Making New Candles from Old
Materials You Will Need:
Old candles, or wax
Cheese or spice grater
Zipper bag
Small sauce pan with lid
2 cups water
Pencil
Tape
New wick(s)
New container(s)
Bowl of ice and water
First you will need to gather the old candles and remove the wax from any container it might be in, such as a glass jar or aluminum cup. I always try to break up the old wax in as large of chunks as I can. If you prefer, you may separate the wax by color, but I usually just mix it all together.
Next, you will need a standard hand held grater, you could even use a spice grater for this. Carefully grate the wax chunks into a fine powdery consistency. If your chunks of wax are too small to run down a grater safely, you may also place them into a zipper bag and refrigerate them for 30 minutes. Wrap the cooled bag of wax in a hand towel and hit with a hammer several times until the chunks have reduced to a fine power.
Next, fill the small sauce pan with 2 cups of water, and bring to a rolling boil. Place your powdered wax into a zipper bag and seal. Place the zipper bag into the boiling water, then turn the burner off, and cover with a lid for 3 to 5 minutes. The heat of the water will dissolve the wax.
Prepare the new container by securing the wick firmly to the bottom of the container. Some wicks come with a peel and stick adhesive, others will require you to dip them in a tiny bit of melted wax to adhere them. I always use a pencil to place across the top of my container, to center the wick and keep it held upright. I attach the wick to the pencil with a small piece of tape. Next you may remove your zipper bag of wax from the hot water and carefully open just one corner of the bag.
Note: This is where I use the bowl of ice and water. Melted wax is extremely hot and will immediately adhere to your fingers! Rather than trying to wipe it off, and risk serious burn, I recommend you place your fingers immediately into the ice water! Pour the contents into the new container, and make any necessary adjustments to the wick’s placement as the container fills. Remember wax will shrink as it cools, so save the extra wax in the bag by closing the zipper and setting it aside. You may need to repeat the process once your new candle has cooled if the container isn’t as full as you desire.
