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Thread: How to use the whole candle?

  1. #1
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    How to use the whole candle?

    So, I like to use scented candles, especially scented with something natural. Usually they are small votives or larger candles in a glass or jar. I consider the candles a "splurge" or something that is nice to get as a gift.

    It always bothers me that usually, the wick just stops working (like it is no longer submerged in the candle or something) when there is still a lot of the candle left. Today this happened to two candles and they each have at least 1/8th to maybe 1/6th of it left. I have frequently tried to fix this issue by breaking up the leftover part of the dead candle and "feeding" bits of it into another candle that's still working, but then I usually wind up "drowning" the other candle and then neither one works.

    Is this a safety issue or something so that the bottom of the candle (often glass) won't burn out or get too hot or something and cause a fire? Are most people not bothered by this and just throw out the rest of the candle? Any other suggestions? I assume there is some possibility to save these and then melt them down and make a new candle but could I do that without needing to buy new stuff for the project? I would like to somehow just add more wick to the old one . . .

    Maybe I just need to learn to be okay with throwing out the wasted part and not worry about it!

  2. #2
    Senior Member Simplemind's Avatar
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    We always use those for fire starters in the winter months.

  3. #3
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    I've gotten extra mileage out of expensive scented candles by burning an inexpensive unscented tea light in the middle. There's often a sort of a well in the larger candle, and if I do it while it's still warm and pliable, I can fit the supplemental tea light in there quite nicely.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Sad Eyed Lady's Avatar
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    Or if it is a jar, place it on a mug warmer thing and it will scent without having to be lit.
    "Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in the midnight choir, I have tried in my way to be free." Leonard Cohen

  5. #5
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    There are also candle warmers. They're like a hot plate. No lighting wicks at all.

  6. #6
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    Forgot about that tea light idea; have had some success with that in the past. Trying now.

  7. #7
    Senior Member beckyliz's Avatar
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    I have a warming center on my stovetop - I just put the candle on it and get the last out of it.
    "Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. But accumulate for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, your heart is also." Jesus

  8. #8
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    So I am going to ask a stupid question based on an old saying. Has anyone tried putting on in a warmer, upside down, since the wick normally goes really close to the bottom, then the bottom becomes the top and and it solidify's, pull the wick up and "burn the candle at both ends"?

  9. #9
    Senior Member pony mom's Avatar
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    We use a warmer; I also have a Sentsy burner. They tend to melt around the edges first, so I don't know if that would work. Then again, they're usually pretty small at this point, and not a tall thick candle.

  10. #10
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    I read somewhere this week about putting the wax on a mason jar lid and sticking it in your car cupholder. That the warmth of the sun or your coffee scents your car. If I read about it here in these threads, apologies!

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