Candle safety

Before you light it

• Trim the wick to ¼ inch (6 mm). Every burn, not just the first. A long wick is what makes a tall flame, a smoking flame, and soot on your ceiling.
• Stand the jar on a stable, heat-resistant surface. The glass gets hot enough to mark a bare wooden table.
• Keep it away from draughts — open windows, ceiling fans, air vents. Moving air is what makes a flame flicker, and a flickering flame is what makes a candle tunnel and smoke.
• Keep it out of reach of children and pets, and never leave a lit candle where a tail can reach it.

While it burns

• Never leave a burning candle unattended. Not for the length of a shower, not overnight.
• Keep at least 12 inches between the flame and anything that can catch — curtains, bedding, books, paper, hair.
• Keep at least 3 inches between two burning candles, or each one melts the other's wax from the side.
• Do not burn one for more than four hours at a stretch. Put it out, let the jar cool, trim the wick, light it again if you want to.
• Do not move a candle while it is lit or while the wax is still liquid.

Putting it out

• Use a snuffer, or blow it out gently and close. A hard breath throws hot wax.
• Never use water. It splatters the wax and can crack the glass.
• Check that the ember on the wick is fully out before you leave the room.
• Let the wax cool completely before you touch or move the jar.

When to stop

Stop burning when ½ inch (12 mm) of wax is left in the bottom. Below that the flame sits too close to the base and the glass can get hot enough to crack. Roughly seventy hours in, on a 14 oz jar.

The empty jar

Warm soapy water lifts the last of the soy out once it has cooled; a spoon takes the plug of wax around the wick tab first. The glass is thick enough to keep — it was chosen that way because we would rather you did.