You're Burning Your Candles Wrong

You’re probably familiar with the annoying ring of unmelted wax that sometimes develops on larger candles. It’s called “tunneling,” and it’s not just ugly—it decreases a candle’s lifespan and makes it harder to actually use.

Candle tunneling happens when the flame only consumes the wax towards the center, leaving the edges untouched and completely solid. Over time, this causes the wick to sink down in the middle, with a “tunnel” of unmelted wax surrounding it. This is bad for two reasons: First, any unmelted wax is waste, which means that a tunneled candle won’t last as long as a properly burned one. (The fancier and pricier your candle, the more irritating this becomes.) Second, tunneling makes your candle harder to light and more likely to get extinguished by falling drops of melted wax, which is annoying.

How to burn candles the right way, so they don’t tunnel

Tunneling is caused by uneven burning, usually from extinguishing a new candle too soon. The easiest way to prevent it from happening is to always let new candles burn until the surface is fully melted, which can take up to a few hours depending on the size of your candle. Other common causes of tunneling include uneven surfaces, drafts, and a wick that’s off-center or too short. The first two are easy enough to deal with—always burn candles on flat surfaces and away from open windows and fans—while wick problems are a bit trickier. As long as you avoid trimming the wick before the first burn, it should stay long enough to use, but there’s no quick fix for an off-center wick. Unless you want to melt and reposition the wick yourself, you’ll have to live with a certain amount of uneven burning.

How to fix candle tunnels

The good news is that tunneled candles can be saved. The quickest and easiest way to do so is with the foil method: Cover your candle with foil, then cut or tear a hole at the center to give the flame some breathing room, making sure the foil covers the tunneled wax around the edges. Light the candle and let it burn until the surface liquefies. You can also use your oven to even out a tunneled candle: The Kitchn recommends preheating your oven to 175ºF and heating the candle on a baking sheet for about five minutes, or just enough to melt the wax.

Whichever technique you use to rescue your tunneled candle, make sure to finish the job by freeing the wick from any melted wax that covers it. While the wax is still soft, use a toothpick to scoop out the wick and remove any excess that looks like it might put out the flame when it melts.