Candles

[fidgiegirl]

I am more interested in candles in this house. We have a fireplace and don't plan to make fires in it but some candles burning in there is very warm and cozy.

I started to do a little reading on candles and hadn't realized there are different kinds. The cheapos are from paraffin which can pollute your indoor air, suppposedly. Beeswax and soy cost more.

I would also like to melt down remainders to make new candles. I have melted wax before easily in a makeshift double-boiler made from a can but when I started to read about it my head was spinning with all the different kinds of waxes, etc.

Why do some candles drip down the sides while others pool in the middle? I like when they pool in the middle. :~)

Where do you get candles at a good price, but of reasonable quality? Is there anything to the paraffin thing? I also enjoy scents, but very light - not overly chemical scents or I will have an instant headache. Anything I should look for there?

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRhHHK_bM5x9-d80grpozv0BsjeitYBfoOnUr2yfQNtFZogMsuP

[bunnys]

I think if you freeze the candle first it's not supposed to drip.

I can't imagine why you don't want to use your fireplace. I love mine.

[razz]

We have candles for emergency lighting only and used with great care. There have been too many tragic but accidental fires from candles for my comfort. Besides most stink, IMO anyway.

[Rosemary]

We rarely use flame candles. Bought some of the LED candles that run for over a hundred hours on a pair of AA batteries at Costco.
I do have some beeswax candles that I ordered online. Prefer to use those when burning an actual candle, but burning anything results in particulate pollution which I don't want in my house that is so closed-up for months in winter.

[rosarugosa]

We burn candles fairly often, and I've not been a purist about what type I burn. I do try to avoid the really stinky cheap ones though. I've had good luck with this supplier for beeswax candles, which my MIL really likes. Beeswax candles have gotten wicked expensive, and the prices here were the best I could find when I was researching a couple of years ago:
http://www.capecandle.com/

[pony mom]

Beeswax candles are the bees knees :) We used one taper during Sandy and it lit our entire living room. I had a scented cheap double-wick jar candle in my room and it wasn't nearly as effective.

Years ago when my bedroom was in an attic I used mostly soy candles. Not sure about pollution but it did dirty my sloped ceiling.

I had a friend who sold Party Light candles and they seemed to burn very cleanly.

[Square Peg]

We get them from the thrift shop. Ikea also sells them for cheap. I know I should worry about the type, but I just dont

[Tussiemussies]

Used to go to a candle factory outlet, but the candles smoked a lot. My sister seems to like Yankee candles, she gave me one for Christmas, but I think they are very expensive...

[Wildflower]

Used to go to a candle factory outlet, but the candles smoked a lot. My sister seems to like Yankee candles, she gave me one for Christmas, but I think they are very expensive...

I like Yankee candles. They seem to last a long time and their scents are not overpowering in my opinion. They are expensive, but I've only bought them when they're having a sale - then the price is pretty reasonable...

[herbgeek]

I like Yankee Candles also- we have an outlet in town so I can get mine for less, for times when I want a scented candle. I also like containers so that I'm less likely to get burned or accidentally start a fire. I will never again buy cheap candles sold by places like Christmas Tree Shop. I had a sconce on a wall and there was black soot everywhere. Even the Ikea candles don't produce this kind/amount of soot.

Most times, its unscented tea lights as I prefer the light to the fragrance. Tapers are used pretty rarely around here.

[Bootsie]

I've been using candles more and more in our home, influenced by some simple-living friends who use them for atmosphere. There is something special about having candles lit. I purchase candles from the "honey man" at local food markets. The candles last quite awhile and don't stink. I love the color of the beeswax candles. We also get sheets of beeswax around holiday time to roll our own candles. I purchase colored sheets from Magic Cabin in a kit.

I don't have many candle-stick holders, but learned a tip from a friend: fill a small jar (like a jelly jar) with salt and use that to hold the candle. You could use more elegant containers than a jelly jar, but this works well for me. I have a few on my dining table and light them at meals.

[Mrs-M]

What a great thread this is! I know pretty much nothing about candles, so this is a good read.

Candles, scare me (fire danger, etc), so we don't burn them, but candles as decorative additions, I love!

[fidgiegirl]

I can't even go in Yankee Candle :( Too stinky with all of them in one place. Mostly I go with unscented.

