Wax spoons are often used with wax beads because it’s an easy way to make a wax seal. Simply warm the spoon, melt the wax, and pour it out over the envelope so that you can stamp it with your wax seal.
In most cases, all you need to do to clean the spoon is reheat the spoon so that any remaining or residual wax remelts. Then pour the remaining wax out of the spoon and wipe it down. However, what if the wax spoon has been blackened over time and you want to restore the original luster?
The black, soot-like residue that builds upon the wax spoon over time, is nothing more than superheated hydrocarbons. These carbons end up on the spoon and remain to leave a stubborn residue.
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How to Completely Clean Your Wax Spoon
Cleaning the wax off of the spoon is a simple enough matter. All you need is heat. Surprisingly enough, it’s the same with the crisped hydrocarbons. You have to reheat the spoon and use something to wipe at the blackened areas until it comes off.
Over time, months, and years, the blackened areas just simply won’t come off anymore and you will have to either get rid of the spoon or ignore it altogether. So as long as you clean the spoon each time you use it, the blackened areas won’t interfere with the candle wax or discolor it in any way.
Avoiding the Blackened Marks
A wax spoon should be made of stainless steel, with a non-conductive handle (that is, a handle that does not get hot as the spoon gets hot) so that you can always hold the spoon in the correct way as you heat up the wax inside.
If you don’t own a wax spoon, but something else that isn’t made of stainless steel, then prepare yourself for a good deal of cleaning or treat these spoons as disposables. Use it a few times and then toss it out to be replaced by another.
There is also a better way of holding the spoon up to the flame that will help to avoid the blackening side effects. The best way to do that is to allow the hottest part of the flame to heat the spoon.
The hottest part of the flame is half an inch above the actual flame itself. Make sure the flame doesn’t touch the spoon.
Other Methods for Heating your Wax Spoon
Always be sure to look for and purchase a wax spoon. These spoons are designed to be heated time and time again. They aren’t like a spoon that you will find in the silverware drawer, even though you could use one of those in a pinch.
Wax Spoon Holder
One of the best tools in your wax arsenal is a wax spoon holder. With a wax spoon holder, you never have to worry about the flame reaching your spoon.
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The candle goes underneath, heating up the wax in the spoon. Once the wax in the spoon melts, you can pick it up and use it at your leisure. It’s especially nice because you can start the melting process when you begin writing your letter.
Once your letter is done and in the envelope, your wax spoon should be ready to go. As aforementioned, be sure that you have a wax spoon that has a non-conductive handle. The last thing that you want to happen is to reach out and grab a metal handle that is screaming hot and end up burning yourself.
Typically, these holders come with their own wax spoons, so you won’t have to worry about going out and hunting for one that is not only a good wax spoon, but that also fits your wax spoon holder.
The spoons that come with holders are often a little bit larger and able to hold more wax than typical wax spoons. This is a design feature that exists for multiple letters. If you need to sit down and wax seal a ton of letters, you’ll prefer the wax spoon holder, since you will get more out of each spoonful.
Melting Pot
Wax Melting Pots make everything a lot easier because there’s no fire to deal with at all. Think of it as a tart burner. It uses a heating element to melt a large pool of wax. When you are ready to start sealing your letters, you simply scoop up the needed wax from the pool and make your seal.
This is also an ideal setup for times when you need to seal a ton of letters. It also avoids the whole necessity of cleaning the black marks off of your wax spoon, because you will never get anywhere near a fire with it.
Of course, there’s always a drawback and the drawback here is cleaning. Not only will you have to clean the spoon off, especially since you will be dipping the entire spoon frequently, you’ll also have to clean out your melting pot.
The best way to do that is by preventative maintenance. Never allow any liquid wax to remain in the pot when you are finished. Either pour it out in a safe storage receptacle or toss it out, whichever works best for you.
Whether you go with the spoon holder or the melting pot, it will eliminate the need for extensive cleaning and help you keep your wax spoons clean.
Final Thoughts
It’s really not too difficult cleaning and maintaining your wax spoon unless it starts to get a lot of that annoying black build-up. If it comes to that, be sure to get it off as soon as possible so that it doesn’t become a more extensive problem farther down the road.