Candle Safety

Important Information for Burning Candles

- Always keep a burning candle within sight.
- Use something metal such a knife or spoon handle to move a wick that is burning off-center to the center.
- Keep burning candles out of the reach of children and pets.
- Keep a burning candle away from anything that can catch on fire.
- Remove any wick trimmings and other foreign material from the wax pool.  This can be done with a tweezers.
- Always burn candles on a protected, noncombustible, heat-resistant surface placed securely on an appropriate holder. There is no such thing as a dripless candle so precautions should be taken in case the candle drips.
- Colored and fragranced candles can damage furnishings when placed directly on them.
- Keep a burning candle out of a draft.
- Always trim the wick to 1/4 inch in length before relighting a candle. The flame on a candle should be 5/8 to 1 inch high, never higher than 2 inches. A wick that is too long can cause a larger flame and be a fire hazard plus it will smoke.
- Remove labels from the bottom of candles before lighting.
- Containers in which candles are poured do get hot when the candle is burned. Never allow the flame to come in direct contact with the side of the container. Keep the wick centered. Do not move the candle while it is burning or touch the hot surface of the container.
- If container becomes blackened while burning, after the candle has been extinguished and the wick cools clean with a paper towel. This can be prevented by trimming the wick to 1/4 inch and limiting burn time. This is often caused because all of the oxygen is burned leaving carbon to burn.
- Discontinue burning when 1 inch of wax remains. This should prevent the danger of a glass container getting hot and possibly breaking or a pillar candle burning through onto furniture.
- Votive candles should be burned in a tight fitting votive glass or small container of some type. Clean out a votive glass before placing a new votive in it. Spraying the votive glass with a non stick material before burning will make it easier to clean.
- 1/8 inch of water in a votive container will keep the container cooler and make it easier to clean.
- If a wick seems to be drowning in the wax pool, extinguish the flame and either pour off some of the melted wax or when the wick cools use a paper towel to absorb some of the liquid wax or use a spoon to take out some of the soft wax.
- Most candles should be burned 2-3 hours at a time. If the wick becomes too long and it starts to smoke, extinguish the candle. Trim the wick to 1/4 inch before relighting.

When You Go Out — Blow It Out!!!!