Candle Tunneling

CANDLE TUNNELING

At Thucassi, we pride ourselves with the quality of our candles.To ensure your candles last as long as possible, please see below for tunneling remedies and prevention.

What Tunneling Is:

A lit candle melting through the center, as opposed to the wax evenly melting throughout. The flame on the wick creates a vertical “tunnel,” towards the bottom as it burns. Over time, tunneling leads to burn time reduction.

Tunneling Causes:

• Poor candle burning habits
• Improperly sized wicks

Tunneling Prevention:

• Burn the candle for at least three hours. This allows the entire top surface of the wax to evenly melt.
• Trim the wick before burning the candle. Ensure it is the proper size.

If Your Candle Has Already Tunneled:

Hair dryer method:

• First, trim the wick. Then remove any debris inside the tunnel.
• Using a hair dryer (or a heat gun), gently heat the top surface of the candle on low speed and high heat.
• With either a wick dipper or small metal spatula, gently scrape the unmelted wax on the sides. This will help it melt faster.
• Continue heating until the entire top surface of wax has fully melted and smoothed over. Depending on how hot your hair dryer gets, this may take a few minutes.
• Relight your candle and burn for at least 30 minutes, or until you no longer see any tunneling.
• Over the next couple of days, do not use your candle. Let the wax harden. Depending on the type of wax, it can take anywhere from two days to two weeks for the wax to reach full hardness.

Aluminum foil method:

• Trim the wick and remove any debris inside the tunnel.
• With aluminum foil, cover the top of the candle.
• Cut or fold a small opening (give or take one inch) in the middle of the aluminum foil.
• Remove the aluminum foil, light the wick, and put the foil cover back on the candle.
• Burn the candle for a few hours until the top surface of the wax has fully melted and smoothed over.
• Do not use the candle for a couple of days. Allow for the wax to reach full hardness.