This is awkward but, you're burning your candle wrong...
Totally get it, burning a new candle is like opening a fresh bag of Doritos and letting the smell of that fake cheesy goodness smack you in the face.
Just as there are ways to open that bag of triangle beauties incorrectly, there are ways to burn your candle incorrectly as well.
Don't fret, we're here to help you out with 4 things you're doing wrong and the solution to stopping that bad behavior once and for all.
Check it out...
1. You didn't trim your wick: That big black ring around the sides of your candle and the excessive smoke that you see is because you may have forgotten this VERY important step.
Now, your candle has been burning for way too long resulting in your wick developing carbon buildup or in candle talk, "mushrooming." The candle has consumed more wax than it can burn, so the next time you light that mushroomed wick you'll release soot into the air and onto your candle container and you'll think you're eating a bowl of Rice Krispies... get it? Snap, crackle, pop.... Lol.
What do I do? Trim... your... wick. Lucky for you, EINNIM has already done that part. You're welcome.
Your wick should always be trimmed to 1/4 inch before lighting. We suggest using a wick trimmer or a cuticle nipper.
2. Fell asleep with that candle burning again.. didn't you?: First and foremost, fire... hazard!
As we discussed earlier, burning your candle for more than four hours can cause carbon buildup and mushrooming.
When this occurs, you'll notice that your wick is a bit wobbly, the flame is increasing, smoke rises and soot releases into the air and around your candle jar.
What do I do? Stop. Literally, just stop doing that. Remember, your candle should NEVER burn for more than four hours.
3. You treat your candle like a birthday cake: This one is a bit tricky because unless you're from the 1800s, you probs don't have a candle snuffer lying around... or maybe you do, idk.
Here's the thing, using your lungs to blow out your candle is a no-no for a few different reasons.
Wax sprays in your face if you're all aggressive about it. Ouch.
Smoke fills the room. Cough.
Your wick gets buried in the wax making it harder for you to light your candle the next time. Bummer.
We're in the middle of a pandemic.... germs everywhere!
What do I do? As I said, you probs don't have a candle snuffer lying around, so instead, use the tip of a screwdriver to lightly dip the wick in the wax to extinguish it. Once the wick is extinguished, use the screwdriver to straighten the wick and ensure that it is not immersed in the wax for your next burn.
4. "I'll just light it for a few minutes before I go to bed": No you won't.
You just spent your hard-earned cash on that fancy {INSERT SCENT HERE} 8 oz Custom Soy Wax Candle and now you have a crater of wax in the middle that only allows you to burn your candle for one minute on the next burn. That's called candle tunneling.
Candle. Wasted.
What do I do? Let the candle burn long enough to get the entire top liquid wax. This takes about an hour per inch in diameter of the vessel. So if your candle is 3" wide, let it burn for at least 3 hours.
After the first burn, try to let the candle burn for as often as you can to keep that really wide opening and prevent tunneling later on.
Pro tip: If your wick ever drowns in the wax, you can carve out some of the wax above the wick and pour it out to create a bigger melt pool.
Now that you're a candle connoisseur, head over to our Soy Wax Candles page to start practicing!
References:
#candlelover
#smallbatchcandles
#soywaxcandles
#artisancandles
#soycandles
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