3 reasons why your candle isn't burning properly

Not all candles are made the same and this means that they can vary hugely when it comes to burning well or not.

Here are the 3 main reasons why your candle may not be burning properly.

1. The wick size is wrong. If the wick is too big then you will get a melt pool that is too deep and your candle will burn down too quickly. You can also get large soot deposits on the end of your wick (commonly called "mushrooms") which is due to not all the fragrance and wax mixture being combusted properly. This in turn can cause smoking and too large a flame. On the opposite end of the spectrum if the wick is too small then this can cause what is know as "tunnelling" where the flame is not big enough to form a full melt pool and  you end up with a tunnel in the middle of your candle and unburned wax left around the edge of the vessel.
2. Wick trimming. It is essential for a good burn to trim your wick to 5mm before every burn. If it is too long it can cause the flame to be too big creating sooting or too deep a melt pool. If your wick is too small it is likely that it will not achieve a full melt pool and may even "drown" in the melt pool it does create rendering your candle useless.
3. Placement. Where you place your candle is important. You do not want to put your candle in a draft as this will cause the flame to "dance" and not heat the wax evenly which in turn will affect the melt pool. Remember, fragrance is only released from warmed molten wax so melt pool is everything if you want good scent throw from your candle.

Take a look at our very own Lisa Woods Home candles which are well tested and handcrafted in small batches in our studio in Huyton, Liverpool.