Check Your Candle Wicks

by Lois Breneman, © 2006, Heart to Heart Newsletter, jhbreneman@juno.com 

 

Years ago oil based paint for the home used to contain lead, and could cause lead poisoning if children teethed on painted furniture or windowsills.  So it's a miracle that some of us even grew to adulthood, with all the hazards during our childhood!  Not only did many of our homes have lead paint, but we didn't even have car seats and seat belts back then!

 

Good news for parents and children of today!  Household paint containing lead has not been sold for years!  However, although most candles have lead free wicks, some imported candles are still sold with lead in the core of their wicks and they are hazardous to the health of us all.  Heavy metals such as lead and mercury are known to cause birth defects, so this is something to check out and take seriously.  

 

Before purchasing candles or burning the ones you already have, be sure the wicks are "lead free."  There are four ways to be sure a candle wick is lead free.

• The label under the candle will say, "lead free wick." 
• The label underneath will say, "100% cotton wick."
• When checking the wick carefully with your fingers, you find no metal core. 
• If there is a metal core in the wick, however, it may be zinc rather than lead. Zinc is often used as a safer replacement for lead in this application.  The National Candle Association says there is an easy way to test whether a candle has a lead core wick.  Take an ordinary piece of white paper and rub it on the tip of an unburnt wick.  If the wick leaves a light gray pencil-like mark, it has a lead core. No mark, however, and the candle is lead-free.
  

According to the National Candle Association, the majority of wicks manufactured today in the U.S. are made entirely of cotton, with no metal cores. Those few wicks made with metal are typically zinc-core wicks. All of these wicks are safe, so there is no need to eschew metal wicks,  just lead ones.

Concern over trace elements of lead has resulted in the Consumer Product Safety Commission defining a lead cored wick to be one containing greater than .06% lead by weight in the metal. Zinc wire has a maximum level of lead impurities of .004%, well below the standard set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. http://www.cajuncandles.com/wicks.html

 

So what do you do if you already have candles with lead wicks, or would rather not even use zinc core wicks?  Try returning them to the store where purchased, explaining about the metal wicks.  If they won't give you a refund or store credit, you can still use them safely.  Here's how. Melt the candle in a simmering potpourri pot or a candle warmer, found in craft stores.  Smaller candles fit in a potpourri pot, but a candle warmer is needed for larger candles, such as jar candles.  If you have neither, set the candle in a double boiler to melt the wax.  Never use the microwave or oven.   Heat from a candle warmer will cause the fragrance to permeate your home as it melts the wax, and will last quite a long time.  This is a great way to enjoy the aroma without actually burning your candles.  Pull out the wick as soon as the wax is melted.  

 

You might plan to simply spread the aroma by use of a candle warmer.  I love candle warmers and Pfaltzgraff has many beautiful designs.  However the fragrance will eventually disappear if using a candle warmer.  When it does, you could make fragrance free candles to burn - or add more fragrance.  

 

After you pull out the metal wick, you may choose to replace it with a metal free wick, if you want to burn the candle.  Either use one you have, break an old tapered candle to get the wick or order wicks from this link: http://www.cajuncandles.com/wicks.html 

 

Another choice you have is to pour the wax into another glass or pottery container, maybe even make several votive candles, and insert safe lead free wicks.  After the wax solidifies with the new wick, freeze the candle, then burn as desired.  Freezing candles causes them to burn more slowly, providing more hours of enjoyment - another way to stretch your dollar.

(Note in 2011 - I've been melting wax in my candle warmers over the last week, and having fun making quite an array of recycled candles.  Adding fragrance and bees wax to candle wax that has given off all of its fragrance has turned into at least twenty-six candles so far.  Several pretty teacups were filled, as well as coffee mugs and votive candle holders.  A couple small Yankee Candle jars were refilled as well.  Any old wicks remaining were resalvaged.  I love the fragrant aroma of candles burning!)