Do you continually find yourself battling your poor burning candles to salvage a few more hours of enjoyment from their scent and gentle flames? If you follow a few simple steps from the first candle lighting to the last, you can extend the life of the candles you love in your home.
Preparing Your Candle For First Lighting
- Find the ideal place for your candle. Placing it near fans, vents, or other draughty locations can reduce the lifetime of your candle, produce uneven burning, or even damage the container and surrounding objects.
- Remove your candle from the gift box and place your candle on a flat, heat resistant surface to prevent damage to furniture. Keep your candle away from flammable objects and out of the reach of pets and children.
- Trim the wick to about ¼ inch high to remove excess wick that may burn quickly and leave ash and debris in the candle wax. Wipe away any other debris
Burning Your Candle the First Time
- Commit to burning your candle a minimum of one hour and a maximum of four hours the first time you light your candle, depending on its size and shape. The National Candle Association recommends burning your candle one hour for every inch in diameter of the actual size of the candle.
- Allow a candle in a container to form a complete pool of melted wax across its surface, especially the outer circumference. Unmolten wax around the edges of the container can lead to ‘tunneling’ that will eventually reduce the performance of the candle.
- Minimize mess when putting your candle out for the first (and every) time. Replacing the lid on a candle container will extinguish the flame. Another preferred method is to use a candle snuffer that puts out traditional candles, tapers, and pillars and prevents wick debris from falling into the wax pool.
Caring for Your Candle
- Clean your candle after each use – after giving the wax and container time to cool until both can be handled comfortably of course. The habit of keeping your candle in tip-top shape after each use means it will look great until needed again and be ready to go when you are.
- Use tweezers to pick wick debris or any other unwanted wax accumulations from the candle surface that could flare up unexpectedly. Wipe soot and clear away wax debris from the container to keep your candle looking its best.
- Trim your candle’s wick to the ¼ inch length after each use, taking care not to take off too much wick. That could result in a wick drowned in melted wax and no longer able to be lit. When the wax has cooled enough, reposition the wick to the center of the candle so burning continues to be even with every lighting.
Storing Your Candle
- Keep your candles away from heat sources because, of course, wax will melt in extreme heat. Avoid storing them in attics or areas where heat accumulates.
- Find cool, dark places that are out of direct sunlight to keep your candles from losing their fragrance or becoming discolored. Fragranced candles typically have a life span of six to 12 months.
- Know when it’s time to say goodbye to your candle. Letting it burn below ½ inch in a container or 2 inches for pillar candles poses safety hazards and risks splitting or cracking the base of the container.
With proper care of your candles, you can look forward to the hours of warm, cozy comfort and restorative, tranquil fragrances that your favorite candles provide. Candles.com helps you find the perfect candle to create the perfect atmosphere throughout your home. Need a new custom candle? Get started on your new candle experience now.