handmade crafts

How to: Changing candle wick




I thought it would be fun to create simple “life” tutorials on my website.
For the first one, I decided to do a “how-to” on replacing the wick in a failed candle. Here’s a bit of background: I bought an autumn/winter candle from Ikea called VINTERFINT, which comes in a small glass jar with a lid. I love that it comes in a glass jar because I can reuse it for storing small knick-knacks.
However, the candle didn’t burn properly and started “tunneling,” meaning it melted down the middle while the sides remained un-melted. Eventually, the wick became too short to burn.
So, I decided to change the wick! I love the scent of the candle and didn’t want to just scoop out the wax. I went to a local craft store (similar to a dollar store) and bought some wicks. I paid 1 euro for 10 wicks.


  • new wicks
  • heat gun
  • a scraping tool
  • tweezers/pliers




You could melt the candle in a pot with hot water, but I decided to use my heat gun instead. I aimed the heat directly at the center where the wick “stump” is. It melts pretty quickly with the heat gun set to the lowest heat.




When the area around the wick becomes melty and goopy, I use a scraping tool to remove the wax. The wick holder is somewhat glued down, but the heat gun melts the glue, making it more gloopy. Although it’s still difficult to detach from the bottom, using a pair of small pliers makes it much easier to remove.




Once I removed the old wick, I used the heat gun for a few seconds to melt the old glue at the bottom. I quickly pressed the new wick into the melted glue. After that, I just melted the rest of the wax.



While melting the wax, I scooped the side walls into the middle to help it melt quicker. Once everything is melted, make sure to center the wick so it doesn’t lean over, and then let it cool down completely.



Tada! Once its all nice and cool you can use your “refurbished” candle =))


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