Candles require maintenance? Now, here’s something that nobody gives a lot of thought to, largely because having grown up with electric light and candles as occasional novelties, we haven’t really had to think about it.
Candles can add festivity, warmth and romance to all kinds of social occasions–what’s more classically romantic than a lighting a candle and opening a bottle of wine for two? Or, some coffee-table twinkle can be the perfect “company” for just you and your favorite TV show after a punishing day at work; or a tub-side, luxuriously fragrant stressbuster as you sink into a tub of bubbles.
In the past 10 years, there’s been a big resurgence in the popularity of candles, and accompanying that, naturally, their prices have risen so that even lesser-quality candles can take a more painful nip from your household budget than you’d have anticipated–so in these times of a return to thinking economically and acting frugally, here are a few very basic tips to maintain your investment in these small luxuries, so that they don’t have to be replaced as often–and can even “live on” after they’re replaced. Note: while I don’t dispute that premium candles might burn more purely, evenly, and even last a bit longer, I’m not a candle-snob: if I can’t afford to buy a $60 pillar, it won’t matter if it could have illuminated my home for a few hours longer than its $12.99 counterpart. But if you have made an investment in expensive candles, you’ll want to use these tips to maintain your (larger) investment even more.
1. Trim the wicks. Trim all wicks to ¼ “–the idea being that the longer the wick, the larger the flame–not only a little dangerous–perhaps jumping to the bottom of a curtain from a change in the air current–but also, consider the fact that a smaller flame will put out less heat, and be less likely to melt through one side of a pillar candle after burning for several hours, ruining its appearance. (If this happens, and the hole isn’t too far down from the top of a taller pillar, you can carefully trim off the upper portion, and soften the edge with an Aim’n’Flame, shaping and smoothing the warmed wax with your hand, to salvage the candle.)
I have seen some advice to trim the wicks of only tapers and small-diameter pillar candles, but I even trim down my 6-inch diameter, 3-wick candles, to avoid burn-through on the sides due to heat from a larger flame. Also, you should really blow them out after 3 hours’ burning time–if only to trim the wicks and re-light them. Be careful not to trim any shorter than ¼” on large-diameter pillars, however, because if the melted wax gets deep enough, it will douse the flame. Many people don’t trim the wicks on tealights–but for a tealight to twinkle through most of an evening, I do trim them to ¼”–so that they don’t burn out so quickly, and so that they don’t scorch the inside of their holders with an overly large flame.
Trim your wicks when they’re new, and trim them back down to ¼” the next time you light them.
2. Snuff your candles, don’t blow them out. Not only does this prevent droplets of wax from ruining a tablecloth–but also keeps tiny, almost-invisible embers of red-hot wick from flying off and making a burn mark on the carpet or a tiny hole in someone’s shirt or nearby upholstery.
3. “Hug” your large pillars after blowing them out. After blowing out large-diameter pillar candles, keeping them on a flat surface so you aren’t scalded by the melted wax in the center, apply a hugging-type pressure with your hands to the upper rim of the pillar while the candle is still warm. In this way, you can work some wax into a thinning area of the rim, or fill in small melted-away areas of the rim–or work the wax around to even the rim back up, if it appears to have become lopsided. The more even you can keep your pillars after each burning, the longer they will remain good for yet another burning before eventually melting out one side.
If you are burning 3-inch diameter pillars, and you’ve succeeded in keeping them even while they have burned down pretty far inside, it’s likely that the top edges of the candles may begin to curl in. Usually this curled-in wax will be somewhat thinner than the sides of the pillar. After they’ve cooled, trim the curled-in wax down an inch or so, breaking off the curled in wax and getting the edges as even as possible. Again, warm the wax with an Aim’n’Flame, and press/reshape the rim with your hands so it isn’t “ragged.” Your pillars will be shorter, but still decent-looking and burnable.
4. Have you burned a votive in a holder and now it’s a melted mess? Pop it in the freezer and set the timer for 10 minutes. The wax should pop right out with minimal prodding from a knife.
5. Recycle old candles. Candles that are still usable but no longer attractive (half-burned tapers, etc.) can reside in a shoebox on the same shelf as your flashlight, for use on the odd occasion when the lights go out. A candle that is unsightly but safe to burn, can make its farewell in next Hallowe’en’s jack o’lantern. Also, an accumulation of old candles can be repurposed: buy new wicking at a craft store, then melt down old candles in a double-boiler pan (over hot water). Use tongs to remove the old wicks from the melted wax, and discard. Dip the metal “button” of the new wick into the melted wax and stick it to the bottom center of a new container–a cute tin, mason jar or a pretty teacup. Carefully pour in the melted wax, and allow to cool, trying to keep the wick as straight in the center as possible. The wax can be re-colored or fragranced however you like (in the craft store near the wicks), and the “new” candles can become gifts or part of that “emergency” (power’s-out) supply.
It may seem to be more trouble than it’s worth, spending between a few minutes up to half an hour every so often “maintaining your candles”–more or less, depending on how many candles you burn and how often you burn them. But it’s really a very small investment of time to prevent you from having to buy them all over again; and since that time is going toward these little luxuries that bring you pleasure, view it as a tiny labor of love.
05.08.09
