Candle Safety For Candle Enjoyment

We receive a lot of questions about how to make sure candles are burned with enjoyment but with utmost concern for safety. The general answer to this is that it is not the candles per se that are unsafe but how we use them.

What we don't want is an accidental fire or injury from an open flame. Knowing the basic candle burning tips puts you in the know for safety. Unfortunately, the National Candle Association reports that 15,000 fires a year are caused by misuse or inattentiveness to a burning candle. There are, however, some basic guidelines, we can all follow to stay safe.

1. Never leave a candle unattended. This one is self-explanatory but is one of the most neglected safety guidelines.

2. Always, always keep a candle within sight and extinguish it when you know you won't be around or will be too sleepy to attend to it.

3. Place candles on a flat, sturdy, heat-resistant surface. Pillar and tapered candles can easily tip over so make sure they are placed in appropriate candle holders and positioned away from table, counter or cabinet edges. Just because candles are in containers such as glass and tin doesn't mean they'll be any safer either! Flat, solid surfaces are the best places for candles of all types.

4. Keep a lighted candle away from flammable materials. Paper, cardboard, straw, and fabric are flammable materials. Even your hair can be singed if you get too close to a flame! Keep a candle away from all these things to avoid fire.

5. Keep candles away from children and pets. Small children, family pets and a precariously placed candle are a dangerous combination! Take care to move candles to higher, securer ground, when you have tikes, pets and candles around.

6. Not to mention that a newly extinguished candle can be just as dangerous. Hot wax can singe skin and destroy furniture. Keep a candle as high away as possible for your kids and pets to knock over.

7. Trimming your candle wick can be the best thing you can do for your candles. Trim your wick to ¼" before each use. A trimmed wick keeps a candle burning evenly. Not only that, long wicks can make candle flames go too high and crooked wicks can cause it to drown into the wax.

8. Keep the wax pool clean of debris at all times. Broken matches, wick trimmings and ashes in your wax pool - we've all experienced it. Debris can be hazardous because they can also ignite.

9. Don't burn a candle longer than recommended. Manufacturers always include a candle's burning hours on their labels. However, if you want to know how long to keep it lit for a time, the rule of thumb is to burn a candle for as many hours as its diameter in inches. Meaning, two inches in diameter equals 2 hours, three inches equals three hours and so on. What this does is to ensure that your candle's wax pool will be burnt to the edges. The added benefit to this is that you will burn down your candle evenly, without that tunneling in the center. Moreover, don't burn a candle all the way to the end. Leave at least a quarter inch of wax at the bottom end.

10. Drafts, vents and air current are your candle's enemy. Flames can be extinguished, can flare-up and can even jump due to drafts; lightweight curtains or paper can also be blown into the flame. Then again don't burn too many candles in a too small space where air exchange is limited.

11. Use the right tools with your candles. Candle snuffers, wick trimmers and long lighters are not a fancy indulgence. They are some of the safest ways to maintain your candles. Putting out a flame with a snuffer and using a long lighter avoids singed fingers and eyebrows while a wick trimmer is much better and more convenient than scissors that can dig into the wax.

12. If your candle is lit, keep it staying put! Never touch or move a candle when it is lit. Liquid wax can be very hot and you can't really predict whether you will trip or fall while carrying a burning candle!

13. Watch out for broken glass containers. Don't do anything that can weaken, scratch or break your candles' glass containers such as using sharp objects to clean wax drippings or putting burning candles too close together (three inches apart is ideal.)

14. Avoid smokey candles. These days, candles are so well-made that they hardly make any more smoke. Smokey flames usually indicate that candles are not burning properly. Check for drafts, too long wicks, or whether there is insufficient space for the candle to burn well.

Look up candle standards and safety procedures. The United States' National Candle Association affirms that candle manufacturers follow stringent candle standards to ensure safety and healthy use. Rest assured that whatever candles you buy in the United States and which are made in the U.S. follow these standards.

A professor of mine once said, "fire is a good servant but a bad master". Fire deserves our respect as it serves us well - cooking our food, keeping us warm and giving a warm flickering glow that only flame can give - however, vigilence is required when undertaking any task using fire.

By following these basic guidelines, you can enjoy your candles while still keeping safe. After all, the best candle experience is a safe candle experience. Unattended candle mishaps can be completely avoided if some care is taken while enjoying the warmth, glow and atmosphere candles offer.

References: The National Candle Association, www.candles.org


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Karen Davis runs an online boutique called brownstoneshopper. It's where you can find distinctive pieces and ideas to
accessorize your home. If you enjoyed this article on candle safety, see other articles on artisans, home decor,
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