As candle makers, we test and double-test our scented candles to make sure they burn as you expect - nice and cleanly, with a warm orange flame and zero soot.
But there are certain things you can do to keep your candle burning at its optimum.
In this blog we’re talking specifically about container candle care, and how you can make sure your candles last as long and possible and burn exactly how you want them to.
How are scented candles designed to burn?
It may seem like a odd question, but there there’s some science behind it.
Different types of candles burn at different speeds, are composed of different materials and are designed for different purposes.
Scented container candles are made of use indoors, most often the home and aim to fill your house with delicious smells and provide a lovely atmosphere.
The most important thing is that your candles stay alight (quite an obvious one), they burn evenly (meaning the flame doesn’t tunnel towards the bottom leaving lots of wax around the outside), and that they don’t burn too bright with too big a flame.
But let’s dig into how you can keep your candle burning at its optimum
Keep your wick the right length: The wick’s length is very important. In fact, the shape, material and length of the wick will have a big impact of how well your candle burns.
Check to see if your candle is burning with too big a flame. You’ll be able to tell this because the flame will buffet rather than flicker. What you’re after is a balanced, rhythmic flicker - that’s when you know your wick is the right length.
If you own an outdoor candle, you might find that the wick is longer - and deliberately so. This is because you need a bigger flame outdoors to cater for the wind.
Use tin foil: If you find your candle is starting to tunnel, then it’s probably because it wasn’t burned for long enough the first time it was lit. You must light your container candle for the recommended first burn time (for our 30cl scented candles that’s 2-3 hours), to ensure your candle wax melts right to the edges. Then when you blow out your candle, the wax will solidify evenly, ready for the next burn.
If you do experience some tunnelling, not to worry, there simple way to have your candle burning evenly again. Light it again and place a piece of tin foil over the part of the lid where the wax isn’t burning. That should melt the wax and even out the tunnel.
As an extra tip, you can carefully remove the excess wax with a teaspoon and use it as wax melts over your burner.
Make sure your wick is upright: Even burns are lovely, but wicks have a tendency to lean to one side, meaning the heat of your flame dissipates to one side of the candle more than the other.
One way to avoid this is to make sure your wick is straight. It’s worth checking this every now and again, because as your container candle burns, you’ll find the wick crooks over or get’s a bobble on the top. It’s easy enough to have your wick standing straight again using a pen nib, or a pair of scissors to snip off the bobble (just make sure not to cut too much off).
Our container candle burning tips
Even the highest quality candles may fall fowl to some of the most common pitfalls like tunnelling, buffeting flames or bobbly wicks.
And a lot of the time, just keeping an eye on how it’s burning, making monitor adjustments to the wick and keeping to the recommended burning time is key.
Getting your candle back burning optimally takes only a few minutes - but rest assured that we at Chiswick Candle Company have tried an tested all our container candles thoroughly to ensure they delight you with every single burn.
Discover our range of scented candles (we sell unscented too!) in our online shop.
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