Keeping it Safe with Candles

As the Christmas season approaches many people begin to burn more candles than at other times throughout the year.  Whether it is to get the scent of a wonderful Christmas tree or to create a warm and welcoming environment candles have an important role in the celebration of Christmas.  

In this post we want to share some important reminders to safely burn your candles.  Many of these tips and suggestions came directly from the McCall's Candle Burning Guide.                                                                                                                                           When burning candles it is best to let the wax pool across the entire candle to maximize not only the scent but also the burn time of the candle.  The general rule is to burn your candles at least one hour for every inch of diameter.  This ensures that the wax pool will throw scent across the entire room or house and also allow for the longest burn time.

As your candle burns be sure to keep the wick trimmed so that the flame does not exceed 3/4" or more.  Usually a 1/4" of wick is best.  

If your candle gets a "mushroom" you should snuff the candle and trim the wick.  Make sure that the trimmings do not fal into the wax pool.  

The recommended method of snuffing a candle is to push the burning wick under the wax pool (with scissors or a wick snuffing dipper) and hold it there for a couple seconds.  Then pull the wick out.  This method eliminates most smoking and makes relighting the candle easier.  

When all of the wax at the bottom of your candle becomes liquefied it is time to discard the candle.  When burning candles it is important to have at least a bottom layer of un-melted wax.  Never allow the remainder of your candle to become totally liquefied.  

10 Candle Safety Tips:

1) Keep your flame to a maximum of 3/4" at all times.

2) Keep your wicks trimmed on a regular basis and remove mushrooms.

3) Burn your candle evenly each and every time you light it.

4) Keep your candle away from moisture

5) Never leave a candle unattended.

6) Keep all debris out of the wax pool

7) Never place candles directly above, under, or next to flammable items or directly on furniture.

8) Never transport a lit candle

9) Do not use candle lids to extinguish the candle.  Use one of the preferred snuffing methods mentioned in this post.

10)  Most importantly!!! Use common sense!!!