Candle Keepers: 9 Tips for a Lasting Burn
Candles have been used for everyday utility and celebration for over 5,000 years, with the earliest evidence dating back to Ancient Egypt. Who knew this little guy had so much history? Picking a suitable candle and giving it love gives it a quality life. Pass on new candle picking, care, and keeping tips now!
1. Candle picking suggests choosing a good wick, quality wax, and special scents.
2. Candle care requires trimming the wick, keeping the wick centered, and burning it through the first time.
3. Candle keeping knows to burn candles for two to four hours and burn it until 1/2 inch is left. Learn how to reuse vessels or save unevenly burned candles.
CANDLE PICKING
Choose a good wick. Cotton wicks are generally the best if you want to avoid smoke and flaring. Manufacturers make most candles from cotton or paper, zinc, tin, or cotton core. Wicks sometimes 'clover,' leaving clover-like soot, so make sure to prune your candle each time with a wick trimmer like this one here!
Choose quality wax. Candles burn around five to seven hours per ounce. Soy wax with an essential oil-based fragrance is known to give you the cleanest burn. On the other hand, avoid traditional paraffin wax, made from petroleum oil which produces harmful byproducts when burned in your home.
Choose the right scents. Companies use a combination of natural and synthetic fragrance oils to give fragrance depth and complexity. Fragrances can be vegan, cause fewer allergies, and prove to be more consistent by using synthetic oils. Save a flower or two!
CANDLE CARE
Be your candle's barber by giving it a haircut. Before each use, trim your wick 1/4" inch to create a lasting burn and avoid uneven distribution. Utilize a wick trimmer or a pair of clippers and give your candle a 'blow-out' with a bell snuffer, a flower-shaped device that gently extinguishes each flame.
Keep your candle centered by keeping it in place. Keeping your candle wick-centered ensures that your candle will not burn more on one side. Before each burn as needed, carefully guide the wick back towards the center.
Give candles a good first burn (or they won't forget). Once the wax pool has melted on the top, then you can blow out your candle. If you blow a candle out too quickly, the wax makes a "memory," and it will stay in this position for the length of your burning experience. Burn the candle for 3-4 hours until the wax pool liquefies to all of the vessel edges for the first time!
CANDLE KEEPING
Avoid burning for more than four to six hours at a time. If a candle gets overheated and fully liquifies, then the wick has a higher probability of burning unevenly. Remember: soy melts at 110 degrees Fahrenheit, so store your candle in a cool, dry place away from high temperatures and sun!
Burn until 1/2" of your candle is left. When you use up your candle, you can repurpose your candle vessel. Or if you like to locate treasure, then letterboxing is a fun hobby where you hide small, weatherproof boxes in public places and distribute clues to finding the box.
To recover a candle's 'lost memory'... put it in the oven at 175 degrees for 5 minutes or use a hairdryer on low. Even out the wax surface, then remove any wax covering around the wick as needed.
You never know when these Jeopardy-level questions will appear, so apply these new learnings with friends and family! Share your candle tips with the Just Decorate Community by commenting below. Find a new Scent at JustDecorate.com ~ Your #HomeAroma Awaits!
Written by Nicholas Bennett, Co-Founder
JustDecorate.com
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