How to care for your candle

A candle is a simple object with a few strong opinions. Look after it in the first hour and it will burn cleanly for the rest of its life. Here is what we tell people who ask.

Give it a proper first burn

The first time you light a candle, let it burn until the pool of melted wax reaches the edge of the glass. In a standard jar that takes about two hours. Wax has a memory. If you put it out while there is still a rim of solid wax around the edge, it will tunnel straight down the middle every time after that, and you will lose a third of the candle to the sides of the jar.

Trim the wick before every burn

Cut the wick back to about five millimetres each time, once the wax has set and before you light it. A long wick makes a tall, restless flame that smokes, marks the glass and burns through wax faster than it should. Scissors work at a push, but they tend to drop the trimmed end into the wax. A wick trimmer catches it.

Three to four hours at a time

That is long enough for the scent to fill a room and short enough that the glass stays comfortable to touch. Past four hours the flame gets bigger, the jar gets hot and the fragrance oil starts to burn off rather than travel. If you want scent all evening, light it for a few hours and then let it rest.

Keep it out of a draught

An open window, a fan or a busy hallway will pull the flame sideways. The candle burns down unevenly, the glass soots up on one side and it goes twice as fast. A still surface away from the traffic of a room is best.

Know when to stop

Retire a candle when about a centimetre of wax is left in the bottom. Below that, the heat has nowhere to go but into the glass. Never leave one burning unattended or near anything that can catch, and keep it away from children and pets.

Keep the vessel

Once the candle is finished, pour just-boiled water into the jar and leave it until the last of the wax lifts and sets on top. Lift it out, wash the glass with warm soapy water and you have a decent tumbler, a brush pot, or somewhere to keep the matches for the next one.