Ever wish you could make your favorite candle last longer? Here's 5 tips to help you enjoy that burn for as long as possible.
TRIM YOUR WICKS! Candlemakers ask (harp, nag, cajole, implore...) you to trim your wicks because we know this is the number one way to make your candle last longer. Always trim your wicks to 1/4" before each burn and even during a burn if they are getting longer than that. Large flames on your wicks vaporize wax faster, so your candle is used up more quickly.
KEEP YOUR LIT CANDLE AWAY FROM DRAFTS. Keeping your candle from an open window or air vent will help your candle last longer by preventing your candle wicks from getting squirrely enough to melt more wax than a stable, still flame. Drafts can contribute to the formation of mushrooms- that carbon build up you sometimes see at the end of a candle wick. BONUS: less mushrooming, less potential for sooting and smoking.
FIX A BURNING PROBLEM EARLY. Several candle burning problems can keep you from enjoying your candle as long as possible. The biggest problem that happens frequently in a container candle is tunneling. You know, when the wax makes a kind of sinkhole around your wicks and there's wax stuck to the sides that never gets melted. This typically happens when you don't burn your candle for long enough. Each burn, make sure you burn long enough for the wax to melt all the way to the edges. Check out this post to troubleshoot other problems when your candle is burning unevenly.
DON'T BURN TOO LONG. I know I just said burn it long enough, but there really is a point when it's too long. A candle burning more than 4 hours is likely to get warm enough to melt too much of the wax. That can make the wicks unstable and cause them to shift so that your candle burns wonky. A candle burning unevenly from shifted wicks can be tricky to correct and become useless.
CONSIDER A CANDLE LAMP. There are pros and cons to candle lamps or warmers, but if you want your candle to last as long as absolutely possible, a candle lamp may be a good option. It melts the wax enough for you to enjoy the scent while not vaporizing the melted wax like a flame does, so the wax will ultimately last longer. The scent will fade a bit more with each candle lamp session, though, so alternating between a burn session and one under the lamp can help your candle's scent last longer. NOTE: I do not recommend using a Sweet Autumn Eclectic candle under a candle lamp or on a candle warmer. There are so many types and variables that could potentially be a problem for your handpainted vessel. At the very least, the bright light may damage or discolor the finish on your vessel. The shape of the ceramics will likely make using a candle warmer useless since they warm from the bottom up. Use at your own risk. See Candle Warmers Pros & Cons for more about using with your candles.
THE CANDLE FREEZING MYTH. Freezing your candles does NOT make them last longer and given that the wax in your container candles may crack, freezing may even make your candle burn wonky. Lighting a frozen candle warms the area around the wick to room temperature rapidly, making all that time in the freezer pretty useless.
Do you have a favorite tip here or another one to share? (At the very least, make my candlemaker heart happy and tell me you trim your wicks!)