Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you really should trim the wick to 1/4 inch every time you light your candle. If you don’t, problems can occur. The wicks of all candles can “mushroom” at the top, causing excessive flickering and/or smoke. Keeping your wick trimmed keeps this to a minimum and makes your candle safer. Trimming also prevents your wick from curling back into the wax – a common problem with nonmetal-cored wicks. Because our wicks contain no lead, zinc, or metal of any kind, they are very easily trimmed before lighting.

This is commonly called “tunneling.” This happens when a candle burns down the middle of the jar, leaving lots of wax stuck to the side of the jar. Tunneling can be caused by failure to keep your candle lit long enough before you extinguish it. Each time you burn a candle, try to burn it at least until the wax pool reaches the edge of the container. Our jar candles should be burned a minimum of 3 hours the first time they are lit to achieve this. On subsequent burns it is ideal for the candle to be burned for at least 2 hours, but never longer than 4 hours. If you must extinguish your candle early, plan to burn it a little longer the next time. This should prevent your candle from tunneling.

Before a candle is lit, you need to trim the wick to 1/4 inch. Trimming the wick before lighting will stop any smoke from coming off the candle. Also, check to make sure that your candle is not being burned in a draft. Many different things can cause this. Heat and A/C vents, ceiling fans, windows and even doorways can create a draft.

This means that the candle has been burning too long. You should extinguish the candle, allow it to cool, and trim the wick to ¼”. The wick needing to be trimmed generally causes smoking. This is also the case if you just lit a candle and see it smoking or “popping”. If your wick is already trimmed to ¼”, check to make sure that your candle is not being burned in a draft. Many different things can cause this. Heat and A/C vents, ceiling fans, windows and even doorways can create a draft, and can cause your candle to not burn properly.

Using a spoon or other metal object, tilt the wick into the melted wax and then raise up the wick. In the case of jar candles, never extinguish the flame by smothering it with the lid of the jar.

No. We prefer our wicks to be unleaded. WAX Candle Company has never used lead wicks and we never will. Lead wicks have been banned in the U.S. for quite some time. 

Trim the wick! Trim the wick! Trim the wick! 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. 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. 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 time the candle is lit can make your candle last up to 25% longer. Be careful not to “overtrim” the wick. There should be about 1/4” of the wick sticking out above the candle. Look at a ruler and really see what a quarter 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, extinguishing itself. If this happens, just light it again, let the wax pool for a few minutes and then dump out the liquid wax that forms around the wick. This will make the wick stick out more and the candle should recover.

Of course we do, if the situation calls for it. 

Yes. Orders may be shipped to PO boxes as well as APO boxes.

Great question! This depends on the product that you are ordering. We keep very little inventory on hand, due to the size of our chandlery. Items in stock for orders received Monday through Friday normally ship in about 2-4 business days. Jars and melts have a fairly short cure time and can ship out within a week. Pillars, however, if not in inventory, can take up to two weeks to cure depending on the weather. We will inform you of any delays in shipping by email notification after receiving your order.

Your complete satisfaction is our goal. If your product arrives damaged or is in any way defective, please contact us via our “Contact Us” form online. A replacement product will be shipped promptly. Please retain the original packaging materials so that we can have the damaged merchandise shipped back to us. 

If it is something that we are still able to make, then yes. Generally, if an item is discontinued, it is because a certain component is no longer available. Some seasonal fragrances may become available again in the appropriate season of the year, but they can only be purchased at that time. 

Unfortunately, we do not exchange candles based on personal fragrance preference. All sales are final unless there is a defect in the wick or the product was damaged by the shipper. Just remember, candles make great gifts. Even though you might not care for the scent, your friends or co-workers may love it.