5 Ways to Make Your Candles Last Longer
The time has come for us to start snuggling down on the sofa and lighting our candles after a long working day. But I feel like, especially at this time of year, I go through my candles like nothing else, so I looked up a few ways to make sure they last longer, burn more efficiently and stay well-maintained, especially when many candles cost an arm and a leg these day, particularly if you want a decent one.
I tried all of the things below to try and get them to last as long as possible, so they're each tried and tested. Seeing as they actually worked, to my surprise, I thought I'd share them all with you as well! Here's how you can make your candles last longer and burn more evenly.
1. Trim the wick regularly
When you first buy a candle, the wick is likely to be a lot longer than it needs to be, so make sure you trim it before burning it for the first time. If you keep the wick trimmed to a decent length, the candle will burn far slower than if you keep lighting it with a needlessly long wick. This is usually why most candles and candle kits will come with a wick trimmer.
2. Keep the candle cool & dry
When you're not burning your candle, you need to lake sure it's being stored in a cool and dry place. This stops the candle from melting during hot weather, especially if you store it in the loft. It's also important that you allow the candle to cool down completely before lighting it up again.
This allows the wax more time to solidify, making it burn even longer the next time you light it. In fact, people even like to put their candles in the freezer to make the wax as hard as possible. Trust me, it doesn't cause any damage to the candle itself, it just means you'll experience the burn for longer.
3. Put it in the right place when burning
I know it sounds a little strange to say that where you're burning your candles has an effect on how long it burns for, but it's true! Areas of your home where certain air currents are present isn't the best place to put them, such as near an open window, an air vent, a fan or a heater.
This is because you run the risk of the flame thrashing and, possibly, blowing out altogether before it's had enough time to burn properly. You also need to make sure it's being burnt on a flat surface to allow for even melting and solidifying after the candle has been blown out.
4. Allow it to burn continuously
If you're wanting to keep your candle in top condition, even whilst you're using it, you need to be committed to burning it for a decent amount of time, continuously. This is because the wax needs enough time to develop some sort of memory, so to speak.
So if you don't allow enough burning time, the centre of the wax will melt faster than the surrounding wax, causing a hole to develop in the centre that can be very troublesome to rectify. When it comes to burning a candle, you want to do it for a minimum of one hour and an maximum of four, as a general rule.
5. Sprinkle table salt on the top layer of wax
This might sound really silly, but I have noticed that it makes a difference to how long my candle burns for. It essentially slows down the burning time when you come to light them the next time around. You might deem it a little unorthodox, but hey! If it works, it works. Give it a try on your candles :)
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I hope you enjoyed this blog post and found it somewhat useful? Let me know in the comments below if you have any tips for making your candles last longer and I'll see you again very soon in a brand new blog post!
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