I’m afraid I’ve turned into a bit of a candle addict lately!
I love the glow of a candle on a night and I love the scented candles that make my house smell so nice – the only problem is that the nicer a candle smells, the more I want to burn it which means that it burns down quicker and needs replacing sooner.
Not great if you’re trying to save money as candles aren’t exactly a necessity are they?
But there are ways to make a candle last a little bit longer so at least I feel like I’m doing my bit to be thrifty. 😉
Here’s a few of the ways I know of….
- Keep the wick trimmed to around 5mm as the shorter the wick is, the better the burn. Longer wicks don’t always provide an even supply of oxygen which apparently makes the candle burn down quicker.
- Don’t burn your candles for long periods of time – I usually stick to around two hours.
- Don’t burn candles near any drafts – even just an open window can make the candle flicker which may cause uneven heating which again will make our candle burn down quicker.
- Chill your candle in the fridge before burning as a colder candle will take longer to burn. Don’t be tempted to freeze your candle though as this can cause it to crack.
- Be really careful when you blow your candle out as you can blow the wax about or blow soot into the candle, both of which will decrease your candle’s burn time.
- If you have a pillar candle, you can mould the top with your hands after you’ve blown it out. If you gently mould the wax over the top of the candle then the next time the candle is lit, it will burn the higher wax first which will increase the burn time.
So at least if you’re buying non essential candles, you’re making them last as long as possible in future!
