How to Clean a Glass Votive Holder

A lot of people throw away glass votive candle holders because they don't know how to remove wax that has melted and stuck to the sides. Have you ever tried to scrape, peel, chip away or remelt candle wax to remove it? That's the hard way. But you're in luck, because there's a top secret simple solution to removing hardened candle wax from a votive holder. It's easier than you might imagine.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Votive candle holder
• Wax stuck to your votive candle holder
• Freezer

Removing Candle Wax

1. Verify that the candle wax is indeed stuck to your votive. Sometimes wax just pops right out because the candle has a high enough oil content that it resists sticking. Others, however, can be surprisingly stubborn and definitely need a cleaning. Wax buildup is unattractive and, if it gets thick enough, can even prevent you from removing the small aluminum tray that holds the votive candle.

2. Allow the candle wax left in the votive to cool completely. Wax has a tendency to spread when it's warm, so cooling it off is important for effective cleaning.

3. Remove the candle from the votive, unless the melted wax has left the entire candle stuck. If the entire candle is stuck, this top secret trick will still work.

4. 
    
   Removing Candle Wax Can Make Your Candles Look Like New

   Place your votive holder in the freezer. Allow it to stay there for a few hours, or even overnight. The freezing temperatures will cause the wax to shrink, thereby (drumroll please) releasing it from the glass votive holder.

5. Apply a small amount of pressure to the wax, and the entire mass of wax will pop off. After you remove the majority of the wax, there might be a few extra bits stuck to the sides. If they don't pop off easily, scrape them with a razor blade, scrub them with an abrasive dish sponge and dishwasher detergent, or soak the candle holder in an ammonia solution.

6. Polish the glass of your votive holder with vinegar.

Tips & Warnings

• Cleaning wax from votive candles can be messy, as little chips of wax can fly everywhere, so it's best to do all your votives at the same time.
• Do not relight a candle in a frozen votive holder; it can shatter and injure you.