Recycling candles

[St. Theresa]

I'm a scented candle junkie. If I had to choose between my home looking nice and smelling nice, I'd pick the latter.

Depending on where you buy them, some of these candles are quite expensive. I love the ones from Yankee Candle, which I only buy when I have coupons. The scents are strong and there are so many to choose from.

I ended up with tons and tons of "used" candles, each at the end of its burning days, but with lots of scented wax leftover. I went to a craft store to see what I could get to recycle my wax, and I did find a candle-making kit, but it was expensive.

I kept looking and it turned out I only had to spend a few bucks on two things: 1. "Tacky wax" and 2. wicks.

My first attempt was pretty darn good. It's really quite easy.

The first thing is to scrape the leftover wax out of the jars and to remove any residue, old wicks, etc. - basically you gotta clean off your wax.

The second thing is to thoroughly clean the leftover glass jars or tins and dry them.

You attach the wick to the bottom center of your jar or tin with a little bit of tacky wax.

Then, use a double boiler to melt the wax.

Unless you happen to have a LOT of the same kind of left over wax, you won't fill the container. I quickly figured out that if I worked with two containers at once, I could layer the scents. I'd melt one batch and pour it into the first container. The next batch of melted wax would go in the second container. By the time I've melted the third batch, the first container's wax is hardened enough to pour another layer on.

I've only done two so far, but they worked out beautifully and they burned much more efficiently than the original candles. I literally had NOTHING left in the first one I burned. It was the most efficient candle I'd ever used.

I think the tacky wax was $1.99 and it cost about the same for a package of 20 wicks.

[boefixepa]

Hum...when I ran into this problem I just spent $5 on one of those candle warmers that melts the wax in the jar and it gives off the sent. When the sent is gone I toss what ever is left over. I don't even bother to light the candles anymore. Another option.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

You can also make dipped tapers which will use up almost all the wax. You need a tall narrow container to have the melted wax in, though.

I love some of those Yankee Candle Company scents, but they really set off my spouse's asthma, so I don't get to enjoy them

[St. Theresa]

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

I love some of those Yankee Candle Company scents, but they really set off my spouse's asthma, so I don't get to enjoy them

That's too bad. The jerk I lived with until last year hated my favorite scents. He was all about vanilla, and I'm just all vanilla-ed out.

My favorite is the one that smells like clean laundry. LOL. He HATED that. He said it smelled like sheets burning in the dryer. Now I can do whatever I want.

As for the candle warmers, I like the flame. I also use potpourri warmers with tea lights.

[Coleroo]

lol.. my hubby prefers vanilla too. he loves candles but always ends up choosing a white vanilla! i've always hated vanilla...


.......i usually make my own candles or buy soy wax ones. i have a parrot and regular candles are horrible for a bird's respiritory system. you can find a lot of cheap candle supplies out there! my favorite site is lonestarcandlesupply.com. selling homemade candles make great craft gifts and a good side income... ...i've found that you can also melt leftover wax still in its glass container by placing it in a pot of boiling water - and then just stick a new wick and bottom into the old glass and melted wax.