Candle Hacks & Basic Care
Burning a candle should be pretty simple, but sometimes (depending on wax and jar type) it is not.
* Jars with a tapered side which usually looks beautiful for decoration sometimes will burn a bit unevenly, or even smoke a little and blacken the glass.
To prevent this, make sure you always burn the candle long enough to create an even wax pool across the top before extinguishing. The wicks I use are self trimming, but sometimes you will need to trim the wick. Burning an oversize wick that is curled over and blackened, will only smoke and darken the glass. Trim it to 1/8 - 1/4" as needed. If you cut it too short and cannot light it, use a spoon or butter knife to dig it out a little.
* If you do end up with a candle with excess wax (from tunneling) it can be hard to correct. Using a heat gun or hair drying on high can melt some of this wax down around the wick and add some life to the burn time of the candle. If this isn't an option for you, consider sitting your container directly on a candle warmer / wax melt unit. This will melt the wax and even things out, along with providing the aroma without having an open flame.
* You can also wrap the top with aluminum foil (leaving a small opening) and light your candle to attempt to fix tunneling. This will keep heat trapped inside and allow some of the wax on the sides to melt and even out.
* Note that beeswax has a higher melting point which means it will need to burn longer to burn evenly.
* Keep candles away from air sources (fans, air conditioners, open windows, etc) this will cause the flame to jog around wildly and blacken your glass.
* Reuse your containers by popping them in a 200 degree oven and carefully dumping the melting wax in the trash (using a pot holder because the glass can burn you.) Never dump wax down the drain because it will solidify in your pipes and cause clogs that are impossible to remove. Alternatively you can try freezing your candle and usually pop the wax out easily. This won't work all of the time though.
* Have wild kids, or pets but want a safe way to burn a candle? Consider purchasing wax melts and getting a wax melt warmer. This works great as it does not get as hot as a flame and won't be a fire hazard if knocked over. Still take care and keep it out of reach.
* Our soy and beeswax candles are safe enough to burn around birds. Bird people know that avian creatures have delicate lungs and can suffer lethal damage from store bought candles and cookware like Teflon. Because my ingredients have no known carcinogens or zinc ingredients, they are completely safe to burn around the tiniest and most fragile lungs. I myself have a healthy African Grey and Quaker to prove it. Goku (the Quaker) is nearly 16yrs old and Hiei (the Grey) is coming up on 11yrs old.