the best way to clean out wax from a candleholder is to put it in the freezer. After about 20min or so you can pull it out and the wax will usually come out with one solid thump on the bottom of the holder. Then put it in the dishwasher.

Thanks for the warning but my suggestion is one that I would approach with caution. My husband, after hearing my frustration with getting the old candle wax out of a candle jar, put it on our still warm bbq and got the remaining wax out. I'm surprised the ceramic jar didn't crack or break but that is why I recommend caution when using my approach.

This reminds me of the time I went to microwave my day-old coffee, and grabbed the only clean mug in the house. Unfortunately it was a fancy ceramic mug my sister gave me as a gift, and I did not realize it was not really microwaveable until I grabbed the hot, dripping handle of the mug and burned the hell out of my hand.

I've always used a butter knife to scrape off the solid candle and even the residue wax, then just scrubbed it with soap.

I like to put the candle holder outside and pour boiling water on it.

freezer.

Step 1: freeze, then crack/scrape the wax out; my plastic peanut-butter spatula is particularly good at the scraping part.

Step 2: if there's still a little film of wax, pour in near-boiling water and wipe it out with paper towels; I use my silicon oven mitts while doing this.

Step 3: rubbing alcohol will get that last little waxy haze out and leave the glass sparkling clear.

Hot, sudsy tap water works for me. And then I put the mostly-clean candle holder in the dishwasher. I've never had a problem with the residual wax getting on the other dishes. Maybe your dishwasher isn't heating the water up enough?

I also use the boiling water method, or the microwave (with water in the container too!) if it's a microwaveable dish.

My biggest wax-related tip is that wax LOVES newspaper! Don't dump the waxy water down the drain, it can clog the pipes. Instead, dip a piece of newspaper in to the waxy water - the wax sticks to the paper so you can get it all out, then you can just dump the hot water afterward.

Ya'll she said already she usually uses the freezer, it just was too thin a coating to work here!

I'm surprised no one said the way I've always dealt with this- blow dryer and a piece of paper towel. Hit the inside with the blow dryer to melt it then wipe it clean. This is how I was always taught to clean candle making supplies.

Duly Noted! (and I am soooo sorry for your dishwasher disaster. I have done so many careless, unthinking, downright stupid things as a housewife that I could write a book, but it would be too depressing to buy.)

BTW- The problem had more to do with beeswax than candles. I've put regular candle scraps before with no problems. But beeswas is more melty.

A couple other methods I use in addition to what has been posted - a little dishwasher detergent (the dry grainy kind) on a damp towel. This gets the last film of wax off for me.

The other is my fave though - just a few drops of water in the glass with the candle. The candle may burn for a slightly shorter time but it goes out immediately when it hits the water and the few drops of water make for an easy cleanup.

Hair dryer works like a charm :) Then just wipe it off.

My mom, a former biology teacher, once decided to wash her disection trays in the dishwasher. Unfortunately, all the wax melted, the trays had to be thrown out and they had to get a new dishwasher.

I second Ms. Vickie's suggestion of putting water in the bottom of the glass before adding the candle and lighting it. Of course, that doesn't help solve the problem of wax in the glass after its been burned.

This post makes me feel like a scrub- I almost never wash candle holders, I just pop new candles on top of the old wax!

Thanks for the warning, in case I ever do try cleaning them. :)

I great way of preventing this problem is to put a little water in the glass before you put the candle in. Then the wax sets once it hits the water not the glass.

I read this post laughing, thank you for the smile today :)

I'm glad you got all your dishes clean finally.

I'd set the container in a pot of boiling water and let it melt and then pour it off.

I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this, just dip the bottom of the glass in a small bowl of very hot water. The glass heats up and softens the wax enough to remove it without any melting, goo or residue.
It takes a minute and works every time

No one has mentioned it so I'm halfway afraid to list it but the solution I use on holders that have just a smear of wax is to "carefully" soak/wipe it with gasoline or acetone. After the solvent melts the wax away just wash the glass in soapy water.

Candles are for holders. Glasses are for bourbon.

These days I use a few tealights that come in aluminum (which are get recycled) cups. This cuts down a lot on the stray wax problem.

I like the hair dryer idea.

Once upon a time I remember capturing all of the wax drippings and using them to make more candles. The boiling/hot wat method works best for this as you can let the water cool and then skim the wax.

Don't feel too stupid. I out-did you. Now, I'm hoping that I don't have to go so far as to buy a new dishwasher. On Christmas night, after we also celebrated my son's 26th birthday, for some reason, I put birthday candles (a 2 & a 6)in the utinsil compartment, which has a little lid to hold small items. I put the little top down so that the candles wouldn't be pushed out by the water). How dumb! Didn't have to worry about them coming out. The next day I opened the dishwasher and the candles were not there. I told my husband that something was odd and as I was telling him, I realized where they'd gone. I rewashed the dishes by hand, but most weren't that bad. I've been using the dishwasher ever since and today I walked in to the kitchen where there were suds covering my floor and still coming. Is there anything that anyone wiser than I, can tell me to do. HELP!!!

Hi. I have the perfect solution. My dear hubby was "helping" me by cleaning up the dishes after a birthday party. Well, the BLACK "over the hill" candle had frosting on it, so in the dishwasher it went, along with a brand new plastic cake keeper. OMG! Everything in the dishwasher was covered in a black film. I tried every solution I could find on the internet and nothing worked. I was soaking the lid in asink of hot water for the 3rd time and just reached over to my 409, sprayed it and gave it a scrub with a green scrubby. Viola!!

Just soak your item in as hot a water as you can stand, pull it out, spray 409 on it and scrub with a no scratch pad. Wax starts coming off pretty easily. Just keep rinsing your pad and dipping the item back in the hot water to rinse.