Care For Your Candles and Prolong Their Life
By Jo F Miller
Soy Candles burn for longer than petroleum based candles but did you know that by following two basic rules to look after you candle; that you can preserve its life and allow the flame to burn properly every time?
There’s nothing more annoying than spending a bit of money on a decent quality candle and then to find that the wax has tunneled and you can’t light the wick anymore even though the candle is no where near finished. Or what about when you’ve got puffs of black smoke filling your room? That’s hardly the type of ambience that you hoped your candle would create. But by taking a little bit of care for your candle, you should be able to enjoy your candle more and for longer.
Before you even light your candle, make sure that you trim the wick to about a quarter inch and you should avoid having clouds of smoke. If you find that your wick mushrooms, you should blow your candle out and trim the wick even more as the wick is burning too fast with not enough wax to slow it down. Before lighting your candle each time, trim the wick. If you’ve got a jar candle which is difficult to get a pair of scissors into, use your fingers to pinch the wick.
For the first burn of your new candle, there is a general rule to let the candle burn 1 hour for every inch that the candle is wide. So for a lot of the quality candles that come in jars, you’re looking at 2-3 hours for your first burn. This is to achieve what is known as a ‘melt-pool’ – where the candle has become liquidised all the way to the side of the candle. By doing this, you harden the wax and cause your candle to burn more steadily and slowly for following burns.
By doing these two simple steps, always trimming the wick and achieving a melt pool on your first burn, you should avoid problems with your candle tunneling. If your candle has a lid, always replace the lid to help keep the fragrance strong although never use the lid to put out your candle as you’ll end up with a black jar!
Also remember for any candle or wax spills, the following should remove the wax from surfaces every time. Use a hair dryer to melt the wax. Once the wax is liquefied, dab a piece of paper towel (maybe even double or triple up the thickness depending on the amount of wax to be cleaned). Continue to do this until all of the wax is removed. This works on wood surfaces, painted surfaces, metal surfaces and even carpets.
Enjoy your candles every time and get your money’s worth from your candle. A decent quality candle really will be worth its money – always check the burn time on the candle – if it doesn’t have a burn time stated, it may be one that will not last very long and therefore is not worth the money. Decent quality candles will burn well and keep their fragrance throughout the life of the candle.
Jo Miller is a partner in Our Own Candle Company UK, which specialises in unique scents in soy-blended candles. With our special patented wick straighteners, we guarantee long lasting candles with the fragrance lasting throughout the life of the candle. Enjoy the perfect candle! To find out more, visit our website: http://www.ourowncandlecompanyuk.com or email Jo: jomiller@ourowncandlecompanyuk.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jo_F_Miller
http://EzineArticles.com/?Care-For-Your-Candles-and-Prolong-Their-Life&id=3101106
Stop paying high prices for scented candles. Learn how to make your own gourmet scented candles with palm wax. There is no other candle wax on the face of the planet capable of producing beautiful Jack Frost-like crystals or billowy feathers, making them especially appropriate during the holidays. Glass jar candles seem to glow from within. Finally, make scented candles in the fragrances that you like. FREE BONUS: Learn how to make clamshell soy wax tart chunks.
