The Kitchen Essential That'll Make Cleaning Candle Spills Easier

There's no more cozy a vibe than an evening at home with a few candles flickering, maybe a cup of tea or a glass of wine in hand. Unfortunately, nothing kills that restful mood faster than when you realize some wax has dripped down its holder, or even worse, you manage to knock a candle over. If your instinct is to just start scraping it with your nail, we have a better solution: wax paper. Yeah, that same kind you use to line baking trays can actually help clean up a candle's drip with some wax-on-wax magic. 

This wax paper method is very effective at loosening stubborn patches, leaving the surface as smooth and clean as it was before — or possibly even cleaner as wax paper can also pick up dust and grime. Of course, this is not the fix if you get candle wax stuck somewhere inaccessible like in your toilet bowl or sink drain, which is a situation that calls for an entirely different tactic. But for tabletop drips and candleholder mishaps, the wax paper hack is a bit of a quiet hero, and you probably already have this kitchen essential in a drawer.

To clean candle spills using wax paper, start by letting the wax fully cool and harden as this helps prevent smearing or spreading it further. This is in line with other methods of wax removal, such as using ice to remove wax, because once the wax is brittle, it becomes easier to lift or crack away. Once it's firm, grab a sheet of waxed paper and gently rub it over the area. The slick waxy surface will pull up the candle wax and, unlike using your nails or something hard like a spoon, it won't scratch the surface of the candleholder or table below. If you have a spill that's landed on fabric instead of a hard surface, you'll need a different approach to the wax paper; these situations respond better to some gentle heat to help draw wax out of porous materials.

It's kind of inevitable that spills will happen, so don't let that put you off lighting some candles. After all, there are many beautiful ways to decorate your home with candles, from delicate tea lights on mantles to larger dining room table centerpieces. A bit of wax dropping here and there is just the price we pay for that level of ambience; plus, now you know exactly how to deal with it when it happens.