Your candle looks finished. There is a centimetre of wax left in the bottom and the wick has gone. Most people bin it there. That last bit of a candle jar still holds real fragrance, and there are three easy things you can do with it.
Why the last of the candle jar still smells
Wax holds fragrance oil right the way through. The bottom centimetre has as much scent in it as the top did.
What runs out first is the wick, not the fragrance. Once the wick is too short to stand up, the candle cannot burn safely. That is the point to stop lighting it.
Manufacturers say to stop when about one centimetre is left in a container. Below that the glass gets hot enough to crack. A cracked jar on a timber sideboard is a bad end to a good candle.
How do you know when to stop burning it?
When the wick is shorter than about a centimetre, or the flame sits very low in the jar. Stop there. The wax that is left is for the ideas below, not for burning.
Three things to do with the leftover wax
Warm it instead of burning it. Scoop the wax out and use it in a wax warmer, the same way you would use wax melts. No flame, no wick, and you get the rest of the scent.
Put it in a drawer. A piece of scented wax in a wardrobe or a drawer keeps working for weeks. It needs no heat at all. Wrap it in a scrap of fabric so it does not mark your clothes.
Warm the jar to get it out. Stand the jar in hot water for ten minutes and the wax lifts out in one piece.
- Never scrape with a knife, the glass can chip
- Never pour melted wax down the sink
- Let the jar cool fully before you handle it
Then keep the jar
Once it is clean the jar is just a nice glass container. Ours end up as pen holders, small vases and bathroom tidies. A little washing-up liquid and warm water clears the last film. A proper wick trimmer makes the next candle last longer too.
Quick answers
Can you melt down old candle wax and reuse it?
You can warm it in a wax warmer. Making a whole new candle at home needs the right wick for the jar width, so it is harder than it looks and often disappointing.
How much wax should you leave in the jar?
About one centimetre. Below that the base gets too hot and the glass can crack.
None of this takes more than ten minutes. That last centimetre is usually a week of scent you already paid for, and most of it goes in the bin. If you are replacing the jar, the Exotic range holds its fragrance well in a warmer.
Related reading
- How to Recycle and Reuse Your Glow Collection Jars: what to do once the wax is out.
- How to Get the Best Out of Your Candles: burn times and wick care.
- Preventing Wax Tunnelling in Candles: stop losing wax up the sides.
