How to Remove Wax from a Glass Votive

Candles are very much a part of life, particularly the glass votives that add beauty and fragrance to our living spaces. In this day and age of green living, glass votives can be used over and over again but what to do about the was stuck to the inside? There are actually several methods I’ve found to be useful.

Removing Wax from Glass Votives – The Cold Method

Simply place the glass votives in the freezer on a level service. You don’t want them to tip and fall when you open the door later. After an hour or two, remove the votives from the freezer. Use a small butter knife to knife to pop the frozen chunk of wax from the glass votive. This method works well for 1 or 2 glass votives if you have time to wait while they freeze.

Removing Wax from Glass Votives – The Heat Method #1

In a pan or teapot, boil some water. Let the water cool for a few minutes so it is no longer boiling. If it is too hot, you may crack the glass votive. To remove the wax from the glass votive, set the votive in a bowl or pan and pour the hot water in around it, making sure it is deep enough to rise up to the level of the wax within the votive. Let the votive sit in the hot water for 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully remove the votive from the water, using a towel or rag to handle the hot glass votive. With a butter knife, slide the softened wax out of the glass votive and dispose of it. This method works best for 1 or 2 votives if you’re more pressed for time.

Removing Wax from Glass Votives – The Heat Method #2

You will need a disposable aluminum pie tin or other aluminum pan lined with aluminum foil for this method. Line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil to catch any spills as you move the pans in and out of the oven. Preheat the oven to 175-200 degrees. No hotter because wax is flammable at higher temperatures. Set the glass votives upside down on the disposable pan or foil-lined pans and place the pans in the oven. Check every 20 minutes until all the wax has liquefied and run down into the pans under the votives. Using towels or oven mitts remove the pans from the oven and then the votives from the pans being careful not to touch the hot glass or was. Use a paper towel to wipe away and wax moisture still in the glass votive. This method works best if you have several glass votives to clean at a time. While wiping out the first votive, you can return the pan to the oven to keep the wax from resetting inside the inverted votive.

After any of these methods, allow the glass votive to return to room temperature before washing in hot soapy water to remove any waxy residue. The glass votives should now all be clean and free of candle wax.

Sources: Personal Experience
Goodhousekeeping.com