How to Repurpose Candles

Burning candles is one of life’s simple pleasures and an easy way to experience the benefits of aromatherapy. In our attempt to live a low-waste lifestyle, we try to repurpose the vessels once we’ve finished using them. If you love the vessel, these can be reused in so many clever, useful, and creative ways! From planters to storage for your bathroom goods, candle vessels are easily repurposed, saving you money on home organization and helping the environment in the process.

Getting wax out may seem annoying and time-consuming, and you may feel tempted to toss the used candle and buy a new one. Below, we’ve outlined several ways to get wax out of your candle vessel so you can reuse it and love it for years to come!

How to get wax out of your candle vessel

There are many different methods for getting wax out of your finished candle receptacle. While the methods differ, you’ll want to be mindful of the shape of your vessel. Our Yia Mas candles have straight walls (rather than becoming wider or narrower at the top), so the removal is a bit simpler. Depending on the shape of your vessel, you may have to use a butter knife to remove wax as it can get stuck as you try to take it out.

  • Freeze it! Freezing wax causes it to shrink, which will make it much easier to get it out of your used candle.

    • Put the candle in the freezer. Depending on the size of your candle, this could take as little as 30 minutes or up to 3 hours. Afterward, the wax should easily come out of the jar. If not, carefully use a butter knife to scrape it out.

    • To remove excess wax use soap and water to clean the container.

  • Hot water. Heating wax makes it melt (if you have a candle, you already knew that), and sticking it in hot water can help you remove the wax. This one can be a bit messier, but is also great for removing hard to get wax.

    • To start, place the candle on a towel or newspaper

    • Try to remove as much wax as possible with a butter knife or spoon

    • Boil water, then pour it into the container but leave a little space at the top so the wax can float to the top of the container

    • Allow the water to cool before taking out the wax 

    • Strain the water to get any remaining wax 

    • Do not pour wax down the sink drain

  • Use your oven. Yet another way of removing wax by melting it. It’s also a great way to remove wax should you want to save some of the wax itself.

    • Remove excess wax with a butter knife or spoon

    • Preheat the oven to about 180-200 degrees Fahrenheit

    • Place candle upside down on a baking pan that is lined with tin foil or two layers of parchment paper

    • Put the baking pan with the candle in the oven for about 15 minutes (wax should pull onto the foil, so consider rounding the edges of the foil around your pan to avoid any spillage onto your pan)

    • Take the baking pan out of the oven and carefully remove the container with oven mitts

    • After the container cools, wash it with soap and water

    • After the wax cools, scrape it off the foil and, if you want, save it for future use

There are a few other methods, including melting wax with a blow dryer, to trying to remove the wax with a heavy-duty cleaner, but these are the best non-toxic, somewhat easy ways of doing it. Have you tried any of these? We’d love to hear from you!

P.S. if you reuse our candle vessels tag us in your photos to be featured!

Kristina Headrick