Removing candle wax from a bottle or jar

Forums: Home, Cleaning, Candles, Household, Glassware
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My wife loves candles and we often buy them in beautiful bottles. However we have no good idea how to get the residual wax out of the bottle once the candle is used up.

Sometimes -- only sometimes -- the candle burns almost completely and there is so little wax left that it can be washed out with soap and water and a nylon scrubbing pad. But mostly, there is just too much wax left in the bottom of the jar.

My wife used to boil the bottle in a large pot but that's time-consuming and always seems to leave a thin film of wax to clean up in the pot after. She stopped doing that a while ago and now we have several lovely jars of different sizes etc. with lots of left-over candle wax in them...

Some glass is not suitable for microwaving so I'm not sure that's an option.

Is there some common household chemical solution that just dissolves wax regardless of how thick the layer might be? We have some jars with a half-inch of wax in them after the candle burned down.

Any old family recipes or household tricks?

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Type: Question • Score: 8 • Views: 1,188 • Replies: 13

Have you tried freezing it? Or perhaps put it upside down in a warm oven?

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@Seizan,

Quote:

Or perhaps put it upside down in a warm oven?

Yeah, and after you try that, I have some good advice on how you might get wax off the bottom of your oven. Smile

What you do is turn your oven up to about 350, and then turn your oven upside down for about seven minutes. You will find that 97% of it will come off. Then I have some good advice on how to get the wax off the top of your oven.

1 Reply

@Glennn,

It is assumed he would be smart enough to put something under it to catch the wax. Rolling Eyes

1 Reply

@edgarblythe,

Yes, I know that. I'm just having a little fun.

Sorry . . .

2 Replies

@Glennn,

I thought it was funny.

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@Glennn,

It's okay. Your first post threw me is all.

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@Seizan,

First, if there's a lot of wax, take a basic butter knife (an old one which will be used for this purpose only). Score the wax. Some wax may even come close this way. (A flathead screwdriver can be used instead of the knife).

Next...
Instead of boiling the container, pour boiling water into the container. Wax has a tendency to float when water is introduced. Let it cool some and then remove wax pieces. Pour out water into a can. (you don't want bits of wax in your sink or going down the drain).

Next, take a piece of paper towel and wipe out wax still there (the container should still be warm). If more wax
remains, repeat process of adding boiling water, etc. A second pour and wipe does the job.

Once the wax is out, clean as you would any glass vessel.

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Use a hairdryer to soften the wax, then wipe off.

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@Seizan,

I CAN'T recommend dynamite or Xenomorph blood.

http://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Xeno-Acid-Blood-GIF-05152017.gif

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@Seizan,

I do the same. I like the jars that look like big fat bourbon glasses. Ive always scraped as much out of the jar and then filled the jar with hot water and then nuked it for about 2 minutes. The water is jut about boiling and it loosens almot all of the wax and as was said, the wax floats. Let it cool a bit and the entire wax will come out as a round cake. Then use an alcohol rub like Purrell which will dissolve the wax nicely. At the end jut rub the glass clean and wash it in a soapy mix of hot water and detergent.

I use em to hold water colors or guache mixes. I cover em with plastic lids or saran wrap

0 Replies

Hi Folks.

Sorry to have been gone for a while, but thanks to you all for the help. I'm going to try micro-nuking the jars after filling with already-hot water IAW the Farmerman Method. I am a bit concerned that (according to my wife and a few friends) that some kinds of glass do not like microwave ovens and may shatter.

Anyone ever have that problem with glass of any sort?

1 Reply

@Seizan,

nope, any jar that is ued to hold a lit candle has to, at least, be somewhat hat proof. Think of the potential law suits should a candle wax pool cause the jar to break.

Adding water to the jar sucks the energy and causes the water to boil, which then melts the wax. Be careful taking the jar out of the nuke.I always wear kitchen gloves in case I jostle the very hot container (it also makes it comfortable to handle without scalding your hand.

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Removing candle wax from a bottle or jar

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