As I was relaxing on the couch one afternoon I noticed dark areas around the ceiling. Later, there was a special on 20/20 or Dateline or... and they were talking about how much damage is caused by the soot from burning candles. We burn a candle in one of our smaller rooms near a window and I noticed that the window was covered in soot. How do we get rid of the soot on the walls? I am afraid that wiping them will smear the soot leaving them black. :o( Any suggestions?
My dear wife, a big candle fan, has finally realized the value of electric lights. Candles were OK in log cabins, where soot didn't really show, but they are not so great in houses with white walls. She has come to appreciate electricity after spending $500 on repainting walls and ceilings. If your walls aren't too bad, you might try brushing the soot off with a dry cloth. Don't rub, just dust. If that won't do it, try bearing down a little with a fresh, but dry, towel. If that won't do it either, try washing the surface with a towel that is dampened with warm, soapy water. You'll want to go over that with clear, warm water to get rid of any soap residue. I hope this works. It got most of the soot off of ours, but we still needed to paint, because it had been so thick. If nothing else, this at least gets rid of the bulk of the soot, so you can paint without having the soot darken the paint. Good luck.
The reason you have soot is from when your candles start producing black smoke. This happens when the candle wick gets long and cruddy. Keep your wicks trimmed to 1/4 inch between burnings and this will eliminate the black smoke, which in turn, causes the soot. You do have to be religious about this though for it to work.
Don't be so sure it is candle soot. Do any of you have a new furnace by chance? The furnace could be the culprit, not the candles.We have a new furnace and soot - and are in the process of having the soot tested because an environmental specialist we contacted said "NO WAY IS THIS CANDLE SOOT". Of course, the furnace manufacturer says it is.
To make a really long story short, the environmental company says that many of the new furnaces that are being manufactured use a particular type of insulation in the furnace wall, the insulation fibers are being burned in the furnace, in turn the soot from those burnt fibers is what is showing up on homeowners walls.
The soot from the fibers leaves a specific residue that candle soot doesn't. There are some home owners on the East Coast that are sueing furnace manufacturers over this very issue.
To Leslie:
You bet candles can make a black mess on you walls and ceilings, ruin your electronics & find it's way on to every single item in your home made of plastic.It's my understanding that the only way to keep this from bleeding through new paint is wiping the walls down with a dry chemical sponge (there are sources listed on the Homeowners Soot Damage Discussion Board a page or 2 back)then wipe with TSP, prime with "Kilz" and then paint. More work than I want to do in exchange for lighting up a few candles! Good Luck!
To: Karla
Trimming the wick doesn't prevent sooting with all candles. Some candles are just crappy quality with too much oil, wrong wick size, additves & dyes that clog the wick & then you have smoke & then guess what - before you know it you have soot on everything - the hitch is how can you tell when you go to make a purchase? If you don't know much about candlemaking & even some of those who do you are outta luck.
The Candles and Indoor Air Quality site has a test you can do on candles you purchase to see how much soot they produce - it won't prevent you from wasting $ on crappy candles but it may save you the time & money it takes to clean up after burning one to the end inside your house.To: Christy
There are telltale signs to look for that give away whether or not it's candle soot or something else and if you want to get really fancy there are some experts and testing places that can figure out what it is. But you should take a look at the web pages I have mentioned & you will get an idea just how often this is happening to people who burn candles. According to one of the experts the number of sooting cases in homes has risen in proportion to the rise in candle sales over the last 5 or 6 years.. a coincidence, I don't think so.
Here is a link that might be useful: Homeowners Soot Damage Discussion
TO: ChristyI must agree with Marian about the insulation in furnaces. The portion of insulation around the heat exchanger is fiberglass with aluminum foil facing the air stream so that the insulation is encapsulated between the casing and the AL.foil. Some furnaces have insulation within the return air compartment. This is black matt faced designed by the insulation manufacturers just for such applications and has been used in the HVAC industry from the late 1970's. Like Marian said until the last two years in paticular, sooting was not an issue. It would therefore seem logical not to blame the insulation which has been used in the marketplace by HVAC units for many years. Bill
Press Release: gigantic! E-Mail: Candlework@aol.com
One of life¹s little inconsistencies...
Aromatherapy and Home Fragrance candles are the most rapidly growing area of the 8 billion dollar global candle industry. This growth happened so fast that consumers and producers didn¹t stop to consider environmental and health issues. Natural aroma oils made with plant essential oils mixed into paraffin wax is incongruent. Paraffin is the left over residue from refining gasoline!
