Candles are one of the best ways to spice up a room. They are relatively inexpensive, long-lasting, and come in many different sizes, colors, and scents. There are tons of things you can do with candles, and we will show you some in this article.
However, most people wouldn’t think to use candles for anything but lighting the dark or providing ambiance with their glowing flames. The truth is that there are crazy yet useful things you can do with candles just by putting your mind to them!
Here’s 10 of them that we have put together in one article:
1 . Make Your Own Scented Candles
Making your own candles is a great way to make them exactly how you want them. You can use scents that you like, and you can even add essential oils or dried flowers.
2 . Put Out A Fire With Candles
If there’s ever a fire in your home, it’s always best to stay calm and evaluate the situation. If the fire isn’t too big yet, try using things around the house to smother it out. If not, grab an exit strategy and get out of there! And if all else fails, light some candles! Candles are surprisingly good at putting fires out. Once they cool down enough so they aren’t flammable anymore of course.
3 . Give Yourself A Hot Oil Treatment
Admittedly this might not be the best idea if it’s winter and you don’t want to freeze while doing your daily activities, but putting a hot towel or sheet over your head while applying heat with a candle is very soothing.
4 . Put Candles In The Refrigerator To Make It Smell Like Summer All Year Long
If you’re craving summer all year long, try lighting some candles in the fridge! You can buy wax made to scent the fridge like vanilla or coconut, and it will make everything smell like summertime.
5 . Open A Tight Jar With A Candle And A Hair Tie
Tired of opening pickle jars with your hands? Try using a candle and hair tie instead. First light a candle (so that it can burn safely). Then take an unused hair tie and loop it around the head of the jar.
Finally, hold the candle to the opening of the jar with your other hand until you feel some heat. The hot air should loosen up the lid enough so you can open it.
6 . Make A Mini Sauna Out Of Your Bathroom
If there isn’t any room for a sauna in your home, try making one out of your bathroom!
All you need is a shower curtain that’s long enough to wrap all the way around you when you’re sitting down, plus two large buckets filled halfway with water.
Hang them from opposite ends of your shower rod by their handles, then hang another shower curtain behind it on hangers attached to the bar. You can heat up the water in the buckets with a candle and close the curtain for some steamy relaxation.
7 . Replicate The Scent Of Any Lipstick With A Candle
If you want to smell like strawberries, but don’t have any strawberry-scented lotion or anything around, try lighting a vanilla-scented candle instead!
All you have to do is pour hot water over instant coffee crystals in a small bowl until it dissolves completely.
Then put in three drops of red food coloring and five drops of strawberry extract. Finally, add your favorite scented candle wax into it by dropping chunks into your container one by one while stirring them constantly.
When they melt together almost all the way, stop stirring and let it cool. Once cooled, pour the wax into your warmer or onto a candle to get that strawberry smell!
8 . Clean Your Makeup Brushes With A Candle And Some Lighter Fluid
Put some lighter fluid on a paper towel, then hold it against an unlit candle until the flame catches. Now brush your makeup brushes in the flames until you have clean ones again! Put them aside when they are dry enough so you don’t burn yourself.
9 . Start A Fire In The Snow With A Few Candles
If all else fails in starting a fire in wet snow or rain, try using candles! Just place them at even distances apart from each other in a spot where they will catch something on fire. Then cover them up with snow to cast shadows over them so the flame will catch better, and eventually turn into a bigger fire!
10 . Use A Candle To Clean Up Broken Glass
Put out any candles and make sure there is no ventilation in the room (window shutters, doors shut, etc). Carefully sweep up any large pieces of glass and put them on a paper towel or piece of cardboard.
When you’ve gathered everything together, hold your candle above it. The heat from the candle will help pick up the smaller shards of glass that might not be caught by a vacuum or broom.
Afterward, gently pour some hot water onto an unused ice cube tray and use it to rinse off whatever you picked up. When the water has poured out, pick up the tray and use a hairdryer to dry it off.
11 . Removing Stains With Unused Candles
If you have an old candle that’s going to waste because it wasn’t perfectly smooth when you finished melting it, make sure to save it! It can be used as a polishing tool for wax stain removal.
All you need is a candle and a clean cloth, such as an old t-shirt or socks. Simply rub the stained area until all of the color transfers into the cloth underneath.
Afterward, dump some dish soap on another piece of fabric and rub it where you removed the stains with your homemade “polisher” until they come right off!
12 . Instant Mirror With A Candle
All you need to create a temporary mirror is a candle and a surface that won’t catch fire while you’re using it. Place your hand against the wall (or whatever non-flammable place you like) and hold the flame directly underneath your palm until the heat makes it sweat.
Then wipe away what collects on your hand with another clean cloth, and voila! You’ll have an instant before-and-after look at whatever you want to see. You can also do this with white chalk or baby powder if you don’t like sweaty palms.
13 . Make Candles Float In The Bathtub With Shaving Cream
Soak some cheap shaving cream into balloons that are large enough to fit over a candle. Then tie them off and insert the candle into the hole you just created. Blow up each balloon a little more so they can stay afloat, then put them wherever you want in your bathtub for a great sensory experience!
And when you’re done with your candles, whip out a hairdryer to get rid of any remaining shaving cream residue so things don’t clog up.