Getting The Most From Your Candles

I love burning candles and have them all around the house. Long ones, short ones, fat ones, thin ones, in a plethora of colours. I burn them in the evening when Im relaxing; I burn them at mealtimes; and I burn them in the bathroom when Im pampering myself. Any excuse to light a candle really.

But candles dont always fit the holder, and sometimes they burn down too far and the wax gets stuck! Its at times like this that candles arent quite as much fun!

Here are some candle burning tips Ive picked up through the years:

1.Cold candles will burn more slowly. Wrap them in foil or cling-film to prevent the wicks from absorbing moisture then pop them in the fridge for an hour.

2.When burning pillar candles, let them burn long enough each time to create a pool of wax that almost covers the diameter of the candle. This will ensure that the candle burns evenly each time you light it. If it doesnt create a large enough pool youll end up with a tunnel through the candle and eventually it will either melt through one side or youll simply not be able to get down far enough to light it. And even if you did, it would give off very little light.

3.Never stand a lit candle in a wind draught as theyll create a larger, more irregular flame and your candle will burn unevenly.

4.Never expose candles to sunlight or indoor spotlights. They will fade the colour and if left for too long, the candles will bend.

5.If your candle is too narrow to fit snugly into the holder, wrap cooking foil or tissue paper around the bottom of the candle to make the base thicker. Dont worry, the tissue paper wont burn even if you do allow the candle to burn right down into the holder as the melted wax will soak the paper. Having said that, its never a good idea to allow candles to burn right down; they should be extinguished when theyre about 2 inches over the holder.

6.If youve allowed the candle to burn right down and the wax is stuck in the holder, put the holder into the freezer for a couple of hours and the wax should be considerably easier to dig out.

7.If you like votive candles, try buying the type that have metal cases as these are easier to remove from holders after use. If you only have the uncovered type, pour some water into the holder before lighting the candle. Once extinguished and the wax hardened, it should be easier to pop it out of the container.

8.Spilled wax should always be allowed to solidify before being removed. Once hard, cover the area with brown paper and gently press with a warm iron. The wax will be absorbed into the paper.

9.Extinguish candles by pushing the wick into the liquid wax dont use your fingers – a used matchstick is a good tool for this. Leave it for about a minute then re-center the wick. Using this technique both eliminates smoking from the extinguished wick and covers the wick with a layer of wax making re-lighting easier.