The widespread popularity of aromatherapy has opened up the market for scented candles, in recent years. Candles are now selling like never before, probably because there is something about finding great candles that brightens up your entire days. When this happens, you want to light that candle and keep burning it for a long time, because you like how it smells and the way it melts. However, how exactly do you take care of that candle? And what are some of the things you shouldn’t do? If you want to know these things, you have come to the right place.
HOW DO YOU TAKE CARE OF A CANDLE?
There are certain rules about how you should treat candles so that they burn well, burn for a longer period of time and smell well for a long period of time. This is because candles, like a lot of materials and objects in the world, require proper maintenance, so that they can keep burning well. Some of the measures taken to ensure their care have been lost or forgotten over time (since candles went into decline following the invention of the electric light bulb; a single one of which burned brighter and more efficiently than a dozen candles combined).
Some of the methods by which a person can care for a candle include the following:
- Trimming your candle’s wick
The act of trimming a candle’s wick is a very important one that goes a long way in ensuring that the candle burns well over time. This is because the length of the candle’s wick determines many things about the way a candle burns. The longer the wick of a candle, the bigger the flame and the hotter the candle is likely to burn. This means that the candle wax will melt at a much faster rate. However, shorter wicks are a lot more beneficial for a candle’s lifespan.
Experts recommend that candle wicks should be trimmed down to 0.25 inch, before it is lit for the very first time, as this is the ideal length for the candle wick.
- Ensuring that the candle always burns evenly
From the first moment candles are lit, it is important to make sure that they burn well. One way to do this is to make sure that the entire surface burns evenly. This needs to be done in order to prevent an occurrence known as tunneling. Tunneling occurs when the centermost parts of a candle burn at a much faster rate than other parts of the candle. Tunneling usually results in a circumstance whereby the wax at the centermost part of the candle is exhausted, but the ones at the sides still remain and this cause wastage of the candle wax (and inefficiency of the pre-determined burn time). You need to let the candle burn evenly at all times (but particularly the first time you light it), in order to ensure that all the candle wax ends up being used, when the candle is at the end of its burn time.
- Storing the candle well
A lot of the time, several millions of items have to be stored adequately in order for them to retain their quality. Candles are no different.
Candles need to be stored well, so that they will retain the integrity of their structure over time (proper storage is also necessary to prevent the candle from expiring over time, since this is entirely possible. They could grow stale, lose their scent or lose their color, in the event of long term improper storage).
Experts suggest that candles should be stored in cool dark places, or at room temperature. It is also recommended that candles should be burned within 16 months of purchase.
- Putting a candle out at the right time
It is very important to put a candle out when there is still some wax left. This is particularly important whenever you are burning a candle that comes with its own container (or a candle inside a container). The reason why you should not wait for a candle to burn down by itself, or allow it to do so instead of putting it out by yourself, is that the container may become damaged in the process (unusable) and this could also create a bit of a mess.
While compiling this list it became a little clear that many of the activities in candle burning that may result in the creation of a mess should be avoided at all costs, as they are likely to be detrimental to the entire candle burning process. For instance, in this case, when a candle is allowed to burn down and extinguish itself – in the event that a mess is created or the container is damaged – the next candle to be placed inside that same container may experience some problems or difficulty during its candle burning process.
To prevent this situation from taking place, candle experts recommend that people should stop burning their candles when there is 0.5 inches of it left inside the container. Following this, the container can be cleaned (by removing the wax), and reused. Some people suggest that the residual wax can be removed by using a kind of warmer (e.g. a mug warmer) to melt the wax and remove it. The candle could also be placed inside the candle in order to make it easy for you to remove the rest of the wax. You may also choose to use your containers for another use, instead of using them to burn candles.
“CAN I SLEEP WITH A CANDLE BURNING?”
One of the cardinal rules, when it comes to candle burning is that “do not leave a candle unattended.” This is because when flames or fire sources (no matter how small) are left unattended, there is an increased risk of fire outbreak. Therefore it is not advisable for anybody to sleep with a candle burning; as a matter of fact it is very dangerous to sleep with a candle burning because – in the effect of a fire outbreak – an individual may not wake up early to put the fire out (and apart from the fire, there is also an added risk of smoke inhalation).
