CEFR Level C1-C2
I love candles and wax melts. The wax melts from Bee Coco are my favorite (not an affiliate link). Their scents are more complex and sophisticated than I’ve found elsewhere. For candles, I like pure beeswax or the scented candles at Thistle Farms (not an affiliate link).
With wax melts, the scent eventually goes away or becomes subtle enough that I want to use new cubes. For candles, no matter what I do, there is always some amount of tunneling. What to do with the leftover wax? The Problem
The solution? Make new candles! The Process
I bought candle wicks with tabs from Beesworks. I’m not a fan, even though I don’t have other wicks to compare them to. The wicks smoke more than any of the wicks in my bought candles. The wicks are floppy and don’t stay straight during pouring, even with a wick holder. The wicks fall over when the candle gets down to about 0.5 inch.
First Try
On my first try at melting old wax, I put water in a shallow pan and used old candle jars to hold the wax. It took a long time to melt the wax, especially beeswax and the jars fell over. It was a mess to clean.
I used clothespins to hold the wicks upright in the jars. It wasn’t a great solution, but it was better than nothing. I was careful to keep like waxes together (e.g. beeswax with beeswax, soy with soy, etc.). The candles burned fine, but like I said, the wicks are smokey and wavy, which left me with more leftover wax, except this time, it was contaminated with a sooty wick. Second Try
The candle jar isn't on a slope - it's an unintentional trick of the camera angle. This is one of the original candle jars I tried filling before I had wick holders. In this photo, I'm melting wax to add to the candle so that I have a full jar.
For my second try, I bought wick holders that look like popsicle sticks with holes in them. These work much better than clothespins. I highly recommend investing in them. They don’t cost much and can be re-used.
On my second try, I also used my wax warmer to melt the wax. Again, I was careful to keep waxes sorted by content. I read that this is important to get an even burn. That tracks with my experience since beeswax burns slower than soy wax which burns slower than apricot and coconut wax. The wax warmer worked great! I clean it out when switching to a different type of wax. I recommend cleaning the wax warmer when the wax is still melted. It’s much easier. For reference, I have a wax warmer with a silicone insert that can be removed. Cleaning would likely be more challenging if there were no removable insert. Final Decision
Between the wax warmer and the wick holders, I found a rhythm. Once I use up these wicks, I’ll try a different brand. I’ve made so many candles from old wax, even giving some away. I like that I’m recycling and getting more for my money. For some of my $35 candles, the tunneling was so bad that I was able to get half a candle of the same size from it!
When re-using scented wax, I can usually smell the scent when the wax is cold, but it doesn’t always throw when the candle is lit. I’m happy to have found a nearly-free way to turn waste into something useful. More candles for me!
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