How to Clean Out Your Candle Jars
Here at Simply Vela Candle Co., we use a variety of candle vessels to hold our beautifully scented Premium Soy Blend Candles and after you've enjoyed your home fragrance product, these vessels work great for other home décor, office accessories and craft pieces! Wouldn’t it be nice to recycle your finished Simply Vela Candle Co. candle vessel into something new and crafty?
The question is: How do you clean out the left-over wax from the jar and remove the label?
Well, we’ve done the research and tested the results (multiple times in fact during our own testing process!) and have found the best and easiest way to do just that!
Step One:
There are multiple ways you can remove the remaining wax from your vessel and below we've listed a few that work for us. (Remember, your new Simply Vela candle is finished once the wax reaches about 1/4" from the bottom.) For both of these options, be careful handling the warm candle vessel as it will be hot, and you don't want to burn yourself. Additionally, pour your melted wax into the trash, you don't want any plumbing issues down the road.
- One option is to pre-heat your oven to the lowest setting (ours goes down to about 170 degrees), put your candle on a cookie sheet/cake pan and place that in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, or just until the wax melts enough that it can slide out easily. Pour the melted wax into the trash. Use a paper towel and wipe down the inside of the jar to remove any residual wax. Remember, the jar will be hot so be sure to use an oven mitt and also be sure to pour the melted wax into a trash can that has some items in it - otherwise you'll burn a hole through your trash bag (can you tell we've made that mistake?).
- The second option utilizes your stove top; place your finished candle into a pot filled with a couple of inches of boiling water. Let the candle sit in the boiling water until the wax melts just enough so that it will slide out easily. Pour the melted wax into the trash. Use a paper towel and wipe down the inside of the jar to remove any residual wax.
Step Two:
Once you've removed all the wax, next step is to remove the wick. After the heat of removing the wax, the wick adhesive should be soft enough that you can just pop the wick tab out with a butter knife.
Step Three:
Next step is to remove the candle label; you only need two ingredients and some patience.
- Peel off what you can of the label.
- Mix together equal amounts of baking soda and cooking oil. A teaspoon of each will cover the label area of 3-4 jars.
- Using your finger, liberally rub the mixture all over the sticky parts of the glass jar.
- Leave it on for an hour or two.
- Run a sink of hot water and dish soap, then wet the jar, and
- Rub it with an abrasive scrubber or piece of steel wool.
Step Four:
Once you have the remaining wax, wick and label removed, you can then use a scrub brush and wash the inside of the jar. You can also place your jar into the dishwasher to give them a final clean.
You're All Done!
You're all done! You now have a clean jar that can be repurposed in so many different ways. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Use chalk spray paint to give new life to your jar and use it as a gorgeous shabby chic flower vase.
- Keep your yummy berries fresh longer by putting them in a sealed glass jar prior to washing them.
- Need a catch-all for all those loose nuts and bolts in the garage? Mason jars are perfect for this!
- Re-purpose your jars and build a utensil caddy for your next BBQ. How cute!
