Candle Wick Too Short
There is nothing better than lighting a candle at home and getting cozy, especially as cooler weather approaches. However, there are some things that can put a damper on your cozy vibes– including a candle wick that is too short! If your wick is too short, you may have trouble lighting your candle, or it may put itself out when you are burning it. Luckily, there are some ways that you can combat this issue. Take a look below to learn how to deal with and prevent too-short candle wicks.
How to Prevent Short Candle Wicks
First things first, prevention is always best! If you are able to prevent your candle wick from getting too short in the first place, you can save yourself a lot of headache later. In order to best prevent this from happening, it is recommended that you burn your candles long enough that a uniform pool of wax melts on the surface. However, any longer than four hours of burning your candle can be too much. By doing so, you can prevent tunneling, which refers to the buildup of excess wax on the sides of the candle. These often melt and drown the wick during future candle burns.
How to Fix a Candle Wick That Is Too Short
Of course, sometimes it is not possible to avoid an issue like a too short candle wick. In these cases, you will want to know how to fix the wick so that you do not have to waste the candle and get rid of it. One easy tip to deal with short candle wicks is to light the candle and allow it to burn for about 20 to 30 minutes. Sometimes, the issue may actually work itself out during this first, initial burn.
If that does not work, you can also blow out the candle and then pour some of that extra wax into another container. A clue to whether or not you will need to do this is if your flame is still weak after it has been burning for 20 to 30 minutes. Once you have poured out that extra wax, you can dispose of it in the garbage. This will expose more of the wick, essentially lengthening it! Another thing you can do is absorb the melted wax with a cotton ball or paper towel, instead of pouring it out.
All of these suggestions require you to be able to light your candle wick. In some situations, that will not be possible, as the wick may be too short to light properly– or maybe it burns out as soon as it is lit, because of its lack of length. If this is the situation you find yourself in, you can melt some of the wax with a heat gun, rather than lighting the wick of the candle. Then, you can pour out or soak up the candle wax. Another way you can get around this is to scrape out room temperature wax with a tool like a butter knife, so that you can better expose and lengthen your wick.
Adding to a Candle Wick
Sometimes, your wick may break off entirely, and you may need to add onto the wick in order to keep using your candle. You can do this with homemade paper wicks, or with store bought wicks. Whichever you choose, you will have to thread them down into the hole of the candle where your original wick has broken off. Then, you can light and burn this new wick. Eventually, the candle will burn down to expose the broken original wick again, which you can continue to use for future burns!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make a candle wick longer?
If you are having issues with the length of your candle wick, there are a few things that you can do. One of these is to light the candle and let it burn long enough that all of the candle surface melts to wax. Then, you can pour out some of that melted wax into another candle container, or into the garbage, which will then expose more of the candle wick and make it easier to light in the future!
How do you keep a candle wick from drowning?
When your candle wick “drowns”, this usually means that it is being overwhelmed or even covered by the candle wax, making it too short. This can affect how your candle is lit or is able to burn. In order to avoid your wick getting too short, you should always try to make sure that you burn the candle long enough so that a uniform pool of wax forms– typically, this should take no longer than four hours. This then helps to prevent tunneling, where excess wax builds up on the sides of the candle and can drown the wick in the future when melted again.
How do you know if your wick is too small?
The size of your candle wick may not be something that you think about, but it actually is important! If your wick is too small, you may have issues lighting it or keeping it burning. A good way to know if your wick is too short is to look at its burn pool. A wick that is not long enough for the candle will have a melt pool that tunnels down into the center of the candle, as opposed to having a melt pool that reaches the edge of the container when lit.
Can you add a wick to a candle?
Yes, you can add a wick to a candle after it has been made. If your wick breaks off, what you can do is thread a new wick that you have bought from the craft store into the hole where the original wick had broken off. This new wick will allow you to burn the candle until you reach the point where the original wick had broken off– then, you can use the original wick again as you usually would.