Questions & Answers

This page is a “catch all” for all sorts of questions. If we get a few people asking the same question, then we’ll post it here, Email your question to us and we’ll respond as soon as we can. If you experience any problems with your candles or candle accessories, or have any questions, please contact us so we can help. So, go ahead, ask the question, don’t be shy!

Questions about:

How my candle is burning.
The metal cap that came with my jar candle.
Extending the burn time of my candles.
Credit card charges, when is it charged and is it safe to use my credit card.
Soy versus Paraffin, what’s all the hype.
Wax melts...how many, how long.
How do I order if I don’t want to order online?
 

How my candle is burning.

Q: When I light my candle why are  there are small puffs of smoke coming from the wick & flame?
A. Each time a candle is lit, you need to trim the wick to between 1/8” and 1/4”. If you plan to burn it for a long time (5 or more hours) then trim it to 1/8” and if you’ll only be burning the candle for a couple hours then trim wick to 1/4” and trimming before lighting will stop any smoke from coming off the candle.

Q. Why is the rim of my candle jar turning black, is this soot?
A. There are only two main reasons for the soot accumulation on the rim of the jar. The first is because you are not trimming the candle wick enough, trim either more of the wick and/or trim more often. The second reason is you can’t possibly be using the metal venting lid that we included for free with your jar candle. See “The metal cap that came with my jar candle.”

Q: Why is there wax leftover in the bottom of my candle holder?
A. If you’re burning votive candles it is imperative to burn them in properly sized votive holders. The proper holder or votive cup is one in which the votive candle fits tightly inside. There should not be much room between the votive candle and the sides of the votive cup. Also, if there is 1/4” of votive or less left in the cup you need to let it burn until it is gone. If you put it out when there is 1/4” left, the next time you light it, it will burn down before it starts to melt out, and the candle will not use up all of the wax. Never burn a plastic cup tealight inside of a snug-fitting votive holder, it could crack the votive cup.

Q. Why is my jar candle tunneling? or Why is there wax left on the sides of my jar candle when it is completely finished?
A. Each time a jar candle is lit it must be burned until the liquid wax reaches the edges of the jar. If you light a jar candle, burn it for a couple hours and put it out and continue to do that the candle will tunnel down the middle. Our jar candles should be burned a minimum of 5 hrs. each time they are lit. When the candle is about 1/3 of the way gone you need to start using the metal venting lid when you burn the candle. After that, the candle will reach a full melt pool quicker, and this means it will smell even stronger and there won’t be any wax on the side of the jar when it is done.

The metal cap that came with my jar candle.

Q. What do I do with this venting lid? and Why?
A. You need to put the lid on top of the jar candle when it is burning. You should start using the venting lid when the candle is about 1/3 of the way gone. And you should use it every time you burn your jar candle. The venting lid regulates the air flow into the candle and keeps the candle flame 100% efficient. An efficient flame produces little to no soot. The further the candle burns down, the lower the flame gets inside the jar. As the flame gets lower inside the jar it struggles to get oxygen and flickers

Wax Melts, Melting Hearts^TM

Q. How many of the little heart melts should I use? and how long will the aroma last?
A. This all depends on the size of the area, how strong you would like the scent to be, and how long you want it to last.  If your tart melter is in your bathroom, you could use 2-3 hearts and it will be stronger than anything you can imagine. If your melter is in your living room, you could use 4-5 hearts and it will definitely be noticed. In both cases the scent will last several  hours and then you need to drop in a few more hearts. The fragrance burns off into the room and eventually the fragrance fades, however the wax doesn’t go away. You can dump it in the trash and add new, that is the preferred method. The more melts you put in at one time the longer the scent will last.  Dumping the used wax out and adding new is preferred because the scent will be the strongest that way. If your melter’s dish is large enough you could put in half the bag, the aroma will be out of this world, and should last for a few days when using your melter 6-7 hours at a time. If you only use your melter 2-4 hours at a time the scent would last for over a week before fading to the point where you need to add more wax.

Some wax warmers get hotter than others. If the tealight candle is very close to the underside, the wax will get hotter than and burn stronger in aroma but for a shorter period of time. Electric warmers have regulated heat. With a light bulb wax warmer, a 40 watt bulb will get the melts hotter than a 25 watt bulb. With the 40 watt the scent will be stronger but for a shorter time, and the 25 watt bulbs will still scent quite nicely and the fragrance should last a bit longer because it isn’t getting as hot. Electric warmers that have a heating plate/surface are about equivelent to a 25 watt light bulb style warmer, as far as the scent output and longevity of aroma. With any of the 40 watt melters you can try a different wattage bulb, as long as it has the small neck and is similar in shape. I persoanlly think a 30 watt bulb is ideal, but they are hard to find. Replacement bulbs sold here are 40 watts, however 25 watt bulbs should be available at your local hardware store. Bring your bulb with you to ensure getting the proper size.

The regular size bag of Melting Hearts is equivalent in weight to about three of the larger size tarts you might see from Yankee Candle. They are only equal in weight! Our bag of Melting Hearts will last longer and smell stronger than the 3 “tart-shaped” melts found eleswhere. Ours are a much better value, plus you can customize the amount of aroma you want just by adding more or less hearts. It is quite difficult to break up the larger tart-shaped ones if you wanted to. So all the way around, Melting Hearts from Candle-licious are the smart choice!

Extending the Burn Time of Candles

Q. How can I make my candles last longer?
A. Trim the wick! Trim the wick more often. And did we forget to mention, that you need to trim the wick? Here’s how it works: Wax is the fuel that a flame needs to continue to burn. As the wax melts it travels up the wick and is used up. The bigger the pool of  melted wax, the more fuel the flame has. The flame continues to grow because it’s supply of liquid wax keeps getting bigger. The larger the flame gets, the more fuel it consumes to keep burning. Think of a baby, and the amount of food a baby needs to keep going in comparison to the amount of food an adult needs to keep going. When you trim the wick, you are in essence trimming the size of the flame. With a smaller flame the wax will last longer. Trimming the wick every couple of hours can make your candle last up to 25% longer.

But here’s the catch. Don’t “overtrim” the wick. There should be about 1/8” of the black part of the wick sticking out above the candle. Look at a ruler and really see what an eigth of an inch looks like.  If the wick is trimmed too much the flame will be so small that it might not recover and begin to consume the wax, it will just go out. If this happens, just light it again a dump out the liquid wax that forms around the wick. This will make the wick stick out more and the candle should recover.

It has been said that putting candles in the refridgertor before burning will make them last longer. I know that at our house the candles last longer when it is 68 degreens in the house versus 90 degrees in the house.

Did you know this? A brand new candle that hasn’t been burned yet could have a 3” wick sticking out of the candle and you would NOT need to trim it before you light it? Crazy? No, here’s why: The wick is covered in wax and when you light a brand new candle the flame uses the wax on the wick to keep going until it reaches the wax of the candle.  The flame will just travel down the wick using up the wick and wax that is in its path. It will burn down towards the candle and the heat from the flame starts to melt the wax directly around the wick, making it liquid and thus allowing it to travel up the wick to be used as fuel, and that big 3” wick is gone, just a normal size wick and a normal size flame.

Don’t like to order online? That’s ok!

You can place your order over the phone by calling 1-800-880-9852.

You can also print out our ORDER FORM and mail it in with payment.
Click here for the order form.