Be careful when using the boiling water. Don’t let it touch your skin and pour it slowly into the lantern. If you had trouble removing the candle or the wick from the lantern, the boiling water will make it much easier to remove those items.
It can take 4 or 5 repetitions of this process to completely remove the wax from your lantern.
Don’t soak the newspaper as it will easily tear and crumble. A quick dip into the water will be enough to make the ash stick to it.
As you clean, the newspaper will become dirty. Use a new piece of newspaper and continue the process. This process will remove most, if not all, soot from the glass.
When the paper towel gets too dirty or turns black, change to a new paper towel. Repeat until there is no more soot sticking to the paper towels.
Some lanterns might require the use of a screwdriver to remove screws before you can lift the glass out. Other lanterns will have easy-to-remove glass that won’t require any tools.
Don’t pour it down a sink or drain as the wax can cause blockages in pipes.
Repeat the process a few times until the gasoline or thinner is clear when poured from the globe.
You can make a multi-purpose cleaner by mixing a few drops of dishwashing liquid and water. If it is greasy, you can use olive oil. Soak it overnight and wipe it with a cloth in the morning.
You don’t need to rinse the glass for very long. A quick rinse will let you know whether the glass needs more cleaning or if it’s finished.
Make sure you clean the nozzle of the spray bottle too. Do this by filling the spray bottle with water and then spray the water out through the nozzle. Repeat this a few times to ensure the nozzle is clean.
You might need to use a few paper towels. If one gets dirty, throw it away and use another instead of wiping the soot with a dirty paper towel.
Give the glass some time to dry before repeating the process a second time to remove any leftover soot residue.
Gently wipe the glass with a clean paper towel or microfiber cloth until it appears dry, transparent, and streak-free.
If you had to use a screwdriver to remove the glass, make sure you replace any screws and tighten them into place with the screwdriver.
