What do you do with wax melts?

To answer this simply you need to firstly understand what wax melts are. So, What are wax melts? These are scented pieces of wax that are melted with a heat source to release their fragrance. They have grown hugely in popularity over the past 5 years and are now commonly seen in most homes.

To melt the wax a wax burner/warmer is used. A wax burner is often the term used to describe a ceramic object that holds a tealight underneath a bowl where the wax sits and melts. A wax warmer is most often used to describe a similar object but one that is powered by electric and warms the wax with either a bulb or hot plate rather than a flame.

Wax warmers/burners come in many forms to match your home design and are often used as stylish home decor items aswell as functional melters. Some examples or wax burners are shown below:

What is a tea light wax burner?

These are often made from ceramics and have an entrance to insert a tealight into and a bowl/well shape on top to hold the wax.

One thing to be mindful of with tea light style wax burners is to ensure they are definitely suitable for wax as oil burners can sometimes be confused but are much smaller. There is no definite rule that says a burner is/isn't suitable for wax so you must check the guidelines provided by the manufacturer however there must be a gap between the burning tea light and the base of the wax melt bowl and to do this effectively wax burners are most often over 10cm tall, the shorter style are predominantly oil burners and are not suitable. This isn’t always the case and some under 10cm can be used but they must be made for wax and not just oil so please always check this. 

What is a an electric wax warmer?

These are typically in two styles, those with a light bulb that can act as a decorative lamp as well as a melter and those with a hot plate. 

Electric lamp warmers:

Electric hot plate warmers:

What type or wax melter you choose will depend on where you want to use it and what you want from it. There are hundreds of different designs to choose from so you are bound to find something you like. 

Once you have selected your chosen wax warmer you simply turn it on or light a tealight and pop a small piece of wax into the bowl area and allow it to melt. This leads on to what the next question we get asked often is.

How much wax melt should I use?

The amount of wax you choose to use is completely your choice dependent on what wax you are using and the size of the wax bowl however a good rule of thumb is around 2 cubes of one of our wax melt snap bars. 

There is a common misconception that the more wax that is used the stronger a scent will be. This is actually quite often the opposite and by using too much wax the smell isn't as strong or doesn't travel as far. The reason for this is that the heat cannot penetrate the wax pool enough to "throw" the scent. A thin layer of melted wax covering the surface of the entire dish is ideal. 

So you've got yourself a snazzy new warmer, you've found the right size wax and have loved the scent of amazing wax wafting around your home for a few days and now the scent has gone and your left with melted unscented wax, so now what?

How do you empty a wax burner?

There are a few ways to empty the dish but most popular is using cotton wool to soak up the molten wax and then to dispose of this appropriately before adding new wax to your dish. It is quick and easy to do and disposes of the wax accordingly. Never pour wax down the sink! it will clog the drains.

Some wax bowls are detachable from the warmer and suitable for freezing, where the wax then simply pops out when frozen. This can cause cracks to appear in the wax bowl when exposing it to extreme high and low temperatures and the bowl should always be examined prior to reuse as well as checking with the melter manufacturer to ensure the melter is suitable for this.

Some people also opt to use a silicone case inside the dish of the warmer when melting and then when the wax hardens after use, removing the case to empty easily and then starting the process again. Silicone cases are not something we recommend as we have not tested this method and we do not recommend putting anything into your wax dish that isn't wax however you will see this often on social media. Please contact the melter manufacturer prior to using this method.

Now lastly, how do you know when to empty your warmer?

How often do you change wax melts?

Some people like to change their scents daily or even more frequently however if you are being thrifty you will only need to change them when the scent runs out. Long lasting wax melts vary hugely dependent on your chosen wax warmer/burner and the scent so there is no set length of time as to when you should change but the key is to change when you either cannot smell the scent anymore or just because you want too.

I hope this has helped answer your questions but please feel free to message us and we will be more than happy to help further.