Checkout these tips on burning your candle safely and how to maintain it properly so you get the most enjoyment out of them.
Never leave candles burning unattended. Let me repeat, NEVER LEAVE A CANDLE BURNING UNATTENDED. This is the single most important thing you can do to prevent a fire. According to 2012 statistics from the National Fire Protectin Association, 35% of fires started by candles are in the bedroom. A few logical reasons for this are, one, that people light candles to relax in the bedroom and fall asleep, or two, a candle is lit in the bedroom but then the person leaves to do things in the rest of the house.
A candle flame that is in a draft will not burn all the fuel (wax) properly. This can cause your candle to burn unevenly, and possibley make it tunnel.
Children are curious and a candle flame can be mesmerizing you do not want them to get burned. Both childern and pets can accidentally knock a candle over or off a table, creating a mess or possibly starting a fire.
Pieces of wick that have been cut off or other items that fall into the candle wax can re-ignite causing the candle flame to become much larger than is safe for a particular candle, even if it is in a container. In a glass container, the extra heat created from a flame that is too large could cause the glass to crack or shatter, allowing the liquid wax to go everywhere.
Many candles have a paper band wrapped around them with the company logo and/or other information or a label applied directly to the wax. Make sure to remove any of these types of items from your candles before lighting them so they do not catch fire.
Candles and flowers go together like, well, peanut butter and jelly, or Tom and Jerry (for those of you who are from the era of good cartoons). You always want to make sure that the area above your candle is clear of any flyaway decorations. As your candle burns down be sure that parts of the accent items will not become an issue later.
A candle on a windowsil might be ok, but what if someone opens the window, will the curtians blow into the candle flame? Be aware of what is around your candle and how a change in the surroundings could cause a problem. If a wick becomes too short, it will produce a flame that is too small for the candle to burn correctly. To fix this, extinguish the flame and carefully pour off the liquid wax. Relight the candle and allow it to burn for about one hour. If the flame is still too small repeat process until the flame is able to continue to burn the wax it has melted with a normal size flame. Direct sunlight and strong ultraviolet light can fade the color of your candle. Place your candle in an area that is not in direct sunlight. This is purely to keep the color of your candles looking nice and bright. A candle that is faded will still burn the same as if it were not. Prolonged exposure of candles to temperature below 40 degrees F. could cause the wax to crack. Prolonged exposure of candles to temperatures above 80 degrees F. will cause the wax to soften which will warp tapers and cause candles to lose their original shape.
Always place candle on a heat resistant holder. When the candle burns down to the bottom of the container there could be enough heat to damage the furniture on which the candle is sitting. Keep the flame from getting too close to the container. The heat from the flame could cause the container to crack. Handle burning container candles with care. The melted wax and flame can cause the containers to be too hot to handle. To be additionally safe, when the wax level is from 1/4 to 1/2 from the bottom of container, you should discontinue use and avoid the possibility of the container cracking. Glass containers are particularly fragile and heat concentrated in one area could cause the glass to break. Special care should be taken to protect surface and surrounding areas from hot broken glass and melted wax.
The wick is designed to trim itself. However, if flame dances up and down and you see dark soot coming from the flame, the wick is too long. Extinguish flame and trim wick and relight it. After a candle is extinguished the black part of wick is fragile. Sometimes when cleaning or moving, wick may get broken. This will affect the burning of the candle. When the wick is too short the liquid level may drown the flame. If this happens you will need to carefully pour off the liquid wax after you extinguish the flame. You may need to do this more than once until you get the proper size flame. We have a more detailed tutorial on how to fix a candle wick that is too short on our blog. Make sure to keep any debris out of candle, such as match parts or wick trimmings. As I stated right at the top, NEVER LEAVE A CANDLE BURNING UNATTENDED, it cannot be said enough. When it is time to put your candle out, use a candle snuffer for pillars and tapers. This will keep wax from spraying all over surrounding objects. To put out container candles simply put the lid on to cut off the supply of oxygen and watch the flame go out on its own. Be careful that clothing or hair does not come too close to flame. Placement of your candles at parties where guests dress up such as at Halloween is key. Make sure that no candles are set where they could catch a costume on fire. It is probably even a better idea to use LED candles on occasions like that. Remember to never lean too close over a burning candle. Watch your flame. For the best and safest burning of your candle, keep wick trimmed to about 1/4 inch above the wax surface. Avoid placing candle in a draft. A draft will cause the flame to melt one side of candle more than the opposite side, which could result in melted wax running over the edge. A draft will also cause the flame to flicker which produces soot. When your candle is in a draft- free area check to see if the top part of the flame flickers and dances. When this does occur, you will probably also notice short bursts of soot. This is an indication that the wick is too long. These tips and guidelines are not meant to be an all-inclusive list. Please use common sense when burning any candle. We hope you enjoy your candle as much as we enjoyed making it for you.