As much as we love the elegant ambiance of traditional burning candles, are they actually safe? You might want to start considering some LED alternatives.
Candles have been around for over 5,000 years. For most of those years, they served as one of the main sources of light, but since the invention of the incandescent lamp, candles have taken on a variety of different purposes. From mood lighting, to emergency lighting, to ceremonial lighting, or even adding aroma to a room (and countless other uses), candles are still widely used in our everyday lives.
Are Traditional Burning Candles Safe?
Despite the myriad of uses for candles, we need to ask: Are candles safe? There are a few aspects of candles that have the potential to harm us.
Fire Hazard
The most obvious concern surrounding candles is that they are lit by fire, and this allows an unattended candle to potentially cause serious damage — even, in the most extreme cases, death. Most people who regularly use and enjoy candles are cognizant of this, but accidents happen. A child or pet could bump a table which could then tip over a candle, you could accidentally fall asleep while a candle is lit, or simply leaving the house when a candle is still burning because life happens could all have negative consequences.
Candles in Glass Jars and Other Containers
People don’t always think about the holders used for candles, but the type of container your candle is burning in can cause potential hazards. Most obvious, of course, are containers that are flammable; you typically won’t buy a candle from a store in a flammable container, but homemade candles might cross into this territory.
What you are likely to find in the store are glass containers, and while they aren’t flammable, they aren’t completely safe either. Glass containers can crack and break due to the heat from the flame, which can cause cuts as well as expose the flame to out-of-the-glass elements. This break typically happens when the glass is heated unevenly, such as when the wic is not centered or burns too long too closely to the glass.
Tea light containers can also pose a problem because the metal casing is short, and as the wax melts and evaporates, the wick gets longer and burns more intensely. This can cause damage to the outer containers, which — depending on the material of the container — can be flammable or shattered. Since people tend to be a little less careful of the holders they use for tea lights, paying more attention to the aesthetic they get from it — there are certainly problems that can arise.
Are Candles Toxic? Consider Indoor Air Pollution
While not as commonly thought of, another hazard that may come from candle use are the toxic chemicals that are released into the air when using burning candles. Those authentic looking candles scents could be harming you and your family with carcinogenic toxins. With this knowledge, it might be time to rethink the candles in your house and start looking at alternatives.
Non-Toxic and Safe Candle Alternatives: Flameless LED Candles
Even though candles are useful in many aspects of our lives, they just aren’t safe. Luckily, with the advancements of lighting over the last 100 years, there are plenty of alternatives to candles for whatever your