Candle Burning 101

Candle companies recommend trimming your wick to 1/4" of an inch before you burn- including your wooden wicks, tapers, pillars, and jar candles. This will make the candles last longer, burn evenly, reduce smoke & soot. 

You should burn your candle 1 hour for every inch of container diameter. For example- if you have a 3" candle, burn it for at least 3 hours to prevent tunneling of your candle. (Tunneling causes wax build up on the sides of your candles- thus wasting it). Do not burn candles for more than 4 hours- carbon will collect on the wick- causing it to smoke and become unstable. 

Votive candles need to be burned in a properly sized votive holder.  If your votive holder is too large the votive will not be contained properly as it burns and may result in the votive sides leaking and spilling down to the bottom of the votive holder.  Burn votives for 1 hour or more per session, long enough so the wax melts out to the side of the votive holder.  If the votive candle has less than 1/2" remaining let it burn out completely as you will not be able to relight it.

Tapers should always be securely placed in a taper holder when burning.  Before lighting the first time trim the wick to 1/4". Before relighting you may trim the very tip of the wick to remove any particles gathered in the wick. The wick generally trims itself as it burns. Trimming the wick too short may cause the candle to drip. Tapers must be perfectly vertical in their taper holder; if they lean to the side they will drip. To keep from dripping, burn in draft free environment.