Safety Tips For Candle Burning

[BlackMagicalCat]

I thought I would start a thread on safety tips for those who might consider burning candles in thier home,or all night.

So please share your insite,tips,concerns,and any good advice that will keep us all safe,even if it may seem like a small thing,maybe it will save a life.

And since many here work with candles,what better place than here?
Especially since we did have one member have a fire in her home,so please share your safety tips,experiences,and lets all be safe.And remember,some here are a bit young,and work with candles,but even us old farts can learn a thing or two.

Thankyou.

[Bix]

Just don't leave a candle burning too long without somebody checking up on it. And don't place candles close to flammable material.

[MysticWitch]

Never re use the same pot u melt wax in for dinner meals. Keep it as your candle melting pot.

Don't leave it un attended.

Don't let it on the burner when you leave the room

If your going to put coffee beans or other gems into your candles.. put them near the bottom and not the top or they will burn when you light your candle.

Never use cheap plastic as molds.. Never use ice cub trays from the dollar store. They melt FAST.

[johenn123]

if possible, use a candle that's inside a glass so knocks aren't so bad, you could use floater candles in a bowl of water, make surre long candles are in proper holders.

Not so much safety but it's a problem, When I lit candles, circles of black would appear on the cieling, try to use a mesh cover to rid of this problem :)

[Yasmine Galenorn]

If I want to leave a candle burning all night, I put it in a heatproof candleholder, set the candleholder on a dish full of salt, and put it in the fireplace behind the fireplace screen. Not much safer place than that!

Yasmine :colorful:

[Catiana]

Be sure to keep an eye on the animals around candles. I had a spell candle burning on my altar several months ago and Nobie jumped up on it and set her fur on fire. Luckily I was standing right there and no damage was done to Nobie other than a little cinged fur.

[phoenixblayze]

i never leave them unattended.
as far as pets, my cat finally learned to leave them alone after he singed one side of his wiskers:lol:
i will put them in a deep glass if i plan on letting the candle burn out.

[Dio]

Use sticky wax and make sure your pillar candles are securely in their holders. We had an incident once where one of the pillar candles we were working with tipped over and was leaning up against the wall. When someone finally noticed, there was already a nice pillar of fire crawling up the wall, and then what was left was a nice, pillar shaped burn mark as a souvenir.

[Jenne]

Bathtub or sink is a great place to leave the candles burning all night. I have a bathroom right off our master bedroom, and this is a good place because it's where I do my magic anyway.

[Sowelu]

I include this in all my candle shipments...pretty much what everyone here has also mentioned:
*Keep burning candle within sight
*Keep out of reach of children and pets
* Never burn a candle on or near anything that can catch fire
* Remove all packaging materials before burning
*****TRIM wick to 1/4 inch each time before lighting*****
*Never allow wick trimmings to accumulate in candle
*Burn candle no more than 3-4 hours at a time (I have burned longer)
* If flame grows too large during burning, extinguish candle and allow wax to cool...Hold candle upside down and trim wick to 1/4 inch, allowing wick trimmings to fall away from candle
*If possible, always place candle on holder
***NEVER leave a burning candle unattended
http://www.mysticwicks.com/images/icons/icon12.gif
peace!

[BlackMagicalCat]

These are great ,thanks.

Most of my candles are in jars,and will go outwhen tipped over,the flame never gets out of the jar.These are for all night candles.The long ones on candle holders I dont let them burn unattended.

You can buy candles in jars and tip them over to test them,to see what happens.I tested some by putting them on a newspaper and tipping them over. the flame went out and never got out of the jar.

Of coarse you need to be present during this test.

And some jars are very hard to tip over,but some are not.A wide heavy jar low to the ground with the flame well inside the jar,works well for me when I want to sleep by candle light.And I do every night almost.

Also a Cauldron with sand in it was the advice I was given here on MW a while ago.

Well,I hope we all have a safe holiday,and find peace and blessings as well.

[AutumnRain]

Especially since we did have one member have a fire in her home,so please share your safety tips,experiences,and lets all be safe.

Yep, I think that would be me!

