Despite the fact that candles are one of the most popular decorating
items in our homes, most of us know very little about them. We all rest
comfortably
in our candle ignorance, enjoying the colors, ambiance and scents
candles bring to our homes. However, despite their seeming simplicity,
there's a lot
more to candles than meets the eye, or olfactory system. For example,
did you know that candles have a lot in common with wine and fine dining
and that
there are ways to prevent soot, promote a candle's burning efficiency
and increase the number of hours a candle will burn? I didn't before I
sat down with
Rick Ruffolo, Senior Vice President of Brand, Marketing and Innovation
at Yankee Candle. And when I got up, my head was so full of candle
knowledge it
hurt, or maybe that was from smelling too many candles. Either way,
here's the candle knowledge he imparted to me.
Smell the Lid:
Have you ever had the problem where you go to pick out a candle,
grab one off the shelf, plunge your nose an inch from the wax and can
hardly smell
a thing? You try and try, but you can't seem to get a good sense for how
a candle really smells, only a headache from inhaling too much. Well,
you and
I are not alone; it seems to be a common problem among candle customers.
And Rick had an easy remedy for the scent impairment. Smell inside the
lid.
"When you smell the lid, there's a big, big difference," he
explained "What's happened is that the fragrance, when it's all
condensed in [a container]
and trapped, its what's called creating headspace, and the fragrance
actually accumulates in the top of the lid, and when you smell it you
actually get
the full body of the fragrance."
The full body of the fragrance includes the top, middle and bottom
not, according to Rick. "When a customer will smell a candle [by
smelling the wax],
all they're getting is what is called the top note," Rick said. "And
when you smell it [inside the lid] you get the full body, which is the
top, the middle
and the base note."
Light a Candle, Don't Warm it:
Candle warmers may seem like a great alternative to having to light
a candle. There's no danger of a fire, no sooty ceilings and the scent
from a candle
seems even more potent. But they're not always the best option.
"The whole idea is that the melted wax pool services as the way to
get the scent into the air, and the flame uses the wax as fuel," Rick
explained.
"So the wax burns away, and that's why over time the candle wick goes
down, and the whole candle goes away. Whereas in a candle warmer, it
might be good
that first time or that second time, but over time it's not going to
work because it's driving all the fragrance out of the candle and all
you're left
with is the unscented wax."
So, basically because a candle warmer liquefies all the wax at once,
it's letting all the scent out at in one large dose. Whereas burning a
candle will
slowly release fragrance till the last drop of wax is burned.
Plan 15 to 30 Minutes Before Fragrance:
If you're a last-minute romantic, be forewarned. From the time you
light a candle, it usually takes 15 to 30 minutes before a good-sized
wax pool builds
and the scent is being released in large quantities. So, if you want
your room enveloped in fragrance, plan ahead.
"Depending on the type of candle you have, the wax pool can happen
quicker or slower depending on again the type of wax, the type of wick
and the type
of candle you're using," Rick coached. "But in general if you wait about
fifteen minutes a half hour, you'll get a nice wax pool on most candles,
and at
that point your whole room will be enveloped in fragrance."
Stopping the Soot:
Stopping soot really comes down to science. Because as Rick
explained to me, soot is the result of a candle burning inefficiently.
"Really, it's just saying that the flame isn't working optimally,
and there are a number of things you can do as a customer," Rick said.
"And this is
true of any candle."
Don't worry the "things you can do" are really easy, and you don't
have to understand any science to actually do them. First, keep your
candles away
from drafts. The drafts cause candles to flicker, and that flickering
results in soot. Second, keep your wicks trimmed to 1/4 inches. As Rick
explained
to me, the longer the wick, the more susceptible it is to flickering,
and, again, flickering leads to soot. Third, you can use a candle
topper, which is
a small dome of metal that sits over a candle's opening. The topper
helps protect candles from drafts, which, you guessed it, stop
flickering. You're probably
seeing a theme here. The final clean burning tip from Rick was to only
buy high-quality candles, and no, this time it doesn't have to do with
flickering.
"The candle science part of this there is a way that you can
integrate the fragrance and the dies and the different types of waxes
that companies put
together, and the size of the wick and all that," Rick said. "Actually,
there are all sorts of variable that are in play there. Most of the
better candle
companies are going to test that extensively before they put a candle on
the market. So, I always encourage people to stay with a reputable
candle company."
Longer Burns Equal More Burn Hours:
It may seem counterintuitive, but burning your candle in short
intervals decreases the overall amount of time you can burn your candle,
Rick explained.
"So, if you actually burn your candle for an hour and you blow it out,
and a hour and you blow it out, that is actually probably not as good
for your candle
because it doesn't allow the wax pool to fully take the full
circumference of the candle. So, over time you're going to build up wax
on the sides, and
that's one of the things that we again look hard at is making sure that
you get full consumption, or near full consumption the candle because no
one wants
to leave anything behind when they buy something. And, so, the more you
use it, two hours, three hours, four hours at a time, you actually get
more burn
hours out of that."
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