Candles are wonderful. They create a sense of ambiance for any room. You can set the mood with candles, relax in the glow of candlelight or make a regular Tuesday night dinner more special with two tall flames set in the center of the table. There is a trick to candles though that many people do not know. Have you ever wondered why your pillar or jar candle tunnels through the center and do not burn out to the sides? This tunnel effect is not because your candle is defective it is just because you are burning it incorrectly.
When you first get your pillar candle home resist the temptation to immediately light it. You need to allow yourself some time with your candle the first time you use it in order to stop the tunnel effect. Wax has a memory. If you have a three inch wide pillar candle but only melt out half an inch the first time you burn it that is the width your candle will go every time and you will have cut short the life of your candle. Wax burns about one inch per hour. Therefore if you have a candle that is three inches wide you need to set aside at least three hours of burning time the first time you burn your candle.
Yes, this is a bit annoying at first. Who has three hours to sit and watch their candle burn? It is well worth it. Maybe you can not burn your candle right away, but when you sit down on Thursday night to watch The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, Men in Tree’s and the nightly news you will have had plenty of time to let the candle do it’s thing. After that first burning you will be able to burn the candle for as long or as short an amount of time as you wish.
There are also a few other candle basics you should be aware of. Trim the wick each time you light your candle. After the initial burning the wick may develop a mushroom like top to it. Trim that off before you relight the candle. Burning the mushroom top of the wick just burns up soot into the air which can later accumulate on your walls. Speaking of soot, put out the candle with a candle snuffer. By extinguishing the flame with a snuffer you are trapping all the soot in the snuffer and not allowing it to accumulate on your walls. My friend Allison once lived by candlelight in her new apartment for a week before she turned her electricity on. She was not trimming or snuffing correctly. One day when she went to take a shower, because off the soot accumulation, while washing her white washcloth turned black. Don’t let that happen to you.
And as always, Never Leave Your Candle Unattended. If you follow these steps you will preserve the life of your candles and enjoy their fragrance and glow for much longer than you previously have.