Rule number one (as odd as it may sound): DON'T light candles and leave them unattended on the back of your toilet!:lol:

Seriously though, I've been hearing the 'Don't leave candles unattended' thing since I was young and always seemed to just shrug it off. But it really is important. As our household has recently learned. You never can be too careful.

Cool thread, Azzy. :hugz:

Love and Light,
Autumn

[Sowelu]

Jeez it's no ownder my kitchen did not just go up in flames....
All day so far I have been making candles for some people...and had all four burners on my stove going...I spilled over a pound of wax all over the stove ----how I don't know....but I turned everything off and before I knew it the wax was cool anough to pull off and actually came off in big flat pieces.
interesting:)

[Pesha]

I do candle magick. And when I do have candles burning I set then in a box with kitty litter on the bottom to prevent the wax from catching on fire as it melts down. I have had candles burn allthe way down and narrowly avoided a fire once. Hence the kitty litter method. In candle macgick the candles have to burn all the way down to almost nothing.

Good idea there for a thread Azzy.

BB
DS.

[WitchJezebel]

Jeez it's no ownder my kitchen did not just go up in flames....
All day so far I have been making candles for some people...and had all four burners on my stove going...I spilled over a pound of wax all over the stove ----how I don't know....but I turned everything off and before I knew it the wax was cool anough to pull off and actually came off in big flat pieces.
interesting:)

Ye Gods, was that MY fault????? I hope not!

My mother used to burn the 7 day candles that came in glass and she always kept them in the bathroom on the floor, but in a very shallow bowl that was filled with water so if it fell over, it would just go out.

I really like the idea that Jasmine put up about the salt though, I'll have to try that one. I don't keep sand around usually, my dog "snuffle's" it and it gets everywhere, but salt is definitely a better idea.

[SidneyCozzoi]

I have a bathroom right off our master bedroom, and this is a good place because it's where I do my magic anyway.
Your bathroom may not be the best place to perform magick, I dont know if you study or follow any feng shui, but according to that one generally wants to avoid any positive working outside of the bathroom, that's where ywe leave our [bad stuff]. I got yelled at by my teacher for doing things like that there. :fofftopic
Back to the subject at hand... I put my candlesticks in bowls of water so when they burn down they can't catch anything. Usually in the Kitchen out of the way (sometimes in the sink).

[Cornflake_Girl8]

:rant:

LESSON #1: Every room should have a functioning smoke detector including stairwells and some hallways with fresh batteries (check detectors at least twice a year and replace batteries as often as needed--do NOT go by the printed date).

LESSON #2: Read the label on the bottom (or on packaging) of candles and remember the words, "Do not leave candle unattended."

LESSON #3: If you have a housefire as the result of your own carelessness, then you deserved it.


I was in a housefire (arson) many moons ago and we were saved by functioning smoke detectors. As much as I love candles, I'm a fiend about candle safety. Always, always keep a bottle of water nearby that's readily accessible in case of exploding candles. I recommend buying high end candles due to the type of wax used (such as PartyLite is famous for).

Trimming wicks might seem kind of silly, but it keeps the length of the flame down and keeps it from burning too hot.

People who have died in housefires that were accidental (not a candle or cig as the reason) typically died because they did not have smoke detectors.

[Cornflake_Girl8]

And remember to buy heavy (sometimes leaded) glass for candle holders. The bottom should be at least 1/2-1 inch thick to avoid the surface from getting too hot.

[Sowelu]

Ye Gods, was that MY fault????? I hope not!



nooo:lol:

[Broken Babydoll]

A tip from my own carelessness: If you have acrylic nails, don't get your hand to close to the flame. They easily catch fire.

:whistle:

(ei: don't use a regular lighter; use one with a long neck between the trigger and where the flame comes out.)

[Xentor]

When lighting more than one candle, either use long match sticks or tapers. Lighting one candle with another might cause dripping of hot wax.

Also, light the candles that are furthest away before the closer candles. This prevents you from leaning over burning candles and catching fire.

[Calen]

If you don't own a candle snuffer, be careful when you are blowing them out. If there's melted wax in the candle and you blow too hard, it can fly up and get you in the face.