Candle Burning 101

Don’t you just love the soft glow of a candle? Your favorite scent wafting through the house, its mesmerizing flame flickering softly…. And then the smoke - ugh! It spoils it all - so here are a few of our favorite tips on how to burn a candle properly.

The Best Way to Burn a Candle

1.  Keep the wick trimmed to about ¼ of an inch and stand it up as straight as possible.
   
   
2.  Try to burn candles for no more than 3 to 4 hours at a time – this will increase the total burn time.
   
   
3.  Candles with large diameters should be burned for no longer than a couple of hours at a time. This will help keep the sides intact, allowing the candle to get the glow from within.
   
   
4.  An uneven burn could be from a draft, so rotate the candle 90 degrees every now and then to keep the burn uniform. My dad would rotate candles for uniform burning and it always worked.
   
   
5.  Put a teaspoon of water in the bottom of votive cups to help prevent overheating. It also makes removing the spent candle much easier.
   
   
6.  Any jar or container candle should only be burned for one hour per every inch of diameter. This allows the wax pool to cover the entire surface of the candle, improves the scent throw, and extends the burn time.
   
   
7.  Refrigerating your candles for a few minutes before lighting them can actually extend burn time. However, if you forget about them and refrigerate for too long it will cause cracks to appear so please don’t forget your candle - it’s not pretty if left in too long!
   
   
8.  A good way to extinguish a candle and prevent black soot is to push the wick into the warm wax pool. Use a paper clip or other object and return the wick to a standing position immediately. It really does prevent smoke from coming off the wick!

Now you can enjoy and extend the life of your lovely candles without the nasty smoke spoiling your experience!