How would you de-waxify a menorah?

Put in hot water (if applicable).

Put it in the freezer for awhile, then chip it off with an old credit card.

Is there a hair dryer in the house? Same principle as the blow torch, but much safer. Just be sure to have some newspaper or aluminum foil or whatever under it before you heat up the wax or you’ll have wax on your counter or table

I’m with @lucillelucillelucille. Freeze it. When I change the wax in my sentsy I just stick the tray in the freezer and it just pops right out.

Sure, freeze it.
And wait six hours.
Or dunk it in hot water for a few minutes.

I’m with @rebbel ;-)

^^ I’m with @rebbel too. I always use hot water when I need to de-wax a menorah.

But freezing it it comes off really clean. Melting it off leaves a waxy coating.

Technically (I made this up) it’s not melting; it’s shocking the wax off due to unforseen temperature differences.
With a torch it’d be melting.
Also, believe @janbb.

I can’t believe @rebbel! LOL!

I prefer running hot water over mine, after I have chipped all the loose wax off.

Here’s my weigh-in on the Great Menorah Wax Debate of 2019.

Ditto @lucillelucillelucille‘s tip – put the menorah into the freezer for a while. Cold, hardened wax is easy to remove with an old credit card or plastic spatula. I also agree with @Dutchess_III, that softening in hot water will leave a sticky residue.

For next year, you might try these: https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/premium-hand-dipped-chanukah-candles/1014168826?keyword=hanukkah-candles They’re really pretty, burn for an entire hour, and,, best of all, drip very little if at all.

^^^Thank you.

OK, two more nights of Hanukkah, then I try the freezer method.

If that doesn’t work, then I have plan B.

Thanks all.

Happy Hanukkah to my fellow Tribe members!

I soak it in hot water. I never get all the wax off. My menorah is a mess.

But in answer to the question, I just don’t bother.

Maybe someone on this list has a tip of their own to share, but as for me, freezing makes wax clean up much more efficient.

A thought to ponder, wasn’t heat what made a mess of it to begin with?

The wax is also down in the holes where the candles go. If you freeze the wax I don’t know if that makes it harder to get out or easier? I guess I can try it. I don’t know about the other Jewish people here, but I purposely drip wax, or at minimum melt the bottom of the candles a little, so they stay put and don’t catch the house on fire. As far as I know all menorah candies are “dripless” but you can still get drips out of them.

I use the freezer trick to remove wax from candle holders of all materials. Works great.

Just like water, wax changes in dimension when frozen, which makes it easy to remove.

Chosen ones, if you haven’t seen James Corden’s “A Week and a Day,” please check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5YNNkR1hJI The video’s beyond hilarious.

I’ve dewaxified glass Yahrzeit candle containers by scraping them with a knife and then washing them in the dishwasher. They come out sparkling!
They make perfect juice glasses or tea light holders.

@Love_my_doggie Perfect! :-)

@LuckyGuy Would that be hot water, in the dishwasher?

@rebbel Yes, Hot water. The dishwasher has some form of temperature boost that really cranks it up there.

@LuckyGuy but if you use the dishwasher, are you running the risk of the wax melting and the solidifying somewhere down the drainpipe?

@elbanditoroso Yes, there is that remote possibility. That is why I scrape out as much as possible to minimize any residue. I figure the hot water and dish soap help dissolve and distribute the small amount of wax remaining
I certainly don’t want a “waxberg” on my septic system. :-)

There is a special candle just for the Menorah?

^^ Yes. They are thin and colored.

Does it have to be made from a special wax?

@Dutchess_III No, there are no particular rules about it; it’s just customary that these are the candles that are made to fit in the menorah.

Would it be uncouth for me to have a Menorah since I’m not Jewish? I think they’re pretty.

^^I think it’s fine. Just my opinion.

Unless it’s plastic I would put in a pot on the stove but not bring to a boil. The wax will come loose when it gets hot enough and float on top of the water. When you take it out buff it so that any wax residue will be spread very thinly and act as a barrier.

Aren’t menorah’s pretty big?

@Dutchess_III They can be small enough to put birthday candles in or they may be huge 20 foot structures. They all have the same basic shape and number of candles.

http://www.nycitynewsservice.com/2019/12/the-genuine-fire-of-the-worlds-largest-menorah/

@Dutchess_III I have two. One is 12” wide and about 4 inches tall (candles add height).

The other is about 12 inches wide and 10 inches tall.

They can be very artistic. See this link and scan to where the word ‘modern’ appears.

A foot wide….I can’t really think of a pot that could hold something that wide.

Oh! I want this one!

@Dutchess_III I have two of them. :)

For the most part, with a heat gun and old rags or paper towels, then wiping down with a rag soaked in Diesel fuel, then a wipe down with a rag soaked in enamel thinner.

I freeze mine and chip the wax off.

@Dutchess_III I was thinking of that story in Montana in the 90’s where thousands of people in a town put a paper menorah on their window that had been printed in the newspaper to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people after there had been a rock (maybe it was a brick) thrown through the window of a Jewish family’s home.

The menorah you linked is gorgeous.

Chanukah is a miracle of the oil lasting 8 days, it’s not a high holy day, it’s not in the Torah. Seems like anyone could share in the Chanukah story as a united front for the Jewish people. It’s kind of like a symbol of freedom, religious freedom.

@Dutchess_III I love this one