GENERAL CANDLE CARE & SAFETY
Use the lid when your candle isnt in use to preserve that beautiful scent
Dont leave candles burning unattended
Keep candles out of reach of children and pets
Do not burn candles near anything that is flamable
Only burn candles on level heat resistant surfaces
Do not burn candles for more than 4 hours at a time
Do not let flame touch glass
Glass may become hot
Please dispose of remaining wax at the end of the jar responsibly
Please refer to safety stickers on candle and candle packaging for further information
WHAT IS CANDLE TUNNELLING?
Candle tunnelling happens when a candle burns down its centre, leaving hard wax around the outside. This wasted wax means your candle won’t achieve it’s maximum burn-time, a real waste if you love your HOME candle as much as us.
As the flame burrows further down the middle, the wick will become more and more difficult to light and eventually be drowned by melting wax.
Candle tunnelling can happen to any candle regardless of the quality or price. Thankfully, there are a number of things you can do to help your scented candles burn evenly and efficiently, leaving as little residual wax as possible. Giving your maximum life out of your beautiful candles.
HOW TO PREVENT CANDLE TUNNELLING
IT'S ALL IN THE FIRST BURN...
The first time you light and burn your new candle really sets the stage for how well the candle will perform throughout its life.
Our biggest recommendation for the first burn, is to make sure that the pool of melted wax reaches the edges of your candle before you snuff the flame. We generally aim for the wax pool to be about 1cm deep at the edges before we put it out.
How long this takes depends on the diameter of the candle – if you’ve only got an hour to enjoy your new fragranced candle pick one from our smaller ranger (coming soon) However, if you’ve got half a day to relax in the ambience of your new scent, our chunky amber glass jar candles are perfect.
Generally we always advocate that you should trim the wick before you burn a candle. However, if your new candle is very wide you may want to leave the wick a little longer than usual. This will create a bigger, hotter flame that has more chance of melting the wax all the way to the edge. Just make sure that you keep a closer eye on the flame, snuffing it out if any issues arise.
INITIAL BURN TIMES BY CANDLE WIDTH
This is just a rough guide, it’s best to burn the candle for as long as it takes for the melted wax pool to reach the outer edge.
CANDLE WIDTH APPROX. FIRST BURN TIME
1inch / 2.5cm 1 Hour
2inch / 5cm 2 Hours
3inch / 7.5cm 3 Hours
4inch / 10cm 4 Hours
THE FIRST BURN TOP TIPS
Let the wax pool reach the edges of the candle the first time you light it.
Burn the candle for roughly one hour for every inch the candle is wide.
If the candle is very wide, only trim the wick to 8mm before the first burn.
It is worth repeating this burning technique every once in a while to keep the wax open and even.
HOW TO FIX CANDLE TUNNELLING
As mentioned above, the first burn is the most important as it sets the candles “memory”. The memory ring of a candle is the indent made by the candle wax on it’s initial lighting, and generally marks the edge of where all future burns will reach.
By not allowing the wax pool to reach the edge on its first burn, a smaller than ideal memory ring will be formed and tunnelling will begin. Caught early enough, you can reset the candles memory allowing the wax to re-open to the full width of the candle.
Next time you light the candle, allow for the wax pool to reach the edges of the candle as described for the ideal initial burn.
If the tunnelling has sunk lower than a few millimetres you will probably need to use the foil method.
THE FOIL METHOD
The aim of the foil method is to increase the heat trapped at the top of the candle, hopefully enabling the stubborn hard wax left up the sides to melt.
It’s an easy method, but should be done with care – the foil can become hot so mind you don’t burn yourself. Also, be careful not to use this method for extended periods of time as the increased heat can put strain on the candle container, possibly leading it to shatter.
First, safely light your candle. Then, being careful not to burn yourself, wrap a layer of aluminium foil around the top of the candle making a domed lid with a hole in the top.
This allows the heat to stay in and melt the rim of hard wax on the sides. In an hour or so (depending on the size of the candle) you should have a good even wax pool and a re-set candle. Please be careful when removing the foil, it will be hot.