Candle Care

HOW TO BURN YOUR CANDLE

1. Light your candle in a well-ventilated room, away from drafts or fans, which can cause sooting (black marks on the vessel), or rapid, uneven burning.
 
2. Burn regular-sized candles for one and a half to two hours at a time or until the wax has pooled to the edges. Burning for less time can cause the candle to 'tunnel', which leaves a build-up of wax around the vessel's sides and can reduce the maximum burn time. Burning for longer periods (over four hours) can cause the wick to move, or slant.
 
3. Make sure you stop burning your candle when 10mm of wax remains at the bottom, keeping an eye on a burning candle when the wax is low.

Fun fact: Your candle has a memory. The wax will only melt as far as it did the first time you burned the candle. So, if you don't melt the entire top layer of wax on your first burn, the candle will tunnel its entire life. To prevent this, candles should burn one hour for every inch in diameter. For example, if a candle is three inches across, it should burn for three hours to melt the top layer evenly. While the first burn is most important, you should strive for an even burn every time — both to avoid tunneling and to achieve the best smell.

Candle burns evenly all the way to the end. When the candle is finished, clean it and reuse it, keeping the recycling going. Alternatively you can reuse the jar  and if there's a bit of wax stuck in the bottom stick it in the freezer. Once the wax is rock-solid, you should be able to stab it with a butter knife and pull the remaining chunk right out. Then you've got a lovely receptacle! 

How to use candles safely 

  1. Make sure you put out any candles, incense and oil burners when you leave the room and especially before bed.
  2. These items should always be held firmly in heat-resistant holders and placed on a stable surface where they won’t be knocked over.
  3. Keep them away from materials that might catch fire – that's things like curtains, furniture, clothes and hair. 
  4. Be especially careful if you have a lot of flammable items in your home, like collections of books, magazines or papers. 
  5. Be aware that tea lights get very hot and without proper holders can melt through plastic surfaces like a TV or bath.
  6. To avoid accidents keep candles and other naked flames out of reach of children and pets.