So your candle has arrived, we hope you love it and it’s beautiful scent fills the room. But at the back of your mind, the fear of candle tunnelling looms large. Okay we’re being a tad overdramatic, but candle tunnelling really is a nuisance – not only does it look ugly, but it also means you miss out on the full burning and scent potential of your candle. We want you to get the best burn every time so we’ve created this guide to help you avoid the dreaded tunnelling.
What is candle tunnelling?
Candle tunnelling happens when a candle burns down its centre, leaving hard wax around the outside. This wasted wax means your candle won’t achieve it’s maximum burn-time.
As the flame burrows further down the middle, the wick will become more and more difficult to light and eventually be drowned by melting wax.
Candle tunnelling can happen to any candle regardless of the quality or price. Thankfully, there are a number of things you can do to help your scented candles burn evenly and efficiently, leaving as little residual wax as possible.
How to prevent candle tunnelling… It’s all in the first burn!
The first time you light and burn your Tipsy candle really sets the stage for how well the candle will perform throughout its life.
Our biggest recommendation for the first burn, is to make sure that the pool of melted wax reaches the edges of your candle before you snuff the flame. We generally aim for the wax pool to be about 1cm deep at the edges before we put it out.
Generally we always advocate that you should trim the wick before you burn a candle. However, if your new candle is very wide you may want to leave the wick a little longer than usual. This will create a bigger, hotter flame that has more chance of melting the wax all the way to the edge. Just make sure that you keep a closer eye on the flame, snuffing it out if any issues arise.
Initial Burn Times By Candle Width
This is just a rough guide, it’s best to burn the candle for as long as it takes for the melted wax pool to reach the outer edge.
| Candle Width | Approx. First Burn Time |
|---|---|
| 1inch / 2.5cm | 1 Hour |
| 2inch / 5cm | 2 Hours |
| 3inch / 7.5cm | 3 Hours |
| 4inch / 10cm | 4 Hours |
The First Burn Top Tips
- Let the wax pool reach the edges of the candle the first time you light it.
- Burn the candle for roughly one hour for every inch the candle is wide.
- If the candle is very wide, only trim the wick to 8mm before the first burn.
- It is worth repeating this burning technique every once in a while to keep the wax open and even.
Lastly – we hope you love your candle. A quick note to say that if you have any allergies or intolerences you can find all the ingredients on the CLP sticker on the base of the candle.