Let's talk candle care!
Greetings folks!
We thought we'd talk a little about candle care today, as wooden wick candles need a little extra love and attention over common cotton wick candles.
We already have a section on our website about candle care, but we thought we'd highlight that information again and add a few extra details.
Sometimes candle care is overlooked, with a lot of people thinking all you need to do is light the wick and blow it out, but if you want the most out of your candle, then following some of these simple steps will maximise your candle and allow for good, clean burns each time you light it!
Dirty glass, lopsided wax, low burning flames and sooty smelling burns are all signs that your candle needs a little extra love and attention.
BURN TIME
Did you know that the first burn is the most important?
The first time you use your candle, make sure that you allow it to burn long enough to ensure that your wax melts evenly and completely across the top. Doing this will ensure that the candle will burn evenly, eliminating any possibility of candle tunneling, which is when the wax builds up on the sides of the jar, creating a burn tunnel. Generally the first burn can be anywhere from 4-6 hours. It takes time to reach that complete melt pool, so plan your first burn and make sure you'll be around long enough for your candle to reach that stage.
After that first long burn, you should never leave your candle burning for more than 4 hours at a time. If you do, carbon can collect on the wick, creating a large flame that will cause your candle to smoke, release soot into the air and make the inside of your candle jar dirty. The clean burns will then turn into dirty ones, and you'll smell and see the difference.
TRIM YOUR WICK!
After each time you use your candle, you’ll notice that a small amount of soot has formed at the top of the wooden wick. This happens to all candles, including wood and cotton wicks. Before relighting your candle, be sure to trim the wick to keep it clean and soot free. Trimming your wooden wick will keep your candle clean and eliminate smoky burns, thus giving your candle a longer life and cleaner burn.
It’s easy and requires no special tools to do it. Cotton wicks require wick trimmers, but wooden wicks only require your fingers and some paper towel. When the wax had completely cooled, simply break off the soot using your fingers or some paper towel, then discard it in the bin.
We recommend doing this after every burn when the candle has completely cooled down.
HELP! MY CANDLE KEEPS GOING OUT. WHAT CAN I DO?
Wooden wicks are very temperamental, and can test even the most seasoned candle user, and occasionally you might encounter a troublesome wick. This all had to do with the nature of the wood in your wick. Sometimes there are hidden knots in the wood, that can cause burn difficulties as the wick encounters a natural flaw that makes it harder for the wick to draw up the wax for fuel. So, if you find that for some reason your wooden wick will not stay lit no matter how hard you try, there are a few things you can do to help your candle along.
The first thing we suggest is to drain some of the excess wax around your wick, so as to make sure that it isn't "drowning". You can do this by lighting your candle and when you have a large enough melt pool, blow the candle out, then use a square of paper towel to gently soak up some of the excess wax. Allow the candle to cool and harden, trim the soot off your wick, then light the candle again.
If you still have issues, we also suggest priming your wick. You do this by coating or dipping your wick in some of the melted wax surrounding your candle. You can either use a candle dipper, tweezers or another small tool to do this. Just don't use your fingers!
If that pesky wick is still causing issues, then the last way to tackle your wick and get it kick-started is to trim off the end of a wooden skewer and to insert it into the wax next to the wick. Both the wick and skewer will burn safely and in harmony together, allowing for that knot in the wood to pass.
STORAGE
We use the highest quality wax, however, it’s a very soft wax and can melt if the ambient temperature is far too high. It’s important to remember to never leave your candle in direct sunlight, as this can damage the candle, unevenly melt the wax and ruin the scent throw.
An important thing to remember is that "candle sweat" isn't the same as a sun damaged candle. Candle sweat happens when humid conditions make oily droplets of wax and fragrance oil appear on the surface of the candle, which looks like sweat. This is normal for soy wax during the warmer seasons, and doesn't impact the burn of the candle.
Always remember, it’s best to keep your candle somewhere cool and away from direct sunlight at all times. We also provide lids with our candles, which we recommend you keep using after each burn to keep dust from forming on the surface. Do not use the lid to smother the flame and put out the candle! Instead, wait for the candle to completely cool before putting the lid back on.
If you have any extra questions regarding candle care, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Most importantly, enjoy your candle!