How to relight your old scented candles?

Update, article published on September 29, 2020

With autumn often comes the desire to bring out very welcoming blankets, half-liter mugs and above all the scented candles with cinnamon and toasted marshmallows.

But before scouring the furniture stores for those that will warm your heart from October to February, why not try to give new life to the forgotten big and small languishing in your cupboards?

Here are some tips for relighting burning candles (or recycling them if any salvage attempts seem futile).

How to reuse leftover wax from your candle?

It happens that once the wick has been completely consumed, scented wax remains on the bottom of the glass or ceramic. Rather than immediately throwing the container and its precious contents in the trash, it’s perfectly possible recover the wax to enjoy its sweet fragrance for a few more hours. How ? Making a mini candle of course! Nothing is lost, everything is transformed, all this, all this…

In order to make a new candle out of your old life partner’s remnants, you need a wick (available at home improvement stores), a small heat-resistant container, and some elbow grease.

Using the double boiler technique, melt the remaining wax from your candle. Then place a wick in the bottom of the container of your choice (small glass, egg cup, coffee cup, etc.) and pour in the hot wax. To keep the wick straight during the drying time (which depends on the amount of wax recovered), use a pen or clip to keep it from bending.

When the wax is very hard, just cut the wick so that it reaches between 5 and 7 mm in height!

How to fix an empty candle?

If the candle wasn’t lit long enough when it was first used, or the wick was trimmed too short, it may have burnt out in the middle. It doesn’t sound like much, but if you want to extend the shelf life and never lose a drop, it is important that its entire surface burns evenly.

Luckily, there’s a very simple trick to recovery: start by lighting the candle so that the wax around the wick liquefies. Then stick three wooden toothpicks around the wick (only a small piece of wood should stick out), into the already melted wax, and light them.

After a few minutes (longer if the hole is deep), all of the surface wax should be leveled out. All that remains is to blow out the candle, remove the toothpicks and wait for the wax to solidify to be able to enjoy the fragrance again.

How do you clean a dust covered spark plug?

When not protected by a bell or plug, the candle is a real dust catcher! In addition to not being very aesthetic, deposits of dirt can alter the fragrance of the waxwhich is still damn bad (at the price it costs).

To breathe new life into your candle, gently rub its surface with a slightly dampened nylon stocking or microfiber towel. Easy, isn’t it?

How to recycle your candle container?

Once the candle has finally burnt out, it is perfectly possible to reuse its container to make (depending on the format) a decorative object such as a vase, a terrarium or even a jar with washable make-up remover pads.

To do this, place the candle overnight in the freezer to freeze the wax residue and make it easier to remove with a knife. Once the bulk is out, you can clean the jar with warm soapy water, or just pop it in the dishwasher.

Then it’s up to you to see what you want to do with it: only foods are not recommended, as there is often a slight scent in the jar (even after a thorough cleaning) which could permeate the food.

Buy candles to warm up the atmosphere

And if you’re really short on candles, here’s a small selection that smells like autumn.