How to Make a Candle Burn More Slowly
Making your house smell like vanilla or sweet lavender doesn’t come cheap these days, so follow these tips to make your candles last longer.
Up next in Home Decor & Lighting (30 videos)
Check out all the ways you can make your home more beautiful with the home decorating advice in these videos.
You Will Need
- A candle
- Scissors or nail clippers
- A candle snuffer
Steps
-
Step 1
Choose a candle
Choose a candle with a regular shape, such as a cylinder or sphere, preferably with multiple wicks. These burn more evenly and waste less wax.
-
Step 2
Refrigerate the candle
Refrigerate the candle for at least one hour prior to lighting to slow the heating of the wax.
-
Step 3
Place in a draft-free area
Place the candle in a draft-free area to limit uneven melting.
-
Avoid burning candles on windowsills or near anything flammable.
-
Step 4
Read instructions
Read any instructions for burning that may have come with your candle.
-
Step 5
Trim the wick
Trim the candle’s wick to ¼-inch with scissors or nail clippers prior to each use to reduce smoking and increase oxygen flow to the candle flame
-
Step 6
Limit burning time
Limit the amount of time you leave a candle burning. Burn time should be two to four hours depending on the candle size.
-
Allow the candle wax to melt all the way across the candle – not just a small pool in the center – before extinguishing the flame.
-
Step 7
Use a snuff
Use a candle snuff to extinguish your candle. Store it in a cool, dark, dry place when not in use.
-
In India, candles were originally made by boiling the fruit of the cinnamon tree.
