Candle Care

Finding Luxury in Every Flame

You will experience the best burn results when the candle remains lit for 4-6 hours. For The Crackling Soy candle flame, light the wick and allow the flame to flow naturally across the wick.
Make sure that the wax melts to the edge of the candle before extinguishing it - this may take between 4-6 hours depending on room temperature. Allowing the wax to pool will discourage 'tunnelling' or leaving wax on the sides of the vessel.
The flame height may vary at times and occasionally even appear to self extinguish, but this is normal. Even if you are experiencing a 'low' flame, it will continue to heat and the flame height should return.
Keep the candle within sight and away from drafts. Always place the candle on a flat, heat-resistant surface, and make sure to keep the candles away from children, pets, flammable materials and other heat sources.
Never move or handle the candle while it's burning or while the wax is hot. To be safe, only move your candle once the flame is extinguished and the wax has completely cooled.
You can trim your wick to allow even and consistent burn. If you need to trim the wick, carefully extinguish the candle, allow the wick and wax to cool and trim the wick to around 5mm by gently breaking off the burnt edges with a cloth or paper napkin. Safely remove and discard all wick trimmings and debris before relighting the candle.
Once the candle is finished, you can either recycle them with your local recycling guidance or you can up cycle the glass to create something else in your home. Glass jars can be washed with soap and water or in the dishwasher.

Why Your Wood Wick Candle Won’t Stay Lit (And How To Fix It)

The gentle crackle and unique flicker of wood wick candles make for a super cosy ambience, but they can be a little tricky to burn if you're not used to them.

Wooden wicks burn a bit differently than traditional cotton wicks do, and there are a few common issues that cause them to not stay lit.

But don’t worry!

Here are The Crackling Soy top 3 tips to get the best results from your wood wick candles:

The first burn is the most important - how to do it right

Give your candle enough burning time to develop a melted wax pool that goes all the way to the edge of the container on the first use - this can take up to 8 hours, depending on candle size and room temperature.

Believe it or not, your jar candles have a kind of “wax-memory,” and once a burning pattern has been established, it can be hard to change.

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[Image: You can see the wax pool on this candle has not yet reached the edge of the jar]

If you don’t allow your candle enough time to form a full melt pool on the first burn, a little depression or “tunnel” may start to form around the wick.

This will make it more difficult for the wax around the edges of the jar to melt, causing the tunneling effect to continue with each burn.

Eventually the tunnel will become too deep for fresh oxygen to flow in, and your candle will have trouble staying lit for more than short periods of time.

[Image: Huzzah! Look at that nice full pool of melted wax. Now this is a healthy candle!]

To prevent this issue, make sure to give your candle enough time to develop a melted wax pool that goes all the way to the edge of the container the first time you use it.

This is a good practice for all jar candles, not just those with wooden wicks!

This melt pool can take 4-6 hours or more to form, depending on the candle size, so wait to light up your new candle until you have some time to “burn”.

After the first use, you don’t have to let a full wax pool form every single time, but it is ideal if you want to get the most life out of your candle. Just make sure give your jar candles a nice long burn every so often to “reset” the wax memory and prevent any tunneling.

This will keep your candle looking great, smelling great, burning evenly, and all the other great things you want!

* If you’re experiencing the dreaded “tunneling” problem already, you may be able to fix it - see tip #3 below.

2. Keep your wood wick trimmed short and free of charred bits

For optimal burn, keep your wood wick trimmed to about ⅛” or 5mm, and clean off any burnt wood from previous use.

Wire cutters or nail clippers work great for trimming wooden wicks. Or just using finger tips. In a pinch, you can always use a napkin and your fingers to gently break off the burnt parts of the wick.

Just make sure to let your candle cool before trimming, as you don’t want any bits of ash or wick material left in the wax when you’re done. It’s much easier to clean this up when the wax is hard and cool!

Other than the tunneling problem, if your wood wick candle won’t stay lit it’s probably because the wick is too long, or it needs to be trimmed clean of charred material.

Remember it’s not the wood fueling your candle’s flame, it’s the wax. The flame is drawing the wax upwards through the wick, so if it’s not trimmed short and clean, the wax can’t make it to the flame.

3. How to fix a candle that’s tunneling:

If your wood wick or jar candle has developed some tunneling from shorter burns, you can usually fix it - here’s how:

First and best option: if your candle will stay lit, give it a good long burn until all the wax is melted to the edge of the jar, and you’ve effectively “reset” the memory of the wax.

The flame height may vary when you do this, but as long as there is still a burn, it should continue to create a melt pool, just be patient.

[Image: These candles aren't tunneling, but you can see the different stages of melt]

If your candle won’t stay lit because it is “drowning” in a wax pool, try using a paper towel or napkin to soak up some of the excess wax.

Then wait for a minute or so, relight your candle, and repeat until your wick has room to breathe!

If the above two won’t work, we’ve heard of people scraping out the wax near the edge of the jar, or even creating a little dome of aluminum foil around the rim of the container to help melt the hard wax at the edges.

[Image: Also not tunneling but a nice visual aid - excess wax can be removed with a paper towel]

Remember, prevention is better than cure - and if you follow the 3 best practices mentioned above, your wood wick candles should burn nicely!