Candle Care 101
Your guide to optimal candle life
Candle Care 101: Your guide to optimal candle life.
It’s that time of year when a warm fire, a good book or movie, a pair of cozy socks, and a lit candle help to make our beautiful Montana winters even more homey and inviting. It’s also a good time to be reminded of simple candle care and maintenance. The following tips will help to ensure that you have perfect candle burns with optimum fragrance throws:
TRIM THAT WICK
The most essential rule of all regarding candle maintenance. Before lighting and during the life of the candle be sure to trim the wick to ¼” (5 mm). A long, untrimmed wick can lead to a larger flame, increasing the risk of the candle over heating or cracking the vessel. Trimming helps to keep the heat down, avoids mushrooming and will also help to prevent soot from building up on your candle vessel.
Wick Trimmer + Dipper Tool
The key to making the most out of your favorite candles is good candle care. This set makes it easier, and prettier than ever.
To use, use the wick trimmer to cut the candle wick to 1/8" before lighting and discard the excess wick trimming. When ready to extinguish, take the dipper tool and use the pointed tip to dip the flame into the melted wax, which will eliminate smoke. After the flame is extinguished, use the pointed tip to lift the wick back upright and out of the wax pool.
LET IT BURN
Allow the wax to melt to the edges of the jar every burn to prevent tunneling-this is especially important on the first burn!
SAFETY FIRST
Common sense tells us to never leave a lit candle unattended but also keep in mind to not burn candles over several hours at a time. To protect the surface below from heat, always place your candles on a heat resistance surface as in a coaster or tile and make sure these surfaces can withstand the heat generated during burning. And, of course, keep candles out of the reach of children and pets.
KNOW WHEN TO STOP
Don’t burn your candle if only ¼” or 1/2” of wax remains. Lighting a candle without enough wax can overheat the jar.
EXTINQUISH THE FLAME PROPERLY
Most candles are made with a good amount of fragrance oil which can be smoky when extinguished. To avoid smoke when blowing out your candles always use a candle snuffer. Or if a snuffer isn’t available, try drowning the wick into the melted wax pool to put out the flame. The hardest part of this tip is reminding yourself not to blow! Take the end of match or butter knife and push the lit wick down into the pool of hot wax to put out the flame. Then use the same tool to lift the wick up and allow the wick to harden before trimming for the next burn. This trick will also help to keep soot from building up on your candle vessel.
CANDLE STORAGE
When candles are not in use, be sure to store them in a cool, dry environment. Keep away from heat and direct sunlight to avoid the wax
from softening. Also, don’t store candles in freezing temperatures-the wax might shrink or crack. Covering candles when not in use with a lid will also help to prevent the top of your candles from collecting dust.
REUSE IT
Once the candle is finished, clean out the jar or vessel. Reuse as a new planter, bathroom organizer or pencil holder!
Candles and Home Fragrance Essentials
Our Expert Chandler
Lori Palmer, of Uncommon Scents, has been hand crafting unique, high quality fragranced candles for nearly 30 years. She is both thoughtful and meticulous in her selection of scents, quality of her soy candle wax and unique vessels. Her top-selling candles are a Heyday customer favorite.
Lori feels that candle making is her purpose and has allowed her to have amazing connections with incredible people in capturing memories in scent for people to hold onto and cherish. When she pours a candle it’s not just the action of pouring a candle, there’s a lot of love in that little flicker. Trust us, you’ll feel it when you light it!
