Fire Wicks

Have you ever thought of using loofah as a fire-starter?

Loofah make a perfect light woody wick for getting your fire started, here's why...

Loofah are essentially tiny wooden tubes which means that those random loofah pieces that you have left over from your craft projects make great fire wicks for your indoor or outdoor fire. I keep a box of the thin random offcuts that are too small to make anything with or the loofah pieces with spots on them that can't be cleaned up on hand in the winter. 

Loofah Fire Wick Instructions

Take a piece of offcut or spotty loofah and gently twist, not too tight or it won't work.

Build your fire with the base of paper or cardboard (I use egg cartons) as you ordinarily would and have the loofah wick sticking out the side. If you use a fire starter, place it in the middle and have your loofah wick running to it through the kindling.

Build you kindling base or tower and then light, the loofah gives an easy path for the flame to catch your wood alight.

I love our fire in the winter and spend all other seasons building up supplies for easy fire lighting. What I don't love is the kerosene smelling fire starters (we don't always have access to the more natural based ones). This is when I'll get out my box of loofah bits and pieces that I've been saving up all year.

A piece of loofah makes a great quick firestarter, it burns very well over a short amount of time and then turns to ash, which makes them perfect to ignite a longer burning material (in my case egg cartons).

Loofah is also great for camp fires

If you're an avid tramper or camper and you need something that is super light, catches alight very easily and condenses down so to not take up any room in your pack, then taking some loofah pieces with you is highly recommended. They will offer an excellent flame over a short amount of time allowing other materials to catch.

Loofah are non-toxic and don't leave a smell in your pack plus if for some reason the pieces get wet, they dry out very quickly so they can still be used.  

With enough loofah to light five campfires the fibers roll down to only 1.5" x 1.5" (3.8cm)