What I want to share with you here today isn’t really so much ‘my discovery’ but rather a compilation of simple experiences I’ve had throughout the years with the use of candle wax. Now everyone knows in the absence of electricity, you light a candle to ‘cure’ the dark, but the fact of the matter is there are many more uses to that little waxy stick:
1. Solid lubricant
If you have ceiling/wall fans then you’ll probably find that after each wipe-down, they make a noise. Whether it’s an irritating squeak or an alarming grind, you’d find yourself reaching out for a bottle of lubricating oil… But once when I first moved into my new home, that trusty bottle of oil went missing I went into a frantic panic! My husband just calmly as for a candle and before I knew it the fan was smooth spinning again. Only then did I find out using a candle to line the same spot you would spray oil over worked just as well, in fact better because it didn’t leave a drippy mess!
2. Cleaning the iron
Well I suppose we are beyond the days of our hand-irons sticking to just about everything. Personally I still find it a pain but non-stick Teflon surfaces have really made a difference. Yet sometimes you’ll still find something akin to a layer stuck on to the surface of your iron and since you’re dealing with a non-stick surface, the last thing you want is a scratch. So I find the best way to clean the iron is to use candle wax. Just heat up the iron then take a candle and rub it against the spot. The dirt/layer will fall off and for those stubborn ones, just wax it then iron against a rag.
3. Threading a needle
This is something my grandmother taught my mother and my mother then taught me. Threads are fine and the eye of the needle is tiny. Sure there’s that device that helps loop the thread in but honestly I don’t use it very much or at all. On days when you don’t have those thread looping things around, just take the thread and cut it into a candle to coat it. It will stiffen the thread allowing for more control when threading it into the needle.
4. Preventing knots
If you sew and especially if you do beading, you’ll understand the frustration of dealing with long pieces of thread – they knot up like crazy! You can’t exactly go for shorter thread either because the joints will also drive you crazy and make the art-piece less perfect. So what I do it just run the entire length of the thread into a stick of candle and it never knots.
5. Filling up marble
Beautiful homes have beautiful floors. Some love wood, some adore marble. Well for those with marble you’ll realise how fragile the floor can be. When something drops on it, there’s always a risk of chipping the floor. Well there are fillers but those are expensive and quite the chemical frenzy. What I do is get a white candle, light it and drip the clear hot wax into the chip, filling it up. Then when it cools and hardens, just use a putty knife to scrape off the access mount and use a clean cloth to buff!
