Candle Safety Tips

Candle Safety tips

General
Prevent Fires
Prevent Skin Burns
Prevent Damage to Surfaces or Tablecloths
Keep the Air Clean!
Candles as a Main Light Source

General

Candles are safe products, but may become hazardous when used improperly or in an unsafe manner. Candle fire incidents are due to inattention to basic fire safety in the home or to the misuse of candles.

Prevent Fires

• Read and follow all manufacturer instructions carefully.
• Do not burn a candle for longer than the manufacturer recommends
• Remove labels and wrapping before lighting candles
• Lighted candles should always be within sight. Never leave a burning candle unattended.
• Keep lit candles out of the wind
• Place lighted candles at least 3 inches apart from one another.
• Never burn a candle directly on or near anything that can catch fire. …Furniture with upholstery, Carpets, Drapes, Bedding, Books, Paper, Your hair!
• If the candle hasn’t been used for a while, clean off the dust before you light it
• Always use a candleholder or tray placed on a stable surface.
• Make sure your candle holder is stable and not easily knocked over
• Allow a gap of at least 2 ft (60cm) above a lit candle. A lot of heat can be generated
• If your candle holder is made from glass, be sure the glass is thick enough to withstand the temperature of a lit candle. Cheap holders have been known to explode resulting in fire.
• Do not place lighted candles where they can be knocked over. Keep candles out of the reach of small children and pets
• If a candle flame becomes too high, smokes or flickers too easily, extinguish the candle and trim the wick.
• Consider choosing candles predominately made from soy that do not smoke like paraffin candles can do.
• Wicks should be trimmed before burning…1/4 inch (6mm)
• Remove wick trimmings and matches from the candle
• Never use a candle as light when you go into a cupboard or closet to look for things.
• Don’t use an exposed candle flame near flammable gases or liquids.
• Avoid using a candle while working under the bonnet of a car
• Don’t use candles when you are lighting lanterns
• Be careful of using some cleaning products around lit candles…some are flammable (some will give off toxic odors when near heat)
• Extinguish all candles when leaving a room or before going to sleep.

Know the emergency number for your area. Make sure the kids know too!
Always have a smoke blanket in your house (alternatively use a drenched wet towel to cover the fire).
It is sensible to have a small fire extinguisher in you home that you know how to use. Make sure your family has a well practiced fire evacuation plan.

Prevent Skin Burns

• Don’t move any candle that is burning as the wax can spill and cause severe burns or fall on to surfaces that can be damaged
• Use a candle snuffer to extinguish a candle flame. Blowing a candle can cause hot wax to splutter and burn you.
• Do not extinguish candles with water. The water can cause the hot wax to spatter and can cause glass containers to break.
• Never touch or move a votive or container candle when the wax is liquid.

If you get a melted wax on your skin, place the burnt part under cold running water for 10 minutes

Prevent Damage to Surfaces or Tablecloths

• If a flame becomes too close to your holder or container, extinguish the flame, trim the wick, and reposition the candle…consider replacing it with a new candle if it has burnt low
• If your candle holder is made from metal ensure there is a heat resistant surface under it to prevent burning the under surface
• Long, bent over, or crooked wicks cause uneven burning and dripping. Trim the wick to ¼ inch each time before burning.
• Keep burning candles away from wind. This will help prevent uneven burning, flickering splattering rapid, smoking and excessive dripping.
• Extinguish pillar candles before the wax pool reaches the outer edge.
• Candleholders are best if they are 30-40% bigger at the base with a place for wax to pool if you are using dripping candles. If unsure of the amount of drip you will get place the holder on a large tray the first couple of times you use the candle.
• Consider using container candles that contain the wax during burning

See our section on cleaning if you do end up with wax on something you really need to remove.

Keep the Air Clean!

• Always burn candles in a well-ventilated room.
• Consider soy, palm or beeswax candles that have little to no smoke
• Avoid cheap paraffin candles. The wax can contain toxins that burn and smoke impurities into the air
• Steer clear of lead wicks
• Cotton is the best wick, with paper close behind
• A good quality scented candle will have the right amount of scent not to burn and smoke
• Avoid overpowering the house/area with too many scented candles. Sometimes less is more.
• Use a candle snuffer. Even paraffin candles will smoke less.