The Paraffin Problem
Almost all candles made around the world are made with paraffin and animal fats. Do you know what paraffin is? Paraffin is the waste material produced from gasoline refining! Aromatherapy candles are presented to consumers as a health enhancing product. A few decades ago cigarettes were also marketed as a health aid! In a recent report issued by the Agricultural Engineering Department at Purdue University, it¹s stated: ³Paraffin contains aromatic compounds which are released when candles are burned that are detrimental to health. Paraffin candles release carcinogens when they are burned.² Purdue encourages a safer, natural soybean wax alternative. Once a retailer or manufacturer is aware of such health risks, they have a legal and moral responsibility to remove the health risk or face serious liability issues. (See Wall St. Journal, front page, 3/31/99: Gap Sued for Candle Soot.) Twenty- three other consumer lawsuits in regard to paraffin damage are filed thus far.There is no labeling required for the U.S. Candle Industry. This is a paradox: 45% of toxins taken into the body orally through food are absorbed into the blood stream. 100% of toxins taken into the lungs are absorbed into the blood stream. Labeling of candle ingredients is an important issue. The Automobile Industry has had procedures in place to filter out emissions from gasoline combustion for decades. Homeowners now voluntarily release many of the same emissions from gasoline waste in their homes when they burn paraffin candles. Most homeowners would not do this if they knew the facts. Labeling is imperative for consumer knowledge and safety.
Paraffin candle wax was created 150 years ago as the petroleum distillation industry started. Such candles were used to light a distant, dark corner in a room. For aromatherapy and home fragrance candles, used in close personal proximity, paraffin wax is now obsolete. If you prepared a healthy drink of fresh squeezed fruit juice, would you add in a shot of gasoline for your health? It is just as inconsistent and unthinkable to take pure aromatic plant derived essential oils prepared for therapeutic use in aromatherapy candles and dump them into wax made from harmful gasoline waste. Recently, many retail chains have been selling ³gel² candles. Gel candles are just as problematic as paraffin: Many "gel candles" contain phthalates, this gives the gel substance it's "rubbery" texture or viscosity. Most synthetic fragrance oils contain phthalates as well. The most widely studied phthalate was the commonly used di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). In 1982, NTP studies showed that DEHP induced a strong liver tumor response in rats and mice. The new NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction announced in April that its first review will look at reproductive risks to plastics workers and consumers from seven phthalates, including DEHP and DINP, that are widely used in consumer products. (source: Environmental Health Perspectives) Exposure to combusted phthalates is a potential health risk, however there have been no formal studies performed re: phthalates present in the emissions of scented or gel candles. Since the particulate size of candle soot (which is less than 1 ug), there is reason for concern since particles of this minute size are 100% absorbable in the bloodstream. Exposures would be for all in the vicinity of the burning candle containing phthalates. Many candle manufacturers use wicks with lead or zinc cores: Candleworks uses only 100% unbleached cotton woven wicks. The aromatherapy industry has grown so quickly that not many people have stopped to think about these environmental issues. Now you have a choice!
The Soybean Solution
Candleworks did stop to think. We¹ve taken innovative action to create a natural alternative: A 100% vegetable, pure, new candle wax made with soybeans grown right in America¹s Heartland. Burning soy wax is as benign as the aromatic vapors from vegetables sauteed in vegetable oils in your kitchen. Our soy-base wax is literally the first real innovation in the candle industry in the 150 years since paraffin came into use as the predominant candle manufacturing material. Our exclusive Phytowax™ soybean wax formula is not available anywhere else. If you¹re a retailer or aromatherapy manufacturer that¹s concerned with the health and safety of your consumers, give us a call so that Candleworks can create your safe private label product line made with our alternative wax.
The Candleworks Way
The soybean is the metaphor of daily life at Candleworks. Farmers plant soybeans in crop rotation cycles when soil needs to be stabilized and restored with important nutrients. We restore stability and nurture our community by providing economic opportunity for disadvantaged and disabled persons. We use plant based wax and aroma oils. Packaging materials are recycled. Candleworks is a model business that operates with social, consumer and environmental responsibility. We are recognized as the U.S. Small Business Administration¹s National ³Business of the Year² for Welfare to Work initiatives. Candleworks was named Business of the Year by the Human Rights Commission. Candleworks is recognized nationally as an innovator in economic development: Federal HUD Office and President Clinton awarded Candleworks the ³Best Practice Award² at the National Conference of Mayors. National Chamber of Commerce presented us the ³Blue Chip Enterprise² award to recognize initiative. Rotary International inducted Candleworks into the Paul Harris Humanitarian Fellowship. Natural cosmetics leaders and the natural product retailers around the globe provide our soybean wax candles for their customers.
