What Is The Best Homemade Fire Starter?

ByLily King

Fire starters are materials designed to help start and maintain a fire quickly and easily. They are especially useful for camping, hiking, and survival situations where starting a fire with damp wood or in windy conditions can be difficult. Fire starters allow you to get a fire going even in less than ideal circumstances.

Having a reliable fire starter on hand serves several purposes when camping or in survival scenarios. Fire provides warmth, allowing you to heat food and water as well as dry out wet clothing and gear. The light from the fire illuminates your campsite and can provide comfort and security at night. Fire also enables cooking food over an open flame. Additionally, the smoke and warmth from a fire can repel insects and animals. Overall, fire starters are an essential tool for camping and survival kits.

Dryer Lint

Using dryer lint as a fire starter has many benefits. Dryer lint is free, accessible, and easy to collect for most households. Simply collect the lint from your dryer’s lint trap and store in a bag or container until ready to use. Dryer lint is highly flammable due to the combination of fabric fibers and flammable chemicals in dryer sheets. It easily catches a spark, making it great tinder for starting fires (source).

To make homemade fire starters with dryer lint, pack the lint tightly into egg cartons or mini cardboard cups. You can add a drop of old candle wax or petroleum jelly to make it water resistant. These small, portable fire starters are easy to light and will burn long enough to ignite kindling and logs (source).

The main downside to dryer lint as a fire starter is that it burns quickly. While it lights easily, it may not provide sustained heat for long. Therefore, dryer lint fire starters work best as initial tinder paired with longer burning fuels.

Wax and Sawdust

Wax and sawdust are a classic homemade fire starter combo. The sawdust acts as a fuel source and the wax helps it burn longer. Some pros of wax and sawdust fire starters include:

  • Easy to make with common household ingredients
  • Long burning due to the wax coating
  • Can customize wax percentage for desired burn time

Some potential cons are:

  • Messy to make
  • Can be labor intensive
  • May need special molds

For the wax, you can use old candle stubs, crayons, or purchase wax flakes online. Paraffin wax works best. The sawdust can come from your own woodworking projects or you can buy bags of it. The sawdust should be very fine and dry.

To make wax and sawdust fire starters:

  1. Melt the wax in a double boiler or slow cooker.
  2. Stir in sawdust until well coated, about 2 parts sawdust to 1 part wax.
  3. Pour into molds such as egg cartons and let cool completely.
  4. Pop out the hardened fire starters and store in a sealed container.

The ratio of wax to sawdust can be adjusted depending on your needs. More wax will make a longer burning fire starter. For detailed instructions see this guide.

Cotton Balls and Petroleum Jelly

Cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly (like Vaseline) make excellent homemade fire starters. The cotton acts as a wick while the petroleum jelly provides the fuel to start a fire quickly and easily.

Some pros of cotton ball and petroleum jelly fire starters include:

  • Cotton balls and petroleum jelly are inexpensive and easy to find.
  • Mixing the two together is simple – just open up a cotton ball and soak it thoroughly in petroleum jelly.
  • The cotton lights and burns slowly while the petroleum jelly helps sustain the flame.
  • A little goes a long way – just a few cotton balls with petroleum jelly can start a campfire or fireplace.

    • a close up photo of hands holding cotton balls coated in petroleum jelly to use as fire starters

Some cons include:

  • Petroleum jelly is very flammable and needs to be kept away from open flames after making the fire starters.
  • The fire starters don’t last as long as heavier wax-based options.
  • It can be messy getting the right amount of petroleum jelly soaked into the cotton.

To make cotton ball and petroleum jelly fire starters:

  1. Get a bag of plain cotton balls and a jar of petroleum jelly (Vaseline).
  2. Open up each cotton ball and fluff it to create more surface area.
  3. Scoop out a spoonful of petroleum jelly and thoroughly coat each cotton ball, squeezing as you go to help absorption.
  4. Store the finished cotton balls in a sealed bag or container.
  5. To use, simply light one end of a cotton ball and place it under your kindling.

Cotton ball and petroleum jelly fire starters are an easy DIY solution using common household items. They ignite quickly and can help start a fire in practically any weather condition.

Egg Cartons and Wax

Using egg cartons and wax to make homemade fire starters is a popular DIY method. The pros of egg carton fire starters include:

  • Egg cartons are free and readily available from recycling or grocery stores.
  • Wax helps the fire starter burn longer.
  • The cups of the egg carton provide built-in compartments for the material.
  • They’re inexpensive to make.

Some potential cons are:

  • It takes more time to make numerous small fire starters versus a few larger ones.
  • The fire may burn unevenly if some cups contain more or less starter material.

To make egg carton fire starters:

  1. Collect empty cardboard egg cartons and melt wax in old cans, crock pots, or double boilers.
  2. Fill each egg cup with flammable material like cotton balls, dryer lint, or sawdust.
  3. Carefully pour the melted wax into each cup, covering the material.
  4. Allow it to dry completely before use. The wax helps the materials burn longer.

person lighting an egg carton fire starter to start a campfire

Egg carton fire starters are an easy DIY option using free or cheap household items. The small size allows packing many for camping or emergencies. With the right flammable filler, they easily ignite and provide a long-burning flame.

