How To Turn A Leftover Scented Candle Into A Car Deodorizer

Like your home, your car can get pretty messy. Cleaning the outside of a car is fairly simple, but cleaning the inside is much more difficult. There's a lot of surface area, including the seats, carpets, dashboard, inside roof, and vents, to name a few. Dust and dirt can collect in all these places, and over time, make your car smell musty (or worse, stinky) if left unattended.

If you have pets or kids, keeping your car smelling fresh is an even bigger task. Pet hair, spills, and long-forgotten snacks wedged under car seats can all cause your car to smell bad. Even if you're the kind of person who keeps their car spotless, it's always nice to enter a fresh-smelling vehicle.

There are several types of car deodorizers on the market, and choosing the one that's right for you comes down to price and preference. There are hanging air fresheners that dangle on your rearview mirror. If those are too distracting, you can use a vent clip that latches on to your air vents. You also get sprays and solid air fresheners. Most are priced between $10 and $15, and last a few weeks at the most. If you're looking for a more sustainable option though, leftover scented candles make great DIY car deodorizers.

Scented candles can last a long time, but let's face it – there's bound to be leftover bits. Sometimes you might be left with quite a bit of wax if your wick burns out before the candle. The good news is that this leftover wax can be repurposed as a car deodorizer.

All you need to do is place the scented candle in your car's cup holder. The candle wax melts when exposed to heat — such as hot weather, or your car's heater in the winter — filling your car with your favorite scents. This works best if you have a candle that comes inside a glass jar because you don't want wax getting all over the cupholder. If you have a scented candle that doesn't come in a jar, just place it in a mason jar for the same effect. You can also mix scents by placing chunks of different leftover scented candles into a jar. Ideally, choose milder scents, since the car is a small enclosed space, and strong smells can be overpowering.

If you have wax melts, those work great as car fresheners too. These small, scented pieces of wax don't have a wick and are meant to be placed on top of an oil burner. You can add a few wax melts into a glass jar and place it in the cupholder to freshen your car. Use either whole wax melts, or leftover bits of wax from your burner to get the same effect.