Environmental Health and Consumer Safety Groups Issue Warnings:
The National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB has been receiving numerous reports about black petroleum carbon soot deposits from paraffin candles. Dan Cautley, an NAHB Research Engineer says one cause of indoor air pollution is from paraffin candles. James Cain at the University of Wisconsin agrees that a major cause of soot problems in homes comes from paraffin candles. Frank Vigil confirms this candle soot hypotheses in Home Energy Magazine. E Magazine, ³The Environmental Magazine, has recently published an article on the candle soot problem. David Krause an air quality researcher has documented evidence that candle soot particles contain many of the compounds given off from burning diesel fuel! Krause states that these particles have been deemed a health hazard according to California Proxy 65 Regulations. Beeswax is a natural wax alternative to paraffin, but it costs 6 times as much as paraffin... so many candles labeled ³beeswax² are actually a blend of paraffin and beeswax. Soy wax is cost effective compared to paraffin. With this cost parity, there¹s no economic reason for retailers to sell paraffin. According to a research study by the Consumer Study group, Smith and Kline, 7 out of 10 homes burn paraffin candles on a regular basis. The National Home Builders Association states that the candle soot problem has far reaching implications, effecting millions of homes. This causes millions of dollars in home repainting costs and is potentially a very significant health problem.
The Solution: Clean Burning 100% Vegetable Soybean Base Candles !
Candleworks started making innovative 100% vegetable oil, natural wax candles in 1993. When our candles burn, there is no visible soot produced. This value-added agri- product innovation will create a very large new market for soybean oil grown by U.S. Farmers. This is an example of sustainable economic development in action. In the global market, 2.6 billion pounds of non-renewable petroleum paraffin used in candles can now be replaced with clean burning, sustainable, environmentally safe soybean wax. Just 10% of the global candle market will create an expanding new market for 264 million pounds of soybean oil produced by family farms. With our strategy of global internet consumer education about the clean burning soy wax alternative, paraffin petro candles will be completely obsolete within 10 years. To meet the growing demand for clean burning natural candles, we¹re working with other environmentally responsible candle manufacturers, farm cooperatives, environmental groups, consumers and natural product distributors to build this necessary change. Changing from petroleum to soy wax will create new sustainable agricultural economic growth with a global market impact for the U.S. farm economy.
OSHA LIMITS FOR PARAFFIN WAX FUMES (Paraffin Chemical Formula: CnH2n+2)
OSHA comments from the June 19, 1988 Final Rule on Air Contaminants Project PARAFFIN WAX FUME :
OSHA previously had no limit for paraffin wax fume and proposed establishing an 8-hour TWA limit of 2 mg/m3; NIOSH (Ex. 8-47, Table N1) concurred with this proposal. The final rule establishes this limit, which is the same as the limit recommended by the ACGIH. Paraffin is a white or slightly yellow, odorless solid that is derived from petroleum. Paraffin is considered nontoxic in its solid state, but fume generated when it is in the molten state may cause discomfort and nausea (Queries and Minor Notes, JAMA ). In the most recent report of industrial exposure effects, paraffin fume is reported to cause discomfort in most cases even when the concentration is maintained at or below 2 mg/m3, one instance of mild discomfort was reported at concentrations between 0.6 and 1 mg/m3 (Massachusetts Division of Occupational Hygiene as cited in ACGIH ). OSHA is aware that the dose-response data for paraffin wax fume are dated; nevertheless, OSHA finds it notable that two different sources (cited by ACGIH ) report acute adverse effects associated with the use of molten paraffin. OSHA also believes that promulgation of a PEL for paraffin wax fume will present little problem for pathology laboratories, most clinical laboratories already comply with the ACGIH TLVs and that the services of certified industrial hygienists are used when new laboratories are designed or old ones are remodeled. OSHA is more concerned about workplaces in which paraffin is used in large quantities, such as the food industry, and a greater degree of exposure control is needed. To protect employees in these industries from experiencing acute adverse effects, such as discomfort and nausea, OSHA believes that a PEL for paraffin wax fume is necessary. The Agency has determined that the adverse effects associated with excessive exposure to paraffin wax fume constitute material impairments of health. The limit of 2 mg/m3 has been shown to be effective in reducing this risk; therefore, OSHA is establishing this limit for paraffin wax fume.
Sounds like an ad for Candleworks to me...Although much of the information appears reliable to this professional environmental chemist, I think the spiel about parrafin being a "waste product from gasoline manufacturing" is a distortion.
Although technically true, it is worded in an inflammatory way. Parrafin certainly does not contain the most dangerous components of gasoline such as benzene (potent carcinogen), toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. It contains mainly aliphatic hydrocarbons with low toxicity. When burned, any hydrocarbons - even those from soybeans I would think - can produce carcinogens like polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).
I don't intend to pick apart your whole article (it's rather lengthy!) but I just wanted to make those points.
I'm glad you pointed out the use of metals like lead in wire wicks. I saw a news story about this somewhere - the homeowner was suing because their walls and house dust had levels of lead above health standards from burning candles.
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