Candles are a great way to create atmosphere for a romantic dinner or a party, or just to relax after a hard day’s work. But when used incorrectly or taken for granted, candles can cause property damage, injury, and even death. Following are some guidelines to help you burn and get the greatest enjoyment from your candles:



Always follow the manufacturer’s safety instructions.

Make sure that candles fit in their candle holders is snug. This is especially true for taper candles, which could fall over.

Place burning candles at least 3" apart; candles placed too closely together can create their own draft, which could make them flare.

Always keep burning candles within sight; never leave them unattended.

Always place candles on a sturdy surface, away from any drafts and away from anything that could catch fire (like curtains).

Always burn candles in a well-ventilated room.

Always use a candle holder that was manufactured to contain the candle you are burning; it must be large enough to hold the melted wax.

Never set a lighted candle directly on a counter top, table, or other surface; at the least the dye could discolor the surface, and at the most it could start a fire and cause injury.

Always trim the candle’s wick to ¼" to prevent smoking.

Always discard candles when ½" of wax remains, if the candle is in a container, or when 2" of wax remains if it is not.

Never touch a burning candle or move the container while the wax is liquid.

Never use water to extinguish a candle; that could cause hot wax to splatter and a hot candle holder to shatter.

Extinguish a candle with a candle snuffer; it will prevent smoking and keep hot wax from splattering.

Never leave the room until the candle is extinguished completely; the wick ember should no longer be glowing.

Never use a candle as a night light.

Exercise care when using candles during a power outage; never use candles to look for things or when putting kerosene in a heater or lantern; flashlights are safer tools.

Extinguish a candle that smokes, flickers repeatedly, or if its flame is too high. That means it isn’t burning properly; extinguish it and let it cool. Then trim the wick, check for drafts, and try to relight it.

Don’t let the flame burn too close to the candle holder.

Extinguish a pillar candle when its wax pool comes too close to the outer edge.

Never use a sharp knife or other metal tool to scrape wax drippings from a glass candle holder because that could scratch its surface.

To prevent a candle from boring a hole down its center, burn it for one hour for each inch of diameter. For example, burn a 2-inch candle for 2 hours.

Always burn candles in a well-ventilated room out of drafts and away from vents or other air disturbances, such as those created by ceiling fans. The flame should be a steady, teardrop shape; this means the flame is efficiently consuming the right amount of wax. Too much or too little air will disturb the teardrop shape, causing the flame to flicker and smoke.

Too long of a wick can cause the flame to lengthen and to flare; be sure to trim it to ¼" before every use.

Keep the wax pool free from wick trimmings and other debris, which would add more fuel to the fire.