You’re here because you want to learn how to fix & prevent candle tunneling, right? Great. Stick with us — we’ve got everything you need to know.
What is candle tunneling?
The candle tunneling phenomenon is a problem that has plagued the candle industry for centuries. It occurs when the wax around the wick melts unevenly, creating a tunnel down the center of the candle. This not only looks bad, but it can also shorten the lifespan of your candle and make it difficult to light in the future. Luckily, there are some tricks to help prevent candle tunneling as well as methods for fixing it should it occur.
There are two major pro-tips to prevent your candle from tunneling.
The first one is to trim your wick before each time you burn your candle. We recommend trimming your wick to ¼” every time.
The second pro-tip is to make sure you burn your candle long enough to allow wax to fill the entire top layer. For our candles at Thomas Brothers Candle Co, this should take about an hour.
“But Gavin, what if my candle is already tunneling? How the heck do I fix my candle?” - No worries, I have a couple solutions for you to get back to fully enjoying your candle.
Two solutions to fix your tunneled candle:
The first and best way to fix your tunneled candle is to grab a hair dryer and melt the top portion of the wax until it fills the entire top layer and is completely flat. No hair dryer on hand? No problem. The second best way to fix your tunneled candle is to stick it in the oven on very low heat (ideally around 120-140 degrees fahrenheit) and let it sit there for 15-20 minutes or until the entire top layer has completely melted. Once this happens, take it out (with oven mitts please!) and let it cool down completely before burning it again.
If your candle tunneled so much to the point where you can’t see or light your wick before or after letting your wax dry, just carefully pour out some of the melted wax from your candle until your wick is about ¼ inch above your wax as it dries.
Wrapping up, candle tunneling is a fairly common problem in the candle world, but is easily preventable and fixable. By following these pro-tips, you’ll be able to maximize & enjoy your candle to the fullest!
Want to discover your new favorite candle? Check out our candles at Thomas Brothers Candle Co. We strive to craft the highest quality candles possible and we think we might have just done that. We hand-pour all of our candles with 100% organic soy wax and fragrances sourced from the highest quality suppliers and we’re pretty dang confident that you’ll love our candles just as much as we do! 😄
Gavin | Co-Founder @ Thomas Brothers Candle Co.
