Does it matter how you remove wax from your wax warmer? Well, yes! It can get pretty messy if you’re not careful, and you might even end up wasting some wax by spilling it.
Read till the end to learn how to remove wax from wax warmer.
Table of Contents
#Method 1: The Heating method
Before using the heating method, here are a few things to remember!
If your wax is in liquid form before you start removing it, it'll make the process easier. When working with solid wax, you should turn on your wax warmer for a while and wait until the wax is liquid.
If your wax still has a fragrance and you are just removing it to change up the scent for a while, you can pour it in a paper cup or a small wax container and reuse them whenever you want.
If you don't have a wax container, you can use an ice tray.
Here’s how you can use the heating method to remove wax from your wax warmer.
Cotton Balls
Set one or two cotton balls in the melting pot and wait for them to soak up the wax. You can add more cotton to the heating dish depending on the amount of wax that needs to be soaked up.
Leave them like that for a couple of minutes and pick them up once they are cool enough to hold. Discard the damp cotton, and then use a kitchen roll to wipe any residue.
You can actually keep the cotton balls if you want. They can turn into great firelighters. They'll smell amazing if they still have a fragrance.
Kitchen Roll
If you don't have cotton, pour the liquid wax from your warmer onto a piece of kitchen roll. Soy wax is biodegradable and non-toxic, so it's safe to throw in the trash.
You shouldn't pour the wax directly into the bin. The melted tarts are hot, and they can melt the bag in your trash can. Only do this if your warmer doesn’t get too hot and if you know that it’s safe to dump your wax in the garbage.
Don't burn your fingers while cleaning the wax. You should turn off the wax heater a few minutes before you remove the leftover crumbs.
Remember that tealight wax warmers get hotter than electric ones.
Spoon
You can also use a spoon to remove wax from the dish. You can't do this while the wax is completely melted. You will have to wait until it takes a soft form.
A spoon can damage your dish, so scoop the wax by holding the utensil against its inner edge. Then turn your warmer dish around in a rotating motion to collect the wax in the spoon.
Once you're done, hold your spoon over the bin and give it a few strong, sharp shakes to let the wax fall off and drop inside the trash can.
This technique is best suited for wax warmers without a detachable melting dish.
#Method 2: The Freezing method
Pop your wax dish in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Here’s how the freezing method works.
Tap the dish
Take out your dish and turn it over in the trash can. Give it a few good taps to get the wax off.
Use a popsicle stick
If the tapping doesn’t help, use a popsicle stick or a similar object to take out the frozen wax. You can just place one end of your popsicle stick at the edge of the solid piece of wax and pry it off by applying force upwards.
It should be pretty easy to remove as the wax shrinks when frozen. Store your tart for later use or throw it in the trash if it has no scent left.
If there are any extra crumbs in the dish, scrape them out using a butter knife or a scraper. Be careful not to leave scratch marks on your melting dish.
This method is NOT for electric wax warmers without removable lids.
#Method 3: Prying Off Method
If you use paraffin wax melts, you can pry out the hardened wax easily. Just leave your wax warmer on until the wax is slightly softened. It should start melting at the bottom but be careful not to leave it on for so long that you end up with liquid wax.
This method may be a little difficult because you need to time it correctly. Once the wax melts slightly, turn off the warmer and take out the dish. It should be cool enough to handle, so you can hold the wax from the edge and pull it away to remove it.
Alternatively, you can do the opposite. Leave the wax heater on for a minute and then turn it off. The liquid wax should start hardening up. You can poke the wax to see if it leaves an indent, and that's how you’ll know if it's ready to be removed.
Take the dish out and pry the wax off using your fingers. You can wipe any residue with a paper towel.
You can check out this video for a visual explanation of these methods.
#Method 4: Line Your Warmer Dish To Make Cleaning Easy
Instead of wasting your time and energy on scrubbing off the wax in the future, use a liner to give your melting dish an extra layer. You can place your wax melts on top of the liner. This way, when it's time to discard them, you can pick up the extra layer and throw it in the bin.
With this method, you can avoid the annoying, sticky film that forms at the bottom of the melting tray over time.
There are also some reusable liners you can use. The best thing about these liners is that there's no environmental waste, and you can save some money you might have spent on disposable liners. According to happywax, liners also help your wax heaters last longer and keep them in their best condition for years.
If you don't have a wax melt liner, you can use a cupcake liner or tinfoil. These items can't be used again, but they'll do the job!
Cleaning Your Wax Warmer Dish
- You should clean your melting dish once a week or every time you remove the melted wax. The brownish layer of the remaining wax can be stubborn and prevent heat from properly melting your wax tarts.2-3 wax melts should give you about 6-8 hours of the scent.
- Clean your melting tray every time you remove the wax as well. The residue at the bottom of your dish will keep building over time. At one point, it will start mixing with your scents when you burn new wax tarts. You will get a strange combination of fragrances when the wax cubes melt into the residue.
- You can remove the hardened wax film with a counter clean or rubbing alcohol. When using the counter clean, just spray it on the warmer tray until the residue softens up and wipe it clean with a paper towel. You can pour the rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and clean up the sticky wax until your dish looks brand new.
What Can You Do With The Melted Wax?
If your wax has a fragrance, you can store it for later use. If it is all used up, you can throw the melted wax away.Never pour the wax down the drain. You should always throw it in the trash.
RusticWise suggests keeping the scent-free wax to make new wax melts!
- Keep storing your used wax in a container until you have a good amount of it to work with.
- Now, use a double boiler to melt the wax.
- Drop all your stored wax in a small pot and place the pot on a large pan filled with water.
- Turn on the heat and let the wax melt until it's combined.
- Then, choose the essential oils of your choice and add a few drops to the wax.
- Mix the contents of the pan and pour the hot wax into an ice tray or a silicone mold.
- Let the wax cool down, and then place the mold in the freezer for a few hours.
It’s time to take out your brand-new wax melts and use them in your wax warmer!
Final Words
To sum up, there are four easy ways you can use to remove wax from your wax warmer.
- You can use two traditional methods, namely the heating and the freezing method.
- If you use paraffin wax, you can pry it out with your hand.
- You can use the liner method to avoid cleaning the warmer dish in the future.
- You should change your wax when the scent fades away and add new wax tarts after cleaning the melting tray thoroughly.
- Using old wax is an excellent method to make new wax melts. You only need to melt the wax in a double boiler and add essential oils for fragrance.
Ask below if you have a question, and tell us what method you use to remove old wax!
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