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Some Common Candle Burning Faults and How You Can Overcome Them. |
Smoking and Drips
What causes a candle wick to smoke?
An over-large wick, or burning your candles in a draught.
If possible, burn your candles in a still area. Close your windows if there is a breeze.
Of course, you do want to burn your candles outside sometimes. Under those conditions, use hurricane candle holders with votive or pillar candles.
Place a loose candle in a terracotta pot, or use container candles.
A candle with a Wax Overhang, Which Burns Unevenly and Drips
Causes: a long, folded-over wick. Or a badly-made candle, in which the wick wasn't centered properly.
Of course, in this case, there's not much you can do about it.
trim the candle wicks down to 6mm (¼") before lighting your candle.
When lit, make sure the wick is upright and as centered as possible. Push the wick upright, if necessary.
Candle Wicks that Crackle
Spluttering and crackling candles are simply the result of careless candle making!
Causes:
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Water in the wax. The mold wasn't sealed properly and water leaked in during the water-bath phase.
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A damp wick. There might have been water on the working surface, which the wick was placed onto.
The damp wick was inserted into the mold before casting the candle.
The best thing is just to discard the candle. Unless you are a candle maker and would like to salvage the wax. In which case you can try the following:
melt the candle, pour the wax into a pan. The wax rises to the top as it sets, leaving the water droplets at the base.
Dry the water off with paper towels. You may have to use a skewer or wicking needle encased in a paper towel to get rid of some stubborn drops in the base of the wax. Re-melt the wax. Recast the candle.
I have had to do this, and it is quite an annoying procedure. This is really only for dedicated candle makers.
Opinions are divided upon candle burning quality. One opinion is that all candles produce harmless water vapour. Another is that scented and coloured candles emit particles (harmless ones!) and that the cleanest-burning candles are white, unscented ones.
Some candle crafters proclaim the sootlessness of their candles, but apparently a sootless candle doesn't exist!
Secure your candles. Keep wicks trimmed. Burn your candles in draught-free conditions. Do these simple things and your candle burning experience should be a pleasant one.
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