5-6 min read
The key to making your candles last longer is to take really good care of them! There are some secrets to candles that most people don’t know. These lessons were part of our oral history but have been lost to time as candle use stopped being a normal and essential part of most people’s everyday life.
Now that candles are making a comeback, it’s important to learn how people in the past kept their candles burning well and lasting a long time. These secrets were lost to time and unless you went looking for them you would think to do them. Most people out there aren’t familiar with words like candle tunnelling and cold throw. Many people buy a new candle and are disappointed when it doesn’t burn well, not realising that they have made a mistake and set their candle up for failure from the start.
Today I’ll discuss three ways to set your candle up properly and keep it in good nick for as long as it’s meant to last! All these tips can also be found on our website.
First Burn
First things first we have to talk about the first burn. When you burn a candle for the first time, it sets the tone for the rest of the candle’s life. Doing it wrong can lead to serious issues with tunnelling down the line and you might end up with a candle that won’t light anymore or that burns weakly.
Candles have a memory. When you burn the candle for the first time, the wax around the flame slowly melts into a melt pool that evenly spreads out to the edges of the candle and then slowly goes downwards.
But here’s the peculiar thing. If you blow it out before it reaches the edge of the candle, the wax pool will only spread out to that point the next time you burn it before going down. This will eventually lead to tunnelling where the candle melts wax faster than it can burn it and ends up drowning itself. Candles that have tunnelled can be difficult to recover.
Burn Time
When you burn your candle set aside some time, especially the first time. Every time you burn your candle you need to make sure the melt pool makes it to the outer edge of where it got to last time. The melt pool will struggle to get bigger than this, but it will get smaller if you put it out too soon.
Most people will say the melt pool will grow outwards about an inch an hour. So, for our 4oz candles which are 1.25 inches from the centre to the edge, you want to aim for at least an hour and fifteen minutes before you blow it out. Check and make sure it has reached the edge, the hour per inch rule is only a guideline and will be different depending on your wick length and ambient temperature.
On the other side of the coin, burning your candle for more than 3 hours at a time can cause its own issues by overheating the wax and the container. Consistently burning your candle for a good amount of time will ensure that it burns smoothly and well the next time you use it.
The Wick
The candle wick is one of the most important parts of a candle. In the past, candle wicks had to be trimmed very regularly and consistently. Modern wicks are braided and self-trimming. As the candle burns, the wick bends over sideways because of the braid and burns away slowly. Although modern self-trimming wicks have done away with most of the need for trimming your wicks, it still needs to be done.
Before you light your candle, you need to trim the wick to about 6mm or a ¼ inch with a pair of scissors. This is probably shorter than you think. This will keep the size of the flame consistent, not to big and not to small. If your wick is too long, the flame will be too big and hot. Your candle will smoke and tunnel as it melts its wax too fast. If it is too short, your candle will struggle melt a big enough wax pool and the light and scent will be poor. This may lead to the candle tunnelling as well.
Once you have trimmed your wick and lit the candle, the self-trimming wick will keep the wick to around about the right length. You still need to trim it the next time you light it though because its not perfect. Think of it like syncing up your wick with your candle each time you light it.
When you put out your candle, take an object like the back of a matchstick and poke the wick under the wax before pulling it back up above the surface. This will put your candle out without it smoking and will stop the wick from disintegrating at the slightest touch later, making it easier to trim next time. This will keep your candle wick in good condition.
A little bit of knowledge goes a long way. Look after your candles and they will look after you. With a little bit of effort, you can get the most of your scented candles and enjoy them for a good long time.
