GENERAL

I know these seem obvious but its worth mentioning them again.

1. Don't light candles where children or pets can reach them.

2. Don't light candles where they could come into contact with any soft furnishings and cause a fire.

3. Don't go out and leave your candles burning. It's not worth the risk.

4. Always ensure that the area around the wick (whatever sort of candle you are burning) is clear of any old bits of wick, match ends or any other debris. They can catch fire.

 

JAR CANDLES

1.  Trim the wick to just over 1/4" prior to lighting.

2.  Always remove bits of matches or wick from the wax prior to lighting.

3.  Give them a good burning.  It is best to burn them long enough to let the wax melt to the edge of the jar each time you burn it. 

4.  If soot builds up inside the jar just wipe it with a damp paper towel & washing up liquid.  Obviously don't do this when the candle is lit.

5.  I like to clean the larger jars out afterwards and use them for pasta or rice containers.  If you dont fancy this please re-cycle the jars.

 

PILLAR CANDLES

1. With pillar candles you get what you pay for.  Don't expect a cheap £2.99 50 hour pillar to perform in the same way as an £8.99 15 hour candle.

2.  Alway trim the wick to 5mm prior to lighting.  If your wick is too long it will produce soot and draw up too much wax from the middle of the candle.

3.  The next bit depends on your personal preferences: 

If you don't want any dripping then blow the candle out as soon as the wax has melted to the edge of the pillar.  This should take approximately 1 hour per inch (2.5cms) on a fair quality candle. When the wax has set, trim the wick again and re-light it if required.

If you don't mind dribbling then burn it as long as you wish but bear in the mind that if the wick starts to smoke then it will need trimming back down to 5mm. 

 

SAMPLER/ VOTIVE CANDLES

1.  These should burn for approximately 15 hours for a 7cm candle.  You would expect to pay between £1.20 and £1.70 for a decent quality scented one, unscented should be considerably cheaper even for good quality as the perfume oil represents a major cost in production.

2. Always, always burn in a votive or sampler holder.   These little candles are designed to melt and give of fragrance and light not stay upright, and they will squadge into a pool of wax if burned alone.

3.  Trim the wick to 5mm prior to lighting and again during burning if smoking occurs.

4. As with any candle in a holder, blow it out with a couple of milimetres of wax left.  This a) protects your holder and b) stops the last bit of wax from catching fire.
 

TEA LIGHTS

1. These are best burnt in one go but its not absolutely necessary.
2. Ensure that the tea light it free of debris prior to lighting as bits of old wick can catch fire!

TINNED CANDLES

You can increase the burning hours you get from a tinned candle by burning it correctly.  Failure to do so will definately lead to reduced burning time and your candle will just not burn properly!

1) Always trim the wick to 5mm (1/4inch) prior to lighting.  If the wick is too long it will pull up the wax too quickly and it will not melt to the edge of the tin.  You will get a hole down the middle of your candle!

2) Always let the candle surface liquify to the edge of the tin.  This usually takes 2 - 3 hours but does differ across different fragrances.  If you just light your candle for a few minutes you will get a hole through the middle and the wax will not burn properly.


3) If the wick starts to smoke (gutter) during burning then it has got too long.  Blow out the candle and allow to set.  Trim the wick and start again.  This is what causes soot to be produced.

4) Do not burn the candle near a heat sourc (radiator or fire), in a draught or under anything and don't leave it burning unattended.

5) Stop burning the candle when there is 5mm wax left in the bottom.  If you leave it until the very end there is a slim chance that the wax will ignite but it's not worth the risk!

6) Having said all this, there are some fragrances which do leave a shell of wax round the edge of the tin.  This does not mean that you won't get the correct number of burning hours from the candle, it  is just a difference is different colours and perfumes of wax.  If you burn the candle correctly then you should get 30-35 hours burning time.  

If you have any specific queries regarding the burning of your candles then please email us at sales@wickedthecandleshop.co.uk. We are happy to help out where possible. xx