Candle care is often an overlooked process for most candle lovers. To ensure you have the best candle burning experience, it is important to care for your candle throughout its life. Candle care can be broken down into 5 parts:
- The first burn.
- Extinguishing each burn.
- In between burns.
- Removing the remaining wax.
- Recycling or repurposing your candle container.
The first burn.
This is the most crucial step for your candle’s lifetime efficiency. When lighting a candle for the first time, it is important to trim the wick down to ¼ inch (include wick trimming tips or tools link). This helps the candle burn more evenly because it prevents the flame from becoming too large and causing the candle to smoke. Once the candle is lit, let it burn long enough so that the wax has melted all the way to the edge of the container. This prevents tunneling, which can cause uneven burning in the future. The wax melt that is created after the first burn is called a memory ring or a memory pool. The candle will actually remember the size of the wax pool and will continue to melt to that size on subsequent burns. This is why the first burn is the most crucial. Allowing your candle to burn for 3-4 hours initially should be enough to create a large enough wax pool. Make sure that when you do light a candle, you keep it 12 inches away from anything that is flammable.
Extinguishing each burn.
When you are ready to extinguish your candle, try to avoid blowing it out. This can cause wax to splatter and the wick to become misshapen. The best way to extinguish a candle is with a snuffer. (Insert candle snuffing tool link). This is a specifically designed tool for candles that removes the oxygen from around the flame by fully enclosing it. This also reduces the smoke put off after extinguishing the candle and prevents soot from gathering on the vessel.
In between burns.
This step pays homage to the first step. To ensure your candle burns evenly and cleanly throughout its life, it is important to follow these steps for candle maintenance. This includes trimming the wick to 1/4 inch before each use, as well as removing any debris or wick trimmings from the wax. Also, avoid burning your candle for more than 4 hours at a time. Burning for this long can cause the wick to be too long which leads to smoking, sooting and uneven burning.
Removing the remaining wax.
It is recommended not to burn your candle lower than a half inch of wax. If the wax gets too low it can cause the heat to concentrate at the bottom of the container which may cause the vessel to break or crack. Also, as your candle burns down to this point you may notice that the wick becomes too short to light or the wax level becomes too low to continue using the candle. There are multiple ways to remove the wax from the container:
- Place the candle in a freezer.
- Pour boiling water into the candle.
- Place the candle in hot water.
Place the candle in a freezer: Either overnight or for a few hours. This will cause the wax to contract, making it easier to remove. Once the wax has hardened gently pry it out of the container with a butter knife.
Pour boiling water into the candle: Place the container on a pot holder or a protective dish. Boil water in a tea kettle and then pour into the candle container leaving about an inch of space at the top. The wax will eventually float to the top of the container.
Place the candle in hot water: Place the candle in a bowl or pot of hot water for about 30 minutes. This is a good trick for soy wax since it has a much lower melting point than other waxes. The wax should release from the container after 30 minutes has passed. One thing to note on this method is that the label will come off of the container.
Recycling or repurposing your candle container.
Once you have removed the wax, you’ll be left with a beautiful container that can be repurposed or recycled. You can easily clean the container by wiping it with soap and water. Be creative with your uses. (See link for ideas on repurposing candle containers).
By following these steps for candle care, you can ensure that your candles burn cleanly and evenly and that you can enjoy them for as long as they were intended. Our candles are made with soy wax which burns cleanly and evenly making this process even easier for you. Remember to always exercise caution when using candles, and never leave a burning candle unattended!