4 Simple Care Tips
I think we have all bought candles where the wick just drowned in the wax, one side of the wax didn’t melt or the candle collects a lot of carbon buildup and black soot emerges from the flame. I always thought this is part of burning a candle. Or perhaps, I even blamed the candle manufacturer. While there are definitely a lot of mistakes a candle creator can make, there are also a few mistakes that you can make as a user when you burn a candle. Therefore, I would like to offer 4 simple Curious Candle care tips (summarized in the image) that you can follow. This should ensure that you will have a better burning experience with your candles.
1. Always let the candle reach full melt pool
When you burn the candle, make sure the wax melts all the way to the edge of the container. That’s what we mean by “full melt pool”. The melt pool is the melted wax. This is very important for all soy candles as soy wax has a “memory”. If you don’t let the wax melt until the edge of the jar (see image), the next time you light your candle it will only create a melt pool to where it melted before. This can result in “tunneling”. Yes, another candle term. But I am sure you understand where this is going. You will end up with wax buildup on the edges of your candle jar and only the center of the candle will melt. This will eventually cause the wick to drown as it is not able to burn off enough wax.
2. Keep wick trimmed to ¼”
Another important tip is to keep the wick trimmed to ¼” at all times. It is suggested to trim the wick every 4 hours of burn time but I usually just trim the wick before every burn. It is important to avoid a flame that is too big, as this will cause black smoke to emerge from your flame and eventually the wick to mushroom (see image). If you don't trim the wick, you will burn through your candle much quicker. This means that it will burn off the scent much faster as well and therefore, leave you with a fainter scent when you relight the candle. Trimming the wick is extremely important for a clean and long-lasting burn and scent.
3. Burn for no longer than 2 hours at a time
In order to maximize the burn time of your candle, you should let it burn for no longer than 2 hours. This will give you the longest burn time. I completely understand that you don’t want to set a timer every time you burn a candle. More or less 2 hours is fine. This is the ideal time to get the most out of your candle. However, it is also safe to let your candle burn up to 4 hours at a time. You definitely don’t want to burn your candle for any time longer as there will be quite a lot of carbon buildup on the wick. This will result in a large flame (see image) and increased soot.
4. Discontinue use when ½” wax remains
You want to stop using your candle when there is about ½” of wax remaining in your candle jar. When we tested our candles, we noticed that this is usually the time when the wick will extinguish, but sometimes the flame might continue to burn. This measurement limit is really for safety reasons. The surface underneath the candle can get extremely hot and leave a burn mark and/or the candle jar can be damaged. As such, I urge you to extinguish the flame when the wax gets down to ½”.
These are 4 easy candle care tips that are simple and don’t require any significant time or effort. I promise you that it will have a positive impact on your candle experience, especially if you would like to reuse your candle jar. (Tips on how to clean and repurpose your candle jar will follow in another blog post)
Lastly and most importantly, please don’t forget to enjoy your candle experience. See you on the next blog post.
#LightLearnLove from Curious Candles Studio!