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Burning Guide

Welcome to McCall's Candles! McCall’s Candles are poured at the optimal level of fragrance to ensure an even, long-burning, highly scented candle from beginning to end. We pride ourselves on taking the time to use only the finest fragrances and wax for the best quality candles.

This little guide will assist with maximizing your enjoyment and extending the longevity of McCall's candles and fragrance products.

Look for the following McCall’s Candles fragrance products online or in a store near you:

    • Classic Jar Candle
    • Double Wick Classic
    • Indulgence
    • McCall’s Mason

  • McCall’s Candle Bars Buttons
  • Reed Gardens
  • Rustic Romance
  • Vintage 22

Candle Burning & Melting Guide

Though all of our fragrance products have standard instructions, the following information will give you a more detailed guide on burning our candles and enjoying our fragrance products.

Enjoying & Burning Your McCall's Candle

When you light your McCall's candle, it is important to allow it to burn all the way across. That is, light it and keep it lit until the wax across the top liquefies all the way to the edge. (Note: this may take a few burning cycles to achieve. However, our multiple wick candle achieve a quicker producing wax pool than our single-wicked candles and offer less sooting.)

Every time you burn your candle, you will want to follow the same process. That way your candle will burn evenly and you will maximize your burning time. (Note: the shorter the wick, the longer it will take for the candle to burn all the way across.) Remember, your candle will burn cleaner if your wicks are maintained, as described in the following pages

Questions About Candles

What Causes a Candle to Continually Smoke?

1. Cheap wax: Some candles are made with cheap paraffin wax. At McCall's we believe we have developed a finer candle. We use an excellent paraffin wax to minimize smoking.

2. Too much fragrance: Yes, believe it or not your candle can contain too much fragrance. Though it is important to have a highly fragrant candle, wax can only support so much fragrance and the wick can only burn so much wax and fragrance per hour.

3. Wick is too long: This is the most common problem when burning any candle. You want to keep an eye on your wick each and every time you burn your candle. If your flame is over 3/4" long, the wick may begin to smoke. You will see a tail of smoke off the flame. If this occurs, blow out your candle and trim your wick.

4. A simple draft: Placing a candle in a drafty location is not a good idea. Any wind or draft will cause excess smoking of your candle.

Why Does my Wick Get a “Mushroom” on the Tip?

"Mushrooms" are carbon deposits caused by highly fragrant candles. They usually appear after a long burning cycle. Before lighting your candle, trim the "mushroom" deposits. Make sure that the trimmings do not fall into the wax pool. This could become unsightly and could possibly become a fire hazard. They could also fall on the floor or your furniture. These deposits can stain and are difficult to remove. 

Why Can't I Achieve a Wax Pool all the Way Across my Jar Candle?

If you cannot achieve a wax pool across the jar candle, you may have cut your wick too short (this is called drowning your wick). Though this may cause some anguish, just pour out some of the liquefied wax into a non-flammable container. This will alleviate the drowning affect by making your wick longer.

How do I Snuff my McCall's Candle?

This is McCall’s Recommended Way of Snuffing Your Candle: Using Clean Cut™ Wick Dippers™ (or the tips/end of scissors or any similar-type pinching” instrument), push the burning wick under the wax pool and hold it under the wax pool for a couple of seconds. Then, pull the wick out again. This will eliminate most smoking, compared to traditional snuffing methods. This method will also make your re-light much easier!

Or you can simply blow-out/snuff your candle and then immediately place the lid directly on after doing so. This will minimize the amount of smoke and typical odor that is associated with snuffing a candle.

Make sure you center your wick/s after snuffing; Wicks can start to lean over after a long burn cycle.

When Should I Discard my Candle?

Discontinue use when all the wax in the bottom of your jar becomes liquefied. At this point you will be able to see the metal tab of the wick through the wax. When burning your candle, make sure there is always at least a bottom layer of solidified/un-melted wax. Never allow the remainder of your candle to become totally liquefied. Doing so could cause your candle to overheat and it could become a fire hazard

Standard Burning Instructions for our Candles
 Keep your flame to a maximum of 3/4" at all times
 Multiple wick Candles: Keep the wicks at least 1” apart from each other
 Keep your wicks trimmed on a regular basis. (We recommend Clean Cut™ Wick Trimmers) If a mushroom develops, extinguish, trim and re-light
 Multiple wick candles: The wicks/flames should be the same size as each other, for proper burning. We recommend Clean Cut™Wick Trimmers for ideal and most accurate trimming
 Most candles require more frequent wick trimming the closer it gets to the bottom
 Burn your candle evenly each and every time you light your candle. (Do not let liquefied wax go deeper than 1/2”)
 Keep your candle away from moisture
 Never leave a candle unattended
 Keep all debris out of the wax pool (We recommend Clean Cut™ Wick Trimmers to help with wick/carbon debris)
 Never place candles directly above, under, or next to flammable items or directly on furniture
 WARNING: Do not use hot plates or candle warmers with our candles, as they may cause the candle to overheat
 Most importantly, please use common sense when lighting and burning any candles. Candle fires are preventable and are typically caused by a lack of common sense. We don't want something enjoyable to become something damaging
 The lid is for decorative use only. Do not use your lid to snuff your candle. Simply blow out the candle before placing the lid on. (Or use Clean Cut™ Wick Dippers to extinguish your flame.)
 The band and handle are for decorative use only. Do not carry your candle by the handle. Hold and carry by the base. Never transport a lit candle.

Standard Melting Instructions for our Candle Bars™ & Buttons.

Your wax Melter will slowly melt the wax to emit the
fragrance from McCall’s Candle Bars™ & Buttons.

Maintenance / Changing-Out Wax

To change the wax from your Melter, turn the Melter on and let
the wax liquefy completely. Carefully pour wax back into your original plastic Candles Bars package or other disposable wax-safe container. Discard. Wipe out Melter bowl with dry paper towel.
Put in fresh McCall’s Candle Bars™ or Buttons.
~or~
Turn the Melter off and let the wax solidify completely. Then remove
the Melter bowl from the Melter and stick the
bowl in the freezer for a couple of hours. Remove bowl from freezer.
Wax should just fall out of the bowl. Discard.
Wipe out Melter bowl with dry paper towel.
Put in fresh McCall’s Candle Bars™ or Buttons.

Download our Burning Guide