How to Get Candle Wax Out of a Jar

Jar candles are some of the most popular candle styles that add elegance and warmth to every home decor aesthetic and centerpiece designs. However, once you’ve used up the wax, what do you do with the empty jar and leftover wax? 

Empty jar use

One answer is to simply throw it away or recycle it, but that does not allow you to get the most out of the materials you purchased and is not always good for the environment. 

The best answer is to clean the empty jar out and repurpose it. Empty glass containers can be used for various crafts, storage, flower vases, and so many other creative things that you can think of. Additionally, at Keystone Candle, you can bring your clean empty jar back to our store and receive a discount of your purchase of the same size jar that day!

Now that we’ve covered some of the benefits and uses of reusing old glassware, we need to answer the question: how to remove candle wax from jars? We will look at uses for the wax at the end of the article.

How to remove wax from jar candles

Do not put your candle jar in the microwave to remove the wax. Most companies including Keystone Candle use metal wick tabs which are not microwave safe.

Option 1: Hot Water

There are two variations with this method that you can try.

The first is to soak the entire jar. 

Plug your sink drain and fill the basin with very hot water. Then, carefully submerge the candle without its lid, and allow it to sit for a few minutes or until the wax is loose. This should release the wax at the bottom and allow you to remove it easily. You can use a spoon to help the wax loosen from the sides of the glass, and you can break the wax into smaller pieces to fit through the opening of the container. 

This should also loosen the labels which you can remove as well.

The second focuses only on the inside of the jar.

Another way to use hot water is to fill your jar. Very hot water.

Set your almost empty jar candle on a heat protective surface, and heat enough water to fill the jar. Carefully pour the hot water into the jar leaving about an inch of space at the top. Then, leave it alone to allow the wax to melt and rise to the surface of the container. Let water and wax cool completely before removing it from the container.

Once cooled, you can remove the wax remnants from the container by straining it over your sink. Make sure you use a drain stopper before pouring the liquid because wax will clog a drain! Alternatively, you can break apart the wax to remove the pieces by hand before dumping the water. Before unstopping your sink, ensure there are no wax remnants left that could go down the drain.

Option 2: Freezer

While the above method uses heat, you can also place your jar with excess wax in the freezer. 

Once you have burned your candle and allowed it to cool completely, you can set the container in the freezer for a little while which will shrink the wax away from the glass. Then, simply flip the jar over and the wax should fall free. If it does not, use a spoon or a butter knife to press down on the edge of the wax to lift it.

Option 3: Hair Dryer

You can also use a hair dryer to soften the wax and scrape it out of the container. 

Hold your jar with an oven mitt and heat the sides and bottom of the jar to soften the wax with the hair dryer set to warm. Once it has softened but not melted, use a spoon or butter knife to scrape or lift the wax from the jar.

How to clean out a candle jar?

After using one or more of these options to remove the wax from a candle jar, there may still be some wax stuck along the edges or soot along the top rim. Therefore, we will answer the question of how to clean candle jars. 

This is fairly simple; just use some warm water, soap, and a sponge or bottle brush to remove the leftover residue. This method should also work for any stickiness left behind from labels. For any stubborn remnants, you can use an adhesive remover such as Goo Gone or a window cleaner like Windex.

Some candle companies glue their wicks to the bottom of the jar. Depending on the glue they use, it may be challenging to remove them. You can use a spoon or butter knife to try and remove the wick. At Keystone Candle, we do not use glue so that the wicks will be easy to remove after using up the candle.

What to do with the leftover wax?

Now that the jar is officially clean, what can you do with the leftover wax that was removed? 

Our favorite and easiest use is to put it in a candle warmer and allow it to continue melting and releasing scent. This allows you to get more from the wax and extend its usage, and now you have a perfectly clean jar that you can use later!

How do you recycle your empty candle jars?

Check out this tutorial video for a demonstration of this easy process.