Now that Hanukkah is over and your menorah is covered in wax, it’s time to clean it — by putting it away and waiting until next year to deal with it.
But, and hear us out, what if you cleaned your menorah right now, instead?
We asked our most on-top-of-it readers for their quick and easy tips for how to remove wax from the menorah:
READ: Tips for Interfaith Families Celebrating Hanukkah & Christmas
Place your menorah in a dishpan, pour boiling water over it, and let stand. The wax comes loose and floats to the surface. If your menorah is glass or ceramic, be sure to pre-warm with hot tap water, so the sudden change of temperature does not cause it to expand un-evenly & break.
Put your menorah in the freezer — the wax pops right off.
We use old corn cob handles (the plastic handles with two metal prongs to stick into the corn cob) to clean out the actual candle spots. The back of a butter knife works to clean the rest.
We clean our menorah with a hairdryer and soft cloth.
If the menorah is all metal, put foil on a cookie sheet and put it in at 200 degrees F until the wax melts off.
Give your teenager a bunch of toothpicks and let them go to town
I bought a $6 stainless steel ear wax scoop on Amazon and it’s perfect!
Spray your menorah with Pam beforehand, and you won’t have any wax to remove. Works like a charm! (Editor’s note: This one’s for next year.)
I boil mine in a big pot.
I like to leave the wax to remind me of previous Hanukkahs, and just clean out the spot to put the candles.
And OK, one for you procrastinators:
First, I grumble for a few days. Then, I put them away with intentions to do it later. Then, right before Hanukkah the next year, I use hot water!