Bootsie, you summed it up well for me . . . I just like the atmosphere with a candle burning. I used to feel the same way as many of you - fire hazard, etc. But we were in a smaller and more packed house at that time, and now we have a little space and I feel a well-placed candle to be something special and something calming.

More candle knowledge please! :)

[nswef]

I have melted down old candle stubs, bought candle wicks at JoAnn and it is not difficult to do. I didn't add any other wax...just the old stubs I had saved.

[IshbelRobertson]

I burn candles all the time. I prefer unscented, thick pillar candles, which are often sold as church candles in the UK.

[Tussiemussies]

What about those really, really thin tapers that used to be popular a long time ago. Does anyone use those now? I also like the idea of the tea lights they make a nice atmosphere...

[rosarugosa]

If you are worried about the fire hazard aspect, then you could go with tea lights inside a container. A tea light only creates a small flame, and if it's well contained, it will just burn itself out in a pretty short period of time even if you forget about it.

[Rosemary]

Scented candles are supposed to release more soot into the air than unscented.
From the research I've done, there really isn't a huge difference between natural wax and manmade wax as far as that goes.
Don't forget that pets can be a hazard around candles, too. We have cats, so the only place we ever burn a real candle is at the dining table when we are sitting there.

[Polliwog]

"I am more interested in candles in this house. We have a fireplace and don't plan to make fires in it but some candles burning in there is very warm and cozy."

I want to put candles in my fireplace too. I have gas logs that do not produce any real heat and are just for looks. I am going to call the Gas Co and have a serviceman disconnect the gas so that I can just burn candles for ambient light. Very pretty with nice rocks and stones.

[JaneV2.0]

For power outages, I prefer flashlights or lanterns. If they happen at night, I usually just go to bed.

For atmosphere (scratches head)...

If I burned candles, I'd probably put them in the sink, so wary of candle fires am I. (In fact, I think there was another one in the news last night.)

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by JaneV2.0.
If I burned candles, I'd probably put them in the sinkLove my husbands idea, of finding a large, shallow-dished bowl, filling it with decorative coloured sand, then sinking the candle into the sand (part way) to hold/secure.

[JaneV2.0]

Love my husbands idea, of finding a large, shallow-dished bowl, filling it with decorative coloured sand, then sinking the candle into the sand (part way) to hold/secure.

Good idea (you could use river rocks, too), as are contained tea lights and fireplace arrangements. There's no shortage of candle holders at thrift shops, along with candles to melt down or use as-is.

[fidgiegirl]

"I am more interested in candles in this house. We have a fireplace and don't plan to make fires in it but some candles burning in there is very warm and cozy."

I want to put candles in my fireplace too. I have gas logs that do not produce any real heat and are just for looks. I am going to call the Gas Co and have a serviceman disconnect the gas so that I can just burn candles for ambient light. Very pretty with nice rocks and stones.

I think this sounds perfectly lovely.


If I burned candles, I'd probably put them in the sink, so wary of candle fires am I. (In fact, I think there was another one in the news last night.)

We have one going in the sink right now to mask the scent of a doggy "gift" we came home to this afternoon! Funny, we've never done that before and I hadn't read it on here yet, either!

[Tussiemussies]

Saw on another forum that the Yankee Candles are having a sale now ... Just FYI :)

[freein05]

I make my own soy candles. It is simple but a little messy. I buy the soy wax on line in 20 lb quantity. I also buy the wicks at the same place. Wick size is a trial and error process. I melt the wax in an old microwave. Don't use the one you use everyday!

What makes it simple is I make my candles in glass jars. I use old jars that jams and other things came in. I make the candles in the garage because of the mess.

[Tussiemussies]

I make my own soy candles. It is simple but a little messy. I buy the soy wax on line in 20 lb quantity. I also buy the wicks at the same place. Wick size is a trial and error process. I melt the wax in an old microwave. Don't use the one you use everyday!

What makes it simple is I make my candles in glass jars. I use old jars that jams and other things came in. I make the candles in the garage because of the mess.

Sounds great free. Do you find that soy candles burn much cleaner? I have heard that about them?

[Tiam]

I've heard wonderful things about beeswax candles, but when I have them, and burn them, I don't notice much difference. I don't have a fireplace. I don't delude myself that candles save me money, but they add a fire like ambiance that I lack plus a bit of warmth to my chilly house.

[freein05]

Sounds great free. Do you find that soy candles burn much cleaner? I have heard that about them?

I do find that soy candles burn much cleaner.