How to Get Your Candle Out of the Jar
We’ve all been there. Your Redoux candle is on its last legs, with the wax having burned all the way to the bottom of the jar. So what’s next? Since our luxury fragrance candles come in elegant glass jars, you can repurpose the container for a life beyond the candle it held.
But this is often easier said than done. Although our soy candle wax tends to be softer and easier to remove, all candle wax can leave plenty of residue even after the wick has burned all the way down. Getting those last bits of wax out by hand can leave you frustrated and discouraged!
Not to worry though. We’ve gathered four home remedies for how to get your candle out of the jar (hint: temperature is the key):
Put it in the freezer
Since freezing wax shrinks it, you can place your candle jar in the freezer overnight and easily remove any large pieces in the morning. This strategy works great for candles with a solid chunk of wax left in the bottom of the jar.
Add Boiling Water
For candle jars with smaller amounts of wax left in the jar, filling your leftover jar with boiling water will cause the wax inside to soften and much of it to rise to the top of the water. After the water cools a bit, you can empty the jar and scrape out any remaining soy wax while it is still soft. This step can also be repeated as necessary to get every last bit of stubborn wax. Just be careful with the boiling water so you do not burn yourself.
Heat it with your Hair Dryer
Your hair dryer can double as a wax removal tool. Just set the dryer to “warm” setting to heat the entire outside of the candle jar (and don’t forget to use an oven mitt to hold the jar). You can then remove the softened wax with a dull knife or similar tool.
Warm it up in the Oven
For those with a full-blown candle set collection, this strategy works great for cleaning multiple candle jars at once. Start by removing as much excess wax as possible by hand or tool, then place the jars upside down on a rimmed pan atop parchment paper or aluminum foil. Heat your oven to 180 degrees and put the candles in for about 15 minutes. Most or all of the wax will melt out and you can carefully clean the jars outside of the oven with a paper towel or cloth and oven mitts.
What comes next?
A little soap, warm water, and a sponge can be used to complete the cleaning process once the wax is removed from your candle jar. After that, our jars can be used for everything from holding cotton swabs to beach pebbles. And beyond that, what’s more exciting than a good reason to invest in a new candle?