Important Safety Tips For Burning Candles

Burning candles is one of those "indulgent pleasures" that we all love to treat ourselves to. There's nothing better than lighting a beautiful candle, sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the added ambience and atmosphere. Not only do they send delicious scents through the room, but the simple act of gazing at a flickering candle can relieve stress and help you relax. Such great benefits from such a simple action.

Candles are extremely safe when burned properly and responsibly, and according to the manufacturers' directions. These simple reminders will help you to get the most enjoyment out of your candle burning experience. And on another note, it's a good idea to make your customers aware of these safety tips as well.

In fact, you're legally required to have safe-burning instructions on every candle you sell, whether you make your own or buy candles wholesale to resell. It's good for your candle business!

How to Burn Candles: Care and Safety Tips

• Never leave burning candles unattended.
• Keep candles away from children and pets.
• Place burning candles on a protected, heat resistant surface, such as a trivet. Hot jar candles and votive holders can damage furniture.
• Burn votive candles in votive holders, not free standing, as they will create pools of wax. This pooling is what allows the scent to disperse into the air.
• The more snug the fit of the votive container around the votive, the longer the candles will burn.
• Don't place a lit candle near flammable objects, such as curtains, centerpieces, lampshades, hairspray and cleaning sprays, etc.
• Keep burning candles away from vents, drafts, windows, ceiling fans, or air conditioners.
• Keep the wick trimmed to 1/4 inch at all times to avoid carbon build up on the wick (known as mushrooming). Trimming should be done before burning the candle each time. This tip is very important and will lengthen the burn time of your candle.
• Use toenail clippers to trim hard to reach wicks in jars.
• Use automatic lighters, instead of matches, to avoid burns.
• If the flame grows larger than 3/4 inch high, extinguish the candle, re-trim the wick to 1/8 inch and relight.
• Keep the wax pool free of wick trimmings, matches and other foreign materials.
• Do not burn a candle completely to the bottom of a container. To prevent possible heat damage to the surface, discontinue using when 1/2 inch of wax remains.
• Do not allow the flame to touch the side of a container.
• Avoid walking with burning candles.
• Never extinguish candles by placing the lid on the burning jar; this will cause the smoke and heat to build up and may cause the jar to break. Allow the candle to cool before replacing the lid.
• To extinguish candles, use a candle snuffer, a shot glass, or hold your fingers in front of the flame and gently blow to prevent hot wax from splattering.
• If a wick moves off center, use a butter knife to gently push the wick back to the center while the wax is still soft.
• Remove left over wax from holders by running under hot, soapy water. This is one of the benefits of soy/veggie wax candles - you can't do that with paraffin!
• To minimize wax left on the sides of the jars or holders, burn candles 1 hour for each inch of it's diameter to allow the flame time to melt the wax to the outer edge. Burning less time will cause the candle to form a hole down the middle and shorten the burn time. Example, a 4" candle should be burned for 4 hours at a time.
• Avoid placing candles in direct sunlight, as this will cause the color to fade.
• Store candles in a dry, cool place.
• When hosting a candle party, light and then extinguish candles. This will enable them to light more quickly and easily later when it is time for guests to arrive.

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