I wrote
about soot issues a few years ago on my blog and there is always chat about the issue on social media. Quite a few people have soot issues
on their walls and ceilings and then after a quick look around we found that we had the same problem in our house
and had to do a substantive cleaning and repainting job (this was 2015).
So, a few years further on, how are our walls? Well there has been a tiny bit of repainting needed but I think we've reduced the amount of soot on the ceilings and walls by about 90%. Most areas are completely free of damage or discolouration.
Unless you
look after your Yankee Candle and other scented brand candles properly, you are
at risk of getting soot damage and it really is difficult to remove once it is
there.
So how did
we achieve virtually soot free candle burning (we’ve probably had well over 1000 large jars burns in the past two to three years in our living room)? I hope the tips below
are useful.
1.
Always use an illuma lid or shade
These accessories aren’t just for decoration.
Without an illuma lid or shade, the flame on your candle will waver and this
produces black smoke (ie soot!). Always use an illuma lid right from the moment
you light your candle until you extinguish it. Never burn a scented candle without a lid - you will get soot. Yankee Candle is the only jar brand designed to have an illuma lid, so you will find black smoke unavoidable with most other brands.
Here’s one of my jars with an illuma lid in place
2.
Always trim your wick
I’d say about 0.3cm is best, any shorter and the
candle will have trouble pooling (wax melting to the edge of the jar). Any
longer though and your candle will produce black smoke (soot!). If you light
the candle and you get black smoke, blow out trim again and relight, even if it leaves your wick really short.
3.
Check your candle regularly while burning
If a bobble or mushroom shape appears on the wick
while it is alight, blow out your candle and snip the tip off the wick. You can
relight again straight away. The same goes for any flame movement - it may look pretty but it will produce black smoke. Same tip - blow out and trim, then relight.
Snip these off as soon as you see them
4.
Never burn your candle close to a wall
I always leave at least 30cm or more distance
from a wall or put candles on a table. If you burn them on a shelf or fireplace
mantle for example you risk getting soot appear behind pictures, photos on the
wall etc. In my opinion this is the major cause of soot on walls and ceilings.
5.
Use a snuffer or just put the lid on!
When you blow out a candle you sometimes get lots
of smoke or a glowing wick which will continue to smoke for a while. This smoke
contains soot and as well the smoke will distort the lovely aroma your candle
has spent so long releasing! A Yankee Candle snuffer extinguishes the candle
with reduced smoke or soot. Even better is just to put the lid back on the jar - this starves the flame of oxygen within a few seconds.
6.
Avoid draughts - keep the flame still.
Keep your lit candle away from draughty areas and too much
passing traffic. Your aim is to keep the flame as still as possible. Remember
scented candles are not like normal candles, a wavering wick will produce sooty
smoke! This is another major root cause of why you may have soot on walls and ceilings.
While none of the above tips are guaranteed to keep
your home soot free, they will undoubtedly help hugely. After four or five year’s worth of
burning hundreds of large jar Yankee Candles we have almost no detectable soot
anywhere.
And lastly, while the above may seem cumbersome it
is all part of the scented candle / Yankee Candle hobby. All scented candles (whatever the brand) produce a certain amount of soot but only Yankee Candles are designed to work with an illuma lid. I’m sure you’ll agree the pleasure far
outweighs any effort you have to make to
ensure your home stays soot free!