If you’re a candle lover, these three simple burning tips will help your wax last longer and burn better, meaning you have to purchase them way less often
Candles are a lovely little luxury, but are you accidentally wasting them? (Stock Image)(Image: Anastasiia Krivenok via Getty Images)
Lighting a luxury candle can feel like a genuine indulgence, as your room fills with a wonderful fragrance, and the warmth and cosiness it creates is hard to beat as the temperatures start to drop. Plus when you add a good book into the mix, the autumnal set-up feels so gorgeous. But have you ever wondered why your candles don’t seem to burn evenly, tunnelling down the middle with the flame shooting far too high?
One man has shared three essential tips that could transform the way your candles burn, helping them last longer and perform far better, particularly useful when you’re splashing out on premium ones.
Posting on the @resting TikTok page, the man revealed his advice, leaving viewers stunned in the comments section, with many admitting they had no idea about any of it.
Trim every time
Have you ever had a beautifully decorated candle, only to watch the outside become blackened as it burns, completely ruining the jar and making it impossible to reuse? It’s incredibly frustrating.
He explained that every time you use your candle, you should trim the wick. “Cut it to about 3mm before each burn, and this will ensure a cleaner burn with less of the black smoke that can blacken the inside of your jar,” he recommended.
Then he demonstrated the difference between a trimmed and untrimmed wick, with the trimmed version burning in a far neater and more controlled manner.
Burn for a specific amount of time
When you first get a candle, he explained it’s crucial to burn it for a particular length of time on its first use. He explained that two to three hours is the optimum amount of time to burn candles on the first occasion, as it “ensures that the wax melts evenly to the edge of the jar and prevents tunnelling”.
Tunnelling, for the uninitiated, is where the candle fails to burn evenly and instead forms a ‘tunnel’ down the centre, meaning a significant portion of the wax goes to waste, and the candle burns out far sooner than it should.
However, if your candles are already tunnelling, there is a method to rectify the problem and restore an even burn.
Fix your tunnelling candles
The third piece of advice was to address any tunnelling issues promptly, encouraging the candle to burn across its entire surface rather than solely down the middle.
Using aluminium foil, you should “cover the top of the candle, leaving a little bit of space for air to get in”. You should then “leave it for a few hours until the wax has fully melted properly”.
When removing the foil, exercise extreme caution, as it will be extremely hot.
By doing so, your candle will last considerably longer, and that £80 you splashed out on it will feel a great deal more justified.
Will you try these candle tips? Let us know in the comments…
