Has your candle started tunneling?
Don’t panic; you can still salvage it!
OPTION 1: THE HAIR DRYER METHOD
- Trim the wick and remove any debris inside the tunnel.
- Using a heat gun (if you have one) or hair dryer on the highest setting, heat the wax on the top surface of the candle.
- You can carefully poke at the unmelted wax on the sides with a toothpick to help it melt faster.
- Continue heating until the entire top surface of wax has completely melted and smoothed over.
- Relight your candle and allow it to burn for at least 30 minutes or until you can no longer see any tunneling.
- Set your candle aside and let the wax harden over the next few days. Depending on the type of wax used in your candle, it can take between 2 days (paraffin) to 2 weeks (soy, coconut) for your wax to reach full hardness.
OPTION 2: THE ALUMINUM FOIL METHOD
- Trim the wick and remove any debris inside the tunnel.
- Cover the top of the candle with aluminum foil.
- Cut a small opening (around 1-inch) in the center of the aluminum foil.
- Remove the aluminum foil, light the wick, then place the foil cover back on.
- Allow the candle to burn for a few hours until the top surface of wax has completely melted and smoothed over.
- Set your candle aside and let the wax harden over the next few days to reach full hardness (see above).
The best way to fix candle tunneling is to prevent it from happening in the first place. And it’s very simple, too.
To prevent tunneling, all you need to do is burn your candle long enough each time so that the entire top surface of wax is melted. This is especially important the first time you burn your candle!
How long that takes depends mostly on the size of the candle. A good rule of thumb to remember is that you should burn your candle for one hour per every inch of its diameter. So if your candle has a diameter of 3 inches, you should plan to let it burn for 3 hours before putting it out.
And that's it! We hope this guide to fixing and preventing candle tunneling will help you enjoy candles that last longer and burn more beautifully.