Recycling Candles
Recycling Candles
One of the earliest inventions in human history is the Candle. A source of light, usually made of wax (tallow was widely used in the past, which is the processed fat of cattle and sheep). The wax is melted then molded, and contains a wick that is burned to give light. Or the wick itself would be dipped in melted wax several times.
These days, candles are mainly used for decorating rooms and celebrations. The art of candlemaking has advanced rapidly since Chevreul a nineteenth century French chemist, produced stearic acid. A substance obtained by separating fatty acids from glycerin fat. And later the discovery of paraffin, that is distilled from wood, coal or petroleum. These two substances became the basic elements of making superior candles.
Now, modern candles come in different sizes, shapes and colors. Ever since Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity, candlemaking became more of a hobby than craft.
The hobby of candlemaking sometimes can turn out to be quite complicated and even expensive. Have you ever thrown away candle stubs? Most likely you have! Well, a simple and a much less costly way to making your own candles is by saving these useless stubs for re-melting into new candles.
You could start by keeping the unburned candle ends instead of dumping them in the garbage can. You could even collect them from family, neighbors and friends. But before you start recycling your used candles, it is advised to prepare in advance your working space and materials. Thus avoiding a big nasty mess!
Your work area should have all the materials you need for your candlemaking, or candle-recycling project. And do give yourself plenty of room.
After collecting your candle stubs and scrapes, inspect them one by one. There may have been a glaze or glue used on the candle surface that may not melt or mix well, and may even smell bad; throw those away.
Now clean the candles as much as you can. Start by removing any labels, cut the burnt parts of the wicks off the candles; and remove any exterior decorations that look like they were added after the candle was made, such as pressed flowers or glitter, scrape them off with a knife if you have to. Be careful!
There are a variety of candlemaking kits, equipment and materials that you can buy at hobby stores or arts and crafts stores. But using items from your...