Candle Making - Safety Should Be Top Priority and Other Tips of the Trade.
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| Accidents Happen. Mistakes Should NOT. This candle was dropped in a water bath. The wax exploded out. Luckily I was wearing protective clothing. Here are some simple rules to follow to stay safe. |
Sometimes I feel like such a Negative Nellie. Or a candle making Debbie Downer. I love candle making and I just love seeing what other artists are up to by visiting various blogging communities. When I comment I try very hard to say something positive. But I have to tell you that after tonight's look around at the current top rated candle making blogs I am really appalled. It is really something that people will post anything on a blog. And some things are just downright dangerous! I wish that candle making was as easy as sticking a wick in some wax and adding some scent but it just isn't so. To make a safe candle there is SO much more to the process!
I really really hate saying DON'T or NOT. But I feel it is my duty to beg you to not do the following.
DON'T microwave wax. Unless the wax is specifically designed to be microwave safe. Many waxes have pretty low combustion temps. They can get super heated in a microwave and as they are cooling off they can burst into flames. (I have done it twice to test it)
DON'T use old glass or un-tempered glass. All glass can break if too much heat comes in contact with the glass but some glass can SHATTER. And thickness does not guarantee stability. This means NO wine, beer, or other alcohol bottles unless they are made of tempered glass. I have had two people in the last year come into my store with hand and face lacerations from exploding bottles. One was so severe that she has lost a lot of motion in her hand. I personally have not tested this one. There are ASTM standards about what glass should be used for candles. There are standards because some glass is just NOT safe.
DON'T heat your wax directly on the stove. Again, wax can get super heated and combust. Don't think that you will be standing right there and just warm it up. DON'T! Just had a women in the store a few weeks ago that burned her kitchen down and has had to have a lot of skin grafts to her face and arms. She had just turned away from her pan to grab something and when she stepped back. Bam. I can still see her scars. And I can't tell you the HUNDREDS of other people that I have talked to over the years that have had all kinds of fires and mishaps due to heating directly on the stove. I myself have to test everything out. When I was younger I wanted to go faster. I caught a pan on fire. Twice. In the same day. I was very young. Please either use a double boiler or an indirect heat source.
DON'T use crayons or food coloring as candle dye. While not really dangerous crayons will clog your wicks. I have been doing this for over 30 years. I started out using crayons. NONE of my candles burned. They would go for a little while (about 5-10 min max), get clogged and die. I have even had people come into my store with candle making kits that didn't work. These kits had crayons for color. Take the crayons out. Bam. The candles work. Maybe not well, but they worked. I even have a video on this where I show what happens when you burn a candle with crayons. It goes out. I have had people tell me that it works for them. That is great. I would love to see that video. No one has shown me the video or told me the brand/color of crayons that work. I am open to being proven wrong. It is all science. And no, using 1/100th of a crayon in a pound of wax doesn't count. If you can't see the color it doesn't count. As for food coloring, it is water based. Your candles are oil based. Water, heat and oil cause sputtering and popping. Ever wonder why you sometimes hear a candle hiss. It is because somehow the wick or candle has absorbed water and the water is combusting in the wick. It is also shooting out little particals of unburned wax.
DON'T put botanicals near the flame. Each piece of dried plant material will absorb the hot wax and act as a wick. There is a way to put the materials in safely but it is rather a difficult process to explain quickly. Hum, blog post?
Now for some DO's.
DO glue your wick down in your candle so that they don't side around making it possible for the wick to touch the glass. You can use high temp hot glue, candle glue dots are some other products that are specifically made for candles.
DO make sure that when you are adding scent that you get the wax warm enough before hand. Every wax is different but a general rule of thumb is that the wax needs to be at least 30F warmer than the melt point for the scent to bind properly. Again, every wax is different so contact the distributor. If your scent doesn't bind properly it could pool or "Sweat". Which may cause the entire top of your candle to start on fire.
When selling candles
DO TEST your candle before selling. And take good notes. If it is a great burning candle you will want to replicate it. And I can guarantee you that you will not remember what the heck you did 2 weeks from now. There are all different kinds of test that you can do but even just a simple burn test (the entire candle) is better than nothing.
Well, that is about it right now for my rant. I REALLY REALLY want to enjoy peoples blogs and ohh and ahhh over their pretty, unique and fun candles. I want to share and learn. Maybe I should just stick with soap making blogs? I really hope that I don't discourage anyone from trying this incredible hobby. Candle making is magic! I just want you all to be safe! And remember that bad stuff does happen and just because you have been lucky doesn't mean it won't happen. Why risk it when it is SO easy to be candle making safe!
Happy Candle Making!