Candle jars can be a little on the expensive side, but once all the wax has melted, you can reuse and recycle the glass jars into decorative pieces for your home. You can even refill the jars with a new candle. But candle wax can be hard to remove, and you might be tempted to throw the jar away if you think you can’t use it ever again.
Although, did you know it’s actually quite fast and easy to remove all the wax from a candle jar? With these easy and simple tips to get candle wax out of a jar, you can use the glass jars again and make them into decorative pieces for your home. You can also refill them with candle wax, or use them to fill trinkets, candies, and other small items.
Here Are 5 Ways to Get Candle Wax Out of a Glass Jar:
1. Freezing
This is the simplest and most commonly known way to remove candle wax from a glass jar. Simply place your candle jar inside the freezer overnight. When you place it in the freezer, make sure it is at room temperature and not warm or hot. This avoids the jar from cracking.
Freezing shrinks the wax and this means once you flip it upside down, the lump of wax will easily pop out. So place your candle jar inside your freezer overnight and in the morning, simply flip it and the wax will easily come off.
If the wax doesn’t easily pop out, you can use a butter knife to cut the wax into chunks before flipping it over again. For some residue wax, wash any of it out of the jar.
2. Fill It With Boiling Water
This is another simple method to get wax out of a glass jar. Boil water in a saucepan. Place your candle jar on top of a towel or hot pad. Pour the boiling water into the jar, but leave some space at the top. Wait for the boiling water to melt the wax. Boiling water will make the wax slowly rise at the top of the jar.
Do not remove or pour the wax and water just yet. Allow it to cool for several hours. After cooling, simply remove the wax out of the top of the jar and drain the water.
Wash the jar with soap and water once all the wax is removed.
3. Oven
This method is ideal for multiple candle jars. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove any labels on your jar to be safe. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and then cover it with parchment paper. Place your candle jars upside down on top of the parchment paper.
Next, place the jars inside the oven and bake them for 15 minutes. Remove the baking sheet after such time, and you will find that the wax inside the glass jars will have stuck in the parchment paper and removed completely from the inside of the jar.
Remove the jars and place them on a fresh piece of parchment paper. Cool all the jars before washing them with soap and water.
4. Stove Top
Another method of using heat to remove wax from a jar is using a stove top. Fill a saucepan with enough water that when you submerge the jar, it will reach all the wax inside the jar.
Boil the water in the saucepan and lower the heat to simmer. Place the candle jar inside the water while the heat is on. Once all the wax has melted, you can grab the jar using tongs then pour out the wax out of the jar. Before cleaning the jar from the residue, allow it to cool and clean it with soap and water.
5. Hair Dryer
This method is usually used to remove candle wax from carpets. All you’ll need is an oven mitt and a hairdryer or heat gun. Put your candle jar in an oven mitt. Use the hairdryer or heat gun to melt the wax inside the jar. Once the wax is soft, scrape it out of the jar with a knife or spoon. Continue heating the wax until all the wax is gone. Let the jar cool before washing it with soap and water.
Tips to Removing Residue
- Scrape off any residue wax with a butter knife.
- Wash the jar with soap and water.
- Say a cotton ball with baby oil and wipe it over the wax and glass.
Other important tips:
- Do not melt your wax in a microwave. This is because in a microwave, everything gets too hot and the glass will be more than likely to crack.
- If you have a decorative stemmed glass holder, you might be worried about breaking the glass when you expose it to heat, so the best way is to place the candle jar under hot water from a tap. It will take longer to melt the wax using this method but you won’t have to worry too much about the glass breaking.
- If you have a thin jar, the heat methods will more than likely shatter the glass. For thin glass jars, you can use the freezer method and be gentle with a knife when you scrape out melted wax.
- When you wash melted wax, be sure not to let it go down the drain. This can clog up your pipes when the wax solidifies.
- Soy wax can easily dissolve in soap and water. It is also easier to clean than paraffin.
Summary
Getting wax out of a candle jar is quite easy with these 5 simple methods. You can use heat to melt the wax, using boiling water, a hairdryer, or an oven or stovetop. If exposing the glass jar to heat is not possible, then the freezing method is ideal.
You don’t have to throw away a perfectly good glass jar once all your candle wax has melted. With these 5 easy and simple tips, you can reuse and recycle these glass jars as decorative pieces, or you can also have them refilled with candle wax again.