Our candles are made to be kept. The wax burns for about 40 hours; the ceramic vessel it sits in is meant to stay in your life for years after. Getting from one to the other takes about ten minutes of cleaning. Here's how to do it without damaging a handmade vessel.
Before you start
Stop burning the candle when about half an inch of wax remains. Burning lower than that can overheat the base of the vessel. Then let it cool completely, for at least a few hours. Both methods below work on soy and coconut wax blends like ours.
Method 1: The freezer (our favorite)
This is the gentlest method for ceramic and the least messy.
- Put the vessel in the freezer for a few hours or overnight.
- As the wax gets cold, it shrinks slightly and pulls away from the walls.
- Take it out and let it sit at room temperature for a minute or two.
- Slide a butter knife or wooden spoon handle under the edge of the wax and pop it out in one piece. It usually comes out along with the wick.
If the wax doesn't release, give it more time in the freezer rather than forcing it.
Method 2: Warm water
Good if you're short on time or the wax layer is thin.
- Set the vessel on a folded towel in the sink.
- Fill it with hot tap water. Not boiling water: see the note below.
- Let it sit until the water cools. The wax melts, floats to the top, and hardens into a disc.
- Lift the wax disc off and pour out the water.
Getting the wick tab off
The small metal disc at the bottom is held on with adhesive. Slide a butter knife under it and lift. If any sticky residue is left, a little rubbing alcohol or cooking oil on a paper towel will take it off, followed by soap.
The final wash
Wash the vessel by hand with hot water and dish soap, and dry it completely. The standard to aim for is simple: clean enough to drink out of. No wax film, no soot, no residue. That's also the standard for our refill program.
What to avoid
- Sudden temperature changes. Handmade stoneware can crack under thermal shock. Don't pour boiling water into a cold vessel, and don't move it straight from the freezer into hot water.
- The oven. Melting wax out in the oven is a common tip online, but it's risky for glazed ceramic and a fire hazard with wax.
- Metal scrapers on the glaze. Use a butter knife gently on the wax, but avoid scraping the glazed surface with metal, which can leave marks.
- The drain. Wax hardens in pipes. Throw leftover wax in the trash.
What to do with it next
All of our glazes are food-safe, so once your vessel is fully cleaned, it can become your everyday coffee cup. It also works as a pen cup, a catch-all for keys and jewelry, a toothbrush holder, or a cachepot for a small plant. Our vessels don't have drainage holes, so keep the plant in its plastic nursery pot and set that inside.
Or give it another life as a candle. Bring your clean Carbon Candle vessel back to our Minneapolis studio and we'll refill it with fresh wax and a new wick, in any current fragrance, for $19. Here's how refills work.