COMMON SOY CANDLE PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Pure soy wax is a beautlful product with countless benefits ranging from your health to it's impact on the environment.
But once in awhile, you may run into an issue with how your candle is performing for many reasons. Have no fear, we've rolled up our sleeves and reached into our bag of tricks to give you the tips you need to fix things and get back to enjoying your candle!
PROBLEM: TUNNELLING
One of the most common issues with burning any candle is tunneling, or an excess of wax along one or all sides of the jar.
This can happen for many reasons, whether it be a draft, the candle was not lit for long enough on the first burn to reach the edges, or perhaps you've just got a wonky wick.
Here are a few ways to save a candle from tunneling. The sooner the better as every time you light a tunnelling candle, it will only make the tunnel deeper and worse, and waste more wax!
TIP: TIN FOIL TENT
As the name suggests, use a small sheet of aluminum foil to create a tent or cap. Wrap the foil gently around the top of the candle, leaving space for a hole in the center.
This simple contraption helps reflect heat evenly throughout the candle – ensuring that the entire surface of the wax melts all the way across.
As always, do not leave your candle unattended and be careful when handling the foil as it may get hot.
This method works well if you catch the tunnelling early enough. If the tunnel is "too deep", using this method will only submerse your wick in wax and effectively drown it.
If you had an excess of wax on the sides and used this method, you may find that the wax level has raised above the wick. You can use rolled up paper towel to absorb some of the newly melted excess wax to make the wick accessible and re-light.
Or, please try the next solution if your tunnelling is past one burn.
OTHER SOLUTIONS
TIP: SWIRL WAX
If you feel like your candle just needs a little nudge, sometimes the solution is is as simply as a few gentle swirls.
Using the heat generated from the existing melted wax, gently swirl the wax around making contact with the unmelted wax on the edges. The heat from the melted wax should help to melt the remaining edge wax and allow the candle to burn evenly.
If you had an excess of wax on the sides, you may find that the wax level has raised and your flame may be smaller. Just extinguish the flame, grab a little bit of paper towel or tissue to absorb some of the newly melted excess wax and re-light.
TIP: RE-CENTRE WICK
If your wick has shifted or is curving heavily to one side, it will most certainly effect the heat distribution and cause a wax buildup on one side of the jar.
The easiest way to fix this is using a wick dipper or any metal object to shift and re centre the wick.
The sooner you can identify an off centre wick and re adjust, the better as this will avoid wasted wax.
TIP: MANUALLY REMOVE WAX
If you have burned the tunnelling candle multiple times, the previous solutions are unlikely to work.
We reccommend grabbing a teaspoon and warming the spoon portion with hot water (make sure to dry the spoon before placing into the wax).
The objective is to scoop or scrape as much of the excess wax as possible from the sides of the jar. If you can create a slightly concave surface this should allow your candle to relight and provide space for the melted wax to go.
Please refer to the tin foil method to clean up the sides of the jar, and ensure your wax melt pool fully . covers the surface on this burn and all subsequent burns.