How to Care for Your Reusable Beeswax Wraps
One of the most common questions we get is "how do I wash my wraps?" So we decided to put together a list of our top 5 care instructions to ensure your reusable beeswax wraps live a long and healthy life!
1. USE COLD WATER
One of the biggest factors that will affect the longevity of your wrap is hot water. Using hot water will start to de-saturate or pull the wax away from the cotton, meaning it will start to crack and crumble. Clearly we don't want that!
So be sure to use cold water as much as you can. Depending on what you have wrapped, you can simply wipe the beeswax wrap down with a damp cloth, or you can use some soap suds from a mild dish detergent and rinse with cold water.
2. NO MICROWAVE
Although plastic wrap is not actually intended for microwave use, this became a popular method out of convenience. Whether you start using reusable beeswax wraps as an alternative to plastic wrap (and we hope you have already!) let's agree to stop microwaving plastics. It's not good for you. It's also not good for your wrap as it causes melting. It may make your kitchen smell awesome, but your food and wrap will be wrecked!
3. LET LEFTOVERS COOL
Are you noticing a trend yet? Heat and wax are not friends. Goldilocks wraps are perfect for preserving leftovers, but if it's a hot dish just let it cool off to room temperature before you cover it up.
4. STORAGE
If you've never used beeswax wraps before, or if you're trying to get family members in the house to switch over, we recommend keeping them in a basket or bowl on the counter for the first while. Everyone seems to have that drawer that things go into and never come back out of, right? We are creatures of habit and out of sight, out of mind is a real thing. Once you find you are using your wraps instinctually, feel free to keep them in a cupboard or drawer.
5. WHEN IN DOUBT
Treat them like your skin. Anything that is hard or drying on your hands (heat, harsh detergents, etc) will likely also be hard on your wraps. They are strong and durable as well, so don't be scared to bunch them up into a ball, press and mould them with the heat of your hands to hold a shape and get them to do what you want.