Steel Wool and Dryer Lint

Steel wool and dryer lint make an effective fire starter because the steel wool acts as a flint and creates sparks when struck against a hard surface. The dryer lint catches these sparks easily and burns quickly. Dryer lint on its own can be difficult to light, but the addition of steel wool makes it much easier to start a fire.

To make a steel wool and dryer lint fire starter, simply save your dryer lint over time and collect it in a container, bag, or old film canister. Avoid using lint that contains synthetic fibers, as these will not burn as well. Once you have a sufficient amount of lint, take a small clump of steel wool, stretch and separate the strands, and mix it into the dryer lint. Store in a waterproof container until ready to use.

The main pros of this DIY fire starter are that the materials are inexpensive and easy to find. The steel wool and dryer lint also burn for a reasonably long time. The main con is that steel wool can corrode or degrade when stored for very long periods.

Wax-Coated Cardboard

Wax-coated cardboard is a simple and effective homemade fire starter. Some pros of using wax-coated cardboard fire starters include:

Wax helps the cardboard burn longer and hotter, acting as an accelerant. The cardboard provides a base that catches and holds the wax, creating a durable and long-lasting fire starter.

Cardboard is free and easy to find, such as from shipping or product boxes. Old cardboard egg cartons also work well.Wax is inexpensive and readily available as old candles or crayons.

Making wax-coated cardboard fire starters is a simple DIY project. Just melt the wax, dip or pour it over cardboard pieces, and let it dry. Customize the size and thickness as needed.

A potential downside is that wax-coated cardboard does not repel water well. The fire starter needs to be kept dry. Wax also melts at moderately warm temperatures, so fire starters may deform in hot weather.

To make wax-coated cardboard fire starters:

  • Cut cardboard into desired shapes and sizes. Egg cartons, toilet paper tubes, and shipping boxes work well.
  • Melt old candle wax or crayons in the a tin can or double boiler.
  • Dip the cardboard pieces into the melted wax to fully coat them.
  • Let the fire starters dry completely before use.

With just cardboard, wax, and a few simple steps, you can make customizable, effective fire starters on a budget.

Cotton Balls and Vaseline

Cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly (Vaseline) make excellent homemade fire starters. The cotton provides tinder while the petroleum jelly coating helps it burn longer. Pros of cotton balls and Vaseline fire starters:

Cons of cotton balls and Vaseline fire starters:

  • Can melt in high temperatures. The Vaseline coating can melt in hot weather, causing it to soak into the cotton ball.
  • Need a spark to ignite. Like most tinder, these still require a spark from a fire steel, lighter, or matches to light.

To make cotton ball and Vaseline fire starters:
the cotton ball fire starter ignites easily when exposed to a spark or flame

  1. Get a bag of plain cotton balls without any added chemicals or scents. Pull apart the cotton balls into fluffier pieces.
  2. Coat the cotton thoroughly in petroleum jelly. Aim for about a 50/50 ratio. The cotton should be saturated but not dripping with Vaseline.
  3. Pinch some of the coated cotton between your fingers to form a nest shape. Store in an airtight container.

Cotton balls and Vaseline make a handy fire starter to keep in survival kits. They’re inexpensive to make, compact, and burn long enough to light tinder and kindling. Just add a spark to get a fire going even in damp conditions.

Comparison of Homemade Fire Starters

When choosing the best homemade fire starter for your needs, there are several factors to consider including ease of use, effectiveness, cost, and availability of materials. Here’s how some of the popular options compare:

Dryer lint fire starters are very easy to make as most homes have access to lint. They are also free and effective at catching a spark. However, depending on the fabrics used, some lint can smoke more than others. Wax and sawdust starters are also easy to make with common ingredients but require more time to prepare. They burn slowly and consistently.

Cotton balls with petroleum jelly take little time to prepare and light easily. However, petroleum jelly can be messy and doesn’t always fully soak into the cotton. Waxed egg cartons burn well when cut into individual cups but take time to prepare. The cardboard and wax can also create more smoke.

Steel wool combined with dryer lint lights quickly even when wet. But steel wool can rust over time if stored improperly. Wax-coated cardboard pieces are inexpensive and simple to make but can be smoky. Cotton balls with Vaseline are inexpensive and easy to prepare but may smoke more than other options.

Overall, most of these homemade fire starters are low cost and easy to make at home with common household items. Lint, cotton balls, wax, sawdust and cardboard can all be effective options. The ideal choice depends on individual preference and accessibility of materials.

Conclusion

When looking for the best homemade fire starter, consider your unique situation and needs. If using the fire starter while camping or backpacking, portability is key – cotton balls with petroleum jelly or wax-coated cardboard work well since they are lightweight. For longer-lasting fire starters, combine materials like dryer lint, wax, sawdust or steel wool which will burn slowly. Wax-based options tend to be more waterproof. For the easiest, quickest homemade fire starters, egg cartons filled with dryer lint or cotton balls with vaseline are handy. Make sure to avoid materials that can create toxic fumes. Test any homemade fire starters at home first for best results. With numerous DIY methods available using household items, you can find an excellent homemade fire starter specifically suited for your next outdoor adventure or emergency kit.

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