GoCampingAmerica.com | Posted May 2nd,
    2016

    DIY Fire Starters

    Happy Camper Blog

    There’s
    nothing quite like a campfire for gathering people together for food, fun and
    camaraderie. And with a little advance planning before your next camping
    trip, you can use a few everyday household items to create fire starters that
    will help you light up your kindling and get a roaring blaze going in no
    time.

    Dryer Lint

    That gray fuzzy stuff we all pull out of our dryers’ lint traps is
    actually very flammable. The simplest way to use dryer lint to make fire
    starters is to stuff it loosely into cardboard toilet paper or paper towel
    rolls. You can also place some lint into each compartment of a cardboard egg
    carton, then pour melted wax over each section. Wait until the wax hardens,
    then cut each compartment apart to make individual fire starters.

    Orange Peels

    The oil contained in orange peels is flammable, too. Just take
    your peels and place them on a pan near a heat source or in the sun to dry.
    You can even let them air dry — it will just take longer. When the peels are
    dry and crackly, they’re ready to use. If you need to store them, use a brown
    paper bag and add a silica gel packet to absorb any excess
    moisture.

    Wine
    Corks

    This is a really easy one.
    Simply save up your wine corks (the real kind, not the plastic ones) and
    place them in a mason jar filled with rubbing alcohol. Once they’ve soaked up
    the fluid, carefully place a few corks on or under your kindling to get your
    fire started.

     

    Mops and Round Cotton
    Pads

    Take a 100% cotton mop, cut off the strands, dip them in melted
    wax and place them on a sheet of wax paper. Once they’re dry, cut the strands
    into one-inch pieces to use as fire starters. You can also place round cotton
    pads on a paper plate or a sheet of wax paper and pour the melted wax over
    them. Store them in a zip lock bag once they’re dry.

    Duct Tape

    Yes, this all-purpose tape we all love has yet another use. Duct
    tape is very flammable, so you can use a ball of it to start a fire. Or, you
    can wad up some newspaper, wrap it with duct tape and add a bit of
    alcohol-based hand sanitizer to start a blazing fire.

    Birthday Candles

    They’re not just for making wishes — now, they’re for making
    fires, too. Just take some of your leftover birthday candles and a roll of
    wax paper (or get these items from the dollar store). Then take a piece of
    the wax paper, put one or more candles on it, roll it up and twist the ends
    like a candy wrapper.

    Corn Chips

    You’d have to resist eating this idea, but corn chips are
    flammable, too. Some campers have even been known to arrange cheese curls log
    cabin-style on their kindling to get the fire started.

    A Word about Wax

    Several of these ideas use melted wax, which can be anything from
    the leftover stubs from your candles to paraffin from the hardware store or
    even all of those little broken pieces of your kids’ crayons. To melt the wax
    safely, place the wax into a glass jar or metal can, then place the container
    into a pot of water to heat it. Or, if you want to be more eco-friendly, use
    solar power by placing the container out in the sun to melt the
    wax.

    Safety First

    As with any activity involving a campfire, safety comes first, so
    be sure to let your fellow campers know that these fire starters are highly
    flammable and should always be used with care.