One of the best ways to add fragrance to a home is to burn a candle. Not only do you get an amazing fragrance, but you’re also treated with a great source of ambiance. The flame illuminating the glass gives off a relaxing feeling in any room. If you have a candle that comes with a lid, you may wonder whether you should use it to put out the candle flame or not.
Using the lid to put out your candle is a great way to suffocate the flame to put out the candle. You’re able to use the lid to put out a candle as long as the lid isn’t flammable itself. By using the lid you’re creating less smoke and smoldering than if you were to blow out the candle.
While the lid is a handy tool to use while extinguishing a candle, there are also other methods you can use to put out the flame. There are also ways that you should steer clear of because they can be damaging to your candle and they can produce more smoke and smoldering than you may want.
Using a Lid to Put Out a Candle
Many candles sold in stores come with lids. Lids are used for many reasons such as keeping your candle clean and preserving the lifespan of your candle’s fragrance. By preventing your candle from being exposed to the open air, your candle isn’t losing it’s fragrance while it sits unlit.
If you leave the candle sitting without the lid on, you may notice that the fragrance from the candle, while not as strong as if the candle were lit, fills the room you’ve placed it in. This is called the cold throw of your candle. The cold throw, as well as the hot throw, use up the fragrance in your candle. One of the big differences is that the hot throw uses up the wax and fragrance while the cold throw only uses up the fragrance.
The lid to your candle has more purpose to it than just being a fragrance protector, though. You can also use your lid to extinguish the flame in your candle once you’re finished burning it. Just place the lid on the candle and the lack of oxygen will suffocate the flame and effectively put it out. You don’t even need to secure the lid. Just set it on top of the candle and the flame will use up the oxygen that’s left inside the jar before extinguishing.
By using this method, you’re making sure that your candle isn’t letting off as much smoke as it would if you were to blow out the candle. You’re also preventing the smoke from circulating around the room and altering the fragrance your candle provided.
There are some things to look out for if you’re looking to use the lid to put out your flame. You want to make sure your lid isn’t flammable. If it’s made of a flammable material, this method is definitely one you’ll want to steer clear of. You also want to make sure your candle’s lid doesn’t have rubber molding that would be exposed to the flame when you set the lid on top. The flame can melt the rubber molding and damage your candle.
As long as you have a safe lid to use to extinguish your candle, this method is a great way to safely put out a candle.
Other Methods to Put Out a Candle
While using your lid to put out a candle is an easy and convenient way to extinguish your candle, it isn’t the only way to do it. There are many different ways for you to extinguish your candle, but there are a few that stand out as the safest and easiest ways to do so.
Many retailers sell candle tool kits that come with a few different items in them. One of these tools is a called a snuffer. This is a bell shaped tool that is attached to a long skinny handle. To use this, all you have to do is place the bell shaped part over the flame. Much like using the candle’s lid, this cuts off the flame from oxygen so it ends up extinguishing itself.
With using this method, you’ll want to leave the snuffer over the wick for about 15 minutes. By doing this, you’re preventing your room from smelling like the smoke that’s let off when the candle’s flame is extinguished. When you lift the snuffer off after the 15 minutes, you’ll only get the the aroma from the candle’s fragrance instead of the unwanted smell of smoke.
Another tool in this kit is that wick dipper. This tool looks like a long metal stick that gets thinner as it gets to the top where it then curves. To use this tool, you gently bend the tip of the wick into the melted wax. The melted wax will extinguish the flame for you. This method doesn’t create any smoke or unwanted odor when the flame extinguishes.
After you bend the tip of the wick into the wax and put the flame out, bring it back up and reposition it. This is a handy tool to have in your candle kit because the curved end makes it easy to bring the wick back up out of the wax and reposition it so you can burn it again. After bringing the wick out of the wax, you may need to trim it before the next use.
A downside to using this method is that you may get burnt wick residue in your candle wax. If you want to keep your candle exceptionally clean, you may want to try a different method of extinguishing the flame.
Read more: 4 Ways to Put Out a Candle Without Black Smoke (Don’t Blow it Out!)
Methods of Putting Out a Candle You should Avoid
While there are some great methods of putting out candles, there are also some you should avoid as they create smoke or could damage or contaminate your candle.
One method you should definitely avoid is blowing the candle out with your breath. This method creates quite a bit of smoke, which can alter the fragrance your candle has put into the room. You can also blow burnt wick pieces into your melted wax, which you don’t want if you want to keep your candle clean.
Another method you should avoid is using wick scissors to put the flame out. This method involves you cutting the wick while it’s still lit, which will stop the remaining wick from burning. This method seems a bit dangerous and also creates a bit of smoke. The burnt wick will remain on the wick scissors but the smoke coming from it will alter the fragrance in the room.
Also, if you don’t cut far enough down on the wick, the candle could still remain lit and you could get burn pieces of wick in your melted wax. Or, you could cut the wick too far and the remaining wick will be covered by the wax once it hardens, preventing you from burning your candle easily in the future. If you do cut it too far and can’t burn it again, though, you can always place your candle on a candle warmer to still be able to use it.
Final Thoughts
Burning a candle is a great way to add fragrance to your home and set the mood you want your room to hold. You have to keep in mind how you’re going to extinguish your candle, though. There are many great methods for you to choose from but the most convenient way to put out your flame is to use the lid that came with your candle.
When using this method, though, you need to make sure that your lid isn’t flammable or doesn’t have any rubber molding that can be melted. If your candle doesn’t have a lid, there are also other methods, such as a snuffer or wick dipper, that can be used to put the flame out. These methods are great ways to keep your candle clean and ready to use in the future.
Read more about Should You Put the Lid Back on the Candle.