Note: This article was originally written for persons in areas that were experiencing bothersome forest fire smoke inside their home.
Candles are wonderful:
Candles provide heat and light. They are often used in spiritual and religious contexts and help produce focused thoughts. Meditations are often enhanced by using a lighted candle. They are often the safest way to have a simple flame inside a dwelling. They can also…
Reduce smoky odors in a room.
Smoke is produced by a fire that is burning fuel inefficiently and thereby producing smoke particles. A properly managed flame does not produce smoke particles.
To reduce forest fire smoky odor in a room, reduce it by burning a candle. This will incinerate the smoke particles. Allow the candle flame to burn for up to 6 hours. Then check to see if the odor is reduced. Many other odors can also be controlled or reduced using a candle flame: cooking, musty, bathroom, etc.
Candles can prevent freezing to death:
Keep two candles in your car for use during winter freezing events. If your car stalls in a blizzard, lighting a candle can keep the inside of an automobile above freezing. Be sure to include a way to light them.
Adjust the candle flame:
Manage your candle flame for high efficiency. The candle flame should be bright, yellow, and about an inch tall. It should have a sharp edge at the top. The candle flame may be adjusted as necessary by managing the height of the candle wick. The wick should be about 3/8 to 5/8 inches tall, which should produce a candle flame that is about one inch tall.
Trim the wick:
The height of the candle wick will control the height of the candle flame, the taller the wick, the taller the flame. If the top of the candle flame appears dull red or if the candle flame produces smoke or odor: the wick is too tall. Many wicks are often too tall for odor reduction. A flame taller than one inch will produce odor and smoke itself. “Trim your wick.” Shorten the wick about 1/8th of an inch each time to achieve a bright yellow flame. Repeat as necessary.
Flickering flame:
If the flame flickers, it is short of oxygen. When a 1 to 5 inch diameter candle has been used repeatedly without proper maintenance, the bowl that the flame is in can become located too deeply inside the body of the candle. Push a hole in the backside of the candle while the candle is hot and the wax is soft. The hole should enter the flame area just above the puddle of melted wax. The hole will allow a necessary flow of needed oxygen. Alternatively, trim the tall walls away. This will also allow the flame to be more easily visible.
Candle-making is a fun hobby:
Save or collect pieces of wax to be used to form an artistic candle. These can be melted together in the kitchen. Use a form that will give them the shape desired. Candles may be scented with many different kinds of essential oils. Use eucalyptus, peppermint, frankincense, spikenard; to name a few. Customize your candle by mixing oils.
Be sure to use a correct type of wick. Not just any old string will work well. Get advice from the internet or a craft store.
01/21/24