So what exactly is Candle Soot, and what Causes Candle Soot? Soot is that black smoky substance that comes from your Candle flame. It’s that black substance on the inside of your Candle Jars and can even get on your walls and Cabinet.
Now when next you light your Candle, look at the flame. The blue part of the flame is where there is lots of oxygen present. Just over the blue part of the flame, you will see that the flame is now yellow and that is where the smoke is created. This is because the oxygen is gravitating up the wick at the bottom and the heat is given off at the top of the flame giving off hot air. Once the flame of the candle has started drawing the liquid candle wax up the wick, it does so at a steady rate. When the flame of the candle is disturbed the size of the flame changes and the amount of fuel being used is no longer consistent. If there is too much fuel for the flame to use it is put off in the form of soot.
The following are three ways to help you reduce the amount of soot produced by your Candle.
- Keep Candles away from Draft – If you burn your Candles near to open windows or fans or air vents, the breeze will cause your flame to flicker. This means that the flame no longer burns consistently and this causes it to draw more fuel up the wick. You want to ensure that your Candle flame is just right. An ideal Candle flame will not flicker nor dance in the wind.
- Trimming your wick – It seems that every time we talk about Candle care, this comes up. We cannot place anymore emphasis on how important it is to keep your wicks properly trimmed. The number one reason for the production of soot is a very long wick. Always make sure your wick is trimmed to 1/8 inch before lighting. If you have already lit the Candle, don’t be afraid to blow it out, trim the wick and relight it. If you may notice that your flame is still dancing and there is no draft in the room, most likely you may need to trim the wick a bit more. This is one of the reasons why you should never leave your Candles unattended. If the flame gets too high your Candle will produce soot but keeping the flame under control will allow a better burn with less soot.
- Keep debris out of your Candle – Most times, when we use matches to light our candle, we drop the burnt out stick into the wax or when we trim our wicks we drop the burnt out wick into the wax. This is a common practice but not the best. Match sticks, pieces of wicks, dirt and other objects don’t belong in Candles. It kindles the fire and can clog your wicks which can also cause a buildup of soot.
So now you understand what soot is and how you can minimize it, happy burning! Head on over to our social media pages and follow us for more tips on taking care of your Candles.