Cart
0
Cleaning a burner should take about ten seconds. If it is taking longer, you are probably doing it while the wax is warm, which is the hard way.
The cool-and-pop method
- Put the burner out and leave it until the wax has set hard and cooled completely. An hour is usually enough.
- Press one edge of the wax disc firmly with your thumb.
- The disc releases from the well in one piece. Lift it out and bin it.
- Wipe the well with a dry cotton pad or paper towel.
This works because wax contracts as it cools and pulls away from the glaze. It is most reliable on glazed ceramic. Soy releases more cleanly than paraffin.
If the disc won't budge
Freezer method: put the whole burner (or the removable dish) in the freezer for fifteen minutes. The wax contracts further and usually falls straight out.
Warm-and-wipe: light the tealight for two or three minutes until the very bottom layer softens, blow it out, and slide the still-solid disc out with a spoon. Wipe the residue with a dry towel while the well is warm.
Stubborn residue
On ceramic, a cotton pad with a little rubbing alcohol or white vinegar lifts the last film. On soapstone and sandstone, use a dry cloth only, these are porous, and water or solvent soaks in and can leave a mark or trap old fragrance. Some staining on natural stone is normal and does not affect performance.
Never do these
- Never pour molten wax down a sink. It sets in the trap and blocks it.
- Never put a hot burner in cold water. Thermal shock cracks ceramic.
- Do not use a knife or metal scraper on glaze, the scratches trap wax and make every future clean harder.
- Do not put burners in a dishwasher unless the maker says so.
How often
Change the wax when it stops smelling, and wipe the well every time. A quick wipe each change stops old fragrance muddying the new one, the most common cause of a melt smelling "off" is a burner carrying yesterday's scent.
Shop wax melt burners and removing wax. The Classic Yin Yang Oil Burner pictured above is one of our easiest to clean.
