4 Tips To Get The Most From Your New Candle!

So you got a new candle and you want to get the best smell and burn? Well, you've come to the right place. With this quick guide, we're going to help teach you some of the most important candle care tips. These apply to all new candles, and even your old ones too. By the end, you'll be ready to enjoy any candle from any brand. So let's dive in on how to get the most from your new candle.

1. Trim your wicks before you light. 

Trimming candle wicks before lighting them is much more important than you might think, and for several reasons:

• Prevents Excessive Flickering or Smoking: A wick that is too long can cause the flame to flicker or smoke. This is not only annoying but can also create soot, which might dirty the candle container and surrounding areas.
• Improves Burn Efficiency: A trimmed wick ensures the candle burns evenly and efficiently. A wick that's too long can cause the candle to burn too quickly, using up the wax faster than it should.
• Prevents Uneven Melting: An overly long wick can cause the candle to burn unevenly, leading to tunneling. This is when the candle burns narrowly down the center, leaving a ring of wax around the edges. A properly trimmed wick helps the wax melt more evenly.
• Increases Safety: A longer wick can make the flame too large, which increases the risk of the candle becoming a fire hazard. A shorter wick keeps the flame at a safer, controlled height.

As a general guideline, you should always trim the wick to about ¼ inch (6 mm) before lighting each time to keep the candle burning safely and beautifully. Most of the time, when you purchase a new candle this is done for you to start. If you need a good, reliable pair of wick trimmers, we recommend these.

2. Don't burn longer than the recommended time.

Letting a candle burn for too long can cause several issues that affect the candle, the wick, the container, and more importantly your safety. Here are some reasons why you should avoid burning a candle for too long:

• Increases Fire Hazard: The longer a candle burns, the larger the flame can become, increasing the risk of fire. If the candle is left unattended for too long, it can potentially cause a fire, especially if it’s near flammable objects.
• Overheating and Container Damage: When a candle burns for an extended period, the container can get too hot. This will usually cause the wax to melt unevenly and can even damage the container, especially if it’s made of glass or plastic. Glass containers that overheat too much are at a high risk for cracking, breaking, and in some rare unfortunate cases might even explode!
  
• Reduced Fragrance Throw: Many candles, especially scented ones, lose their fragrance over time. However, the longer the candle burns in one sitting, the more the fragrance oils will wick up and evaporate, which can lead to the scent becoming weaker or disappearing entirely from future burn cycles.
• Waste Of Wax: Burning a candle for too long can cause excessive wax to be consumed unnecessarily. This leads to faster depletion of the candle and reduces its overall lifespan. Your candle hopefully smells amazing, so we're guessing you want to keep it around longer.
  

It's important to always be mindful of your burn time. The average common candle burning recommendation is between 3-4 hours max. Check the labels on your new candle for exact recommendations, and if there is none stated, you can always contact the company who manufactures the candle for more detailed information. All of our candles include a warning label recommending no more than a 4 hour burn time.

3. Allow Your Wax Pool To Melt Evenly.

The first time you light your new candle, be sure to allow it to burn long enough for an even pool of wax. While this can often times take several hours, there's significant benefits in doing so. Here are a few of those reasons:

• Prevents "Tunneling": This is a term used for when the wax melts closely to the wick, leaving a ring of wax around the edges of the candle. Often times these can disappear after 3-4 burn sessions, but preventing them ahead of time is still recommended. 
• Stronger Scent Throw: The more even the layer of wax burning is, the more saturated the fragrance becomes. This is because an evenly distributed and wider layer of melted wax allows more fragrance molecules to evaporate at once.
• More Consistent Burn: Allowing your candle to reach a full wax pool offers a more consistent burn as the candle depletes. Each subsequent burn cycle will have a similar starting point, and can increase the overall life of the candle.

Generally it's recommended to avoid extinguishing a candle before it reaches a full melt pool. If you're approaching the maximum burn time and the full pool hasn't been achieved, that's okay. By the second burn cycle, this should even out, and if it does not, we suggest consulting the company for troubleshooting advice. If you have any concerns with a candle of ours, we can be contacted here, or through the chat box on the bottom of the screen.

 

4. Keep Candles Free Of Debris & Flammable Objects.

This is one that we cannot stress enough: flower petals and leaves do not belong in candles. While including decorations in candles can seem like a fun, festive addition, often times this comes at the increased risk for combustion. Here are a few examples of things to avoid:

• Dust Is Dangerous: Try to keep lids on your container style candles when they aren't in use. While the soft addition of the fragrance is nice around the home, the risk of dust buildup, even a subtle amount, has the increased potential to react to the flame when lit. 
• Avoid Drafty Areas: keeping a candle near a fan or open window might seem like it has potential to spread the scent more, but there's also the increased risk of the flame interacting with the surroundings and causing a fire within the home. 

Of course there are a lot of other useful tips such as not extinguishing by blowing, or not storing in direct sunlight, but we think that with these 4 main tips, you'll be able to get the most out of your new candle, and prolong the life of your old ones too. Have any other tips, or want to leave a suggestion? We'd love to read them in the comments below. 

If you're looking for some new candles, you can find your next favorite by shopping our collections here.

Thanks for reading!

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