If you’re anything like us, you have a candle in every room and, multiple back-ups ready to burn for any and every occasion! No doubt when you’ve purchased your candles in the past you’ve most probably thought about the look and style of the candle and, importantly the fragrance of the candle and the ambience you’re wanting to achieve in your space. However, have you ever stopped to think about if you’re burning your candle correctly? If, in fact, you could make a slight few adjustments in order to extend the lifetime of your candle? Well, if you haven’t, don’t fear as we have and we want to share five expert tips with you so you can make the most out of your next candle purchase.
- Selecting Your Candle Wisely
If you were told a larger candle with three wicks would burn longer than a standard candle with one wick – would you believe it? Well, it’s true. “Three wicks will actually extend the life of a candle because rather than tunnelling straight down the centre of the candle near the one wick when lit, the wax gets hot enough from the three flames to actually pool across the entire candle,” says The Candle Bar, Store Manager, Kelly Heyen.
Always read the label of the candle you’re purchasing. More often than not, the candle companies capture the burn time on their labelling and this can be trusted – provided you follow their specific burn instructions. This way, you can make an informed decision when comparing brands and selecting the candle that is right for you.
- Not Burning Your Candle Long Enough the First Time
This may come as a complete surprise to you but, candles have memories! It’s true. Candle wax has a memory that once burnt, regardless if it’s a wooden or cotton wick, your candle will burn in the same pattern every time it’s lit thereafter. As such, it’s imperative that if you would like your candle to burn evenly and therefore last as long as possible, you will need to light your candle for about 3 to 4 hours on the first time you burn it. This extended burn time allows the candle to pool completely across all of the wax establishing a perfect burn each time. If this process is not followed the first time around, you run the risk of your candle ‘tunnelling’. Candle tunnelling, occurs when the wick burns straight down the centre, instead of creating that melty pool of wax across the entire surface.
- Only Trimming Your Wick Once
Trimming your candle wick will increase the longevity of your candle. Ideally, trim your candle wick about 5mm before each burn. Only ever trim your candle once it has completely cooled and the wax is fully dry. By doing so, this will prevent your candle from not only smoking unnecessarily but, will minimise any soot marks on your candle vessel. Furthermore, you won’t have those annoying little pieces of soot specks flying off and settling into the pooled wax. If you fail to trim your wick, you run the risk of your candle wick becoming too long and therefore, it cannot draw wax all the way up to the top and the wick itself will start to burn. What’s the best way to trim your candle wick? A good sharp pair of scissors will do nicely. However, there are a variety of decorative wick trimmers available to buy on the market which often have flat blades and are very user friendly.
- Blowing Out Your Candles
We have all been here! Time to go to bed and you blow out your burning candle, only to have all those little pieces of soot specks go flying into the pooled wax or even worse, onto the bench-top. You then find yourself digging out the soot only to now have little craters in your pooled wax and therefore, interfering with an even burn. Snuffers are a terrific option to eliminate this frustrating situation and prevent excess spoke occurring. However, you don’t need to go and buy a specific candle snuffer. A lot of candles these days come with lids and you can simply place the lid back on top of the candle to smother the flame in the same way a snuffer does. Obviously, if you choose this option you need to make sure the lid is an appropriate material to place on the naked flame and not cause any safety issues.
- Not Reusing Your Vessels
Candle companies spend a great deal of time researching the vessels their candles are poured into. Most of the time, these vessels are beautifully presented and made of wonderful materials like glass, ceramic, marble and concrete. These vessels can be perfectly up-cycled and, you’re only limited by your imagination as to what you may use them for. Some of our favourite repurposed candle vessel uses are as a cotton bud holder in the bathroom, an office desk pencil/pen holder, storage of loose change, a succulent planter, a make-up or artist brush holder, a gorgeous vase or, perhaps even try making your very own DIY hand poured candle at home!
By following these five very simple tips, we hope they help you extend the duration of the burning of your favourite candles at home.