We all love to learn a new hack or how to reuse things. It keeps life fun and interesting, but we must be mindful of our sources and just how reliable the advice is – especially when you are talking about fire safety and prevention. October is Fire Prevention Month, and the National Candle Association wants you to know the dos and don’ts of fire prevention and candles safety – plus how to be safe related to the latest social media trends and hacks for your candles.  

Candling Safely 

We all know candles should never be left unattended nor in reach of pets or children, but fire safety goes much deeper. Keep in mind that candles should never be burned past ¼” as this could cause your candle container to crack or break and don’t burn your candle for more than 4 hours. Longer burning times can lead to your overheating. 

Most importantly understand how to extinguish a candle. Should your flame get too high, NEVER pour water on your candle. Doing this essentially creates what we know as a grease fire, but with candle wax. Instead, if your flame gets too high, put the cover or lid to the candle on to extinguish the flame or use a candle snuffer.  

When to know if social media can be trusted 

For the most part, social media has our attention. We can share new hacks, trends, and spread viral videos easily. This doesn’t mean that everyone (including the person who created the post) is an expert. When sharing or watching videos about candles, you must keep in mind whether the person posting is a reliable source.  

Take note, if what you are watching seems dangerous, it probably is. For example, a recent viral video showed individuals driving with a lit candle in their car. NOTE: NCA advises individuals DO NOT do this under any circumstance. Keep in mind that there are candle experts out there (like NCA) and extend your research beyond the video. Finally, don’t try everything you see, use good judgement and know, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.  

Follow NCA to check out our latest candle safety and prevention information – as well as tons of other trends, tricks and tips to enjoy your candles.