My Cart
You have no items in your shopping cart.
How to Remove Wax from Glass – 3 Highly Recommended Ways
By Anna Walter
We all want our glass surfaces to be shiny and squeaky clean, but sometimes that is not always the case. Other times, it’s because we want to repurpose some glass products for other uses, and we need to get rid of some substances found in the glass objects.
One such substance is wax. Wax is used in the production of candles. When candles melt and burn, the bye-product is melted wax that has solidified on some of our glass surfaces like tabletop glass. Other times, it may be that we want to get rid of the remnants we have in candle jars.
Irrespective of where the wax is on your glass surface, in this piece, we will be exploring different DIY methods to get rid of wax from glass and glass surfaces.
Table of Contents
Precautions & preparation for wax removal process from glass
For the DIY projects we will be discussing, the following are some of the items that you will need to perform the prescribed processes.
- A pot to boil water
- Hot water
- Hairdryer
- Table knife
- Cotton ball
- Scrub sponge
- Window scraper or razor blade
- Candle warmer or coffee warmer
- Napkin
- Paper plate
- Glass cleaner
Most of the methods discussed will involve heat application either directly or indirectly. So, you may want to have a napkin or hand towel handy for lifting hot objects.
Removing wax from glass containers: glass jar or votive
We will be highlighting three significant methods of removing wax from votive or glass jars.
Method 1: hot water method for removing wax
Steps:
- Place the glass in a bowl or flat plate.
- Pour the hot water into the glass jar or votive and leave for some hours, you could also leave this overnight.
- The wax melts and moves to the top of the water surface. When cool, peel off the melted wax with your hands.
- Wash the jar off with soap and warm water to get rid of the remnants that may have been left behind.
- Dry off with a clean towel or napkin.
Method 2: the candle warmer / coffee warmer method
Steps:
- Place the glass jar or votive on a candle warmer or coffee warmer.
- Leave for some hours until the wax melts completely.
- Once melted, set aside a napkin on a paper plate.
- Pick up the votive or jar. You may want to do this with a hand towel as the glass may have become hot.
- Pour the melted wax on the napkin.
- Wash the jar with soap and warm water to keep clean and get rid of remnants.
Method 3: the freezer method
Steps:
- Place the votive or glass jar with the wax in a freezer. Leave this for some hours or overnight, preferably.
- After the prescribed time, remove the jar from the freezer. At this point, the war may fall off the jar without any other effort required.
- If it doesn’t, chip off at the wax with a table knife, and the wax would get off the glass jar easily.
- Once all the wax is out of the jar, wash with warm soap and water to clean the jar and get rid of remnants.
Removing candle wax from glass plate
Method 1: scrape off the wax
- Soak a sponge in hot water.
- Use the sponge to wipe down the wax to moisten it. You may pour some hot water if the plate can handle some water quantity.
- Using gentle and soft strokes, carefully scrape off the wax from the glass plate using a razor blade or scraper. The strokes are to prevent the tools from leaving scratches on your glass plate.
- Continue with the scraping gently until all wax remnant is off the glass plate
- Use a warm, clean, and damp cloth to wipe down the glass. This gets rid of remnants and cloudy residue that may be left behind from the wax on the plate.
Method 2: glass cleaner
Glass cleaners are also great for getting wax off glass plates, especially if the wax is not too thick.
STEPS:
- Spray glass cleaner on the wax extensively. You may also use a homemade glass cleaner instead of a glass cleaner.
- Clean off using a paper towel to get rid of the wax.
- If the first attempt does not get rid of the wax completely, repeat the process until the plate is free of wax.
- Wash off the plate with warm water and soap to get rid of any residue.
- Wipe off with a warm, clean, and damp cloth.
Removing wax from glass windows or glass table
Method 1: the hair dryer method
- Using an extension socket, plug in your hair dryer close to the glass window or glass surface with the wax.
- Power on the hairdryer and set to a hot temperature.
- Blow hot air on the wax for some minutes or until the wax begins to melt.
- Clean off melted wax with a paper towel or clean, soft rag.
- Repeat the process until there is no more wax on the surface of the glass window or glass table.
- Wipe the surface with a damp clean microfiber cloth to get rid of any filmy residue.
Method 2: the scraping method
- Soak up a sponge with hot water.
- Use the sponge to wipe down on the wax until visibly moist.
- Use a razor blade or table knife to scrape off the wax.
- Employ soft and gentle strokes to avoid leaving scratches on the surface of your glass window or glass table.
- If the wax gets hardened again, you may moisten with the sponge and resume scraping until all wax has been removed from the glass surface successfully.
- Wipe the surface with a moistened, clean, lint-free cloth to get rid of remnants and clean the surface completely.
How to keep the glass clean for brand new looking?
The best way to keep glass clean, shiny, and polished is to maintain the glass by keeping it clean regularly. This not only makes it visually appealing, but it also increases the durability of the glass.
You can decide to make your DIY cleaning solution at home by either creating a water and vinegar cleaning solution, or a water and dishwashing solution.
For a professional finish and shine, you should use high-quality glass cleaners that do not contain harmful chemicals that will damage your glass surface. A high-quality glass cleaner product that fits this is the Glass and Mirror Cleaner Foam from Fab Glass and Mirror.
The Glass and Mirror Cleaner is a low ammonized glass cleaner that is free of harmful chemicals. The product never leaves a cloudy film on your glass surface after use. All you need to do is spray on your glass surface and wipe off with a clean, lint-free cloth.
