CANDLE SAFETY AND BURNING TIPS:

• Never leave a burning candle unattended.
• Never burn a candle on or near anything that could catch fire.
• Keep candles out of the reach of children and pets.
• Keep candle wicks trimmed to 1/4” before burning. This will keep the size of the flame down and help prevent sooting.
• Be sure the candle is on a heat-resistant surface.
• Keep the wax pool free of debris such as wick trimmings and matches.
• Keep lit candles away from open windows, vents or any other areas where a draft may occur. This will prevent the wick from burning unevenly and helps avoid sooting.
• Always burn candles in a well-ventilated room.
• Stop burning the candle when 2 inches of wax remain. For container candles, stop burning when 1/2” of wax remains. This will prevent the glass from overheating or cracking.
• Never touch a candle flame.
• Never use a knife or any other object to scrape wax drippings from a glass holder. This might weaken the glass or cause it to break during future usage.
• If burning multiple candles, keep them at least 3 inches apart. This is to prevent the candles from overheating each other or burning improperly.
• Never extinguish a burning candle with water as this may cause the wax to splatter or the glass to shatter.
• To prevent sooting, use a candle snuffer to extinguish the candle flame.
• Make sure the candle is completely extinguished before leaving the room.
• Extinguish the candle immediately if it sputters, flares, flickers or smokes excessively. The candle is not burning properly. Let the candle cool and trim the wick before re-lighting.
• To prevent “tunneling,” always burn the candle until the wax pool touches the sides of the container. As a rule of thumb, burn a candle for 1 hour per inch of diameter; for example, burn a candle with a 3” diameter for 3 hours.

A NOTE ON SOOTING AND SOY WAX:

There are some soy candle manufacturers who claim that soy candles are sootless or burn more cleanly than do paraffin candles. According to the National Candle Association (www.candles.org), soy candles do NOT burn more cleanly than paraffin wax candles. Nor is there such a thing as “soot-free” wax. All organic compounds will emit some carbon or soot due to incomplete combustion.

The two main causes of sooting are wick-length (too long)or the flame burning unevenly because of a draft, for example. Everytime a flame flickers, the uncombusted carbon is released into the air as black smoke.

Some soy wax manufacturers claim that paraffin wax gives off toxins when burned. The National Candle Association states that “no wax has ever been shown to be toxic or harmful to human health.” (www.candles.org/elements_wax.html)

Finally, while soybeans are a renewable resource, soy wax is NOT all-natural. Where on this Earth can you find naturally-occurring soy wax? You can’t. All waxes— animal, vegetable or petroleum— are mainly hydrocarbons: the process of manufacturing these waxes does not differ very much; furthermore, because soy wax has a lower melting point than paraffin wax, chemicals are used to harden it.

This is not to say soy wax is inferior to paraffin wax— it isn’t. But, the facts are soy wax is neither soot-free or natural.