it’s not contaminated.

I love using beeswax at home for various projects like lip balm and candles so I hope you find this resource helpful if you are as messy as I am!

Beeswax Projects

Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to contentedness on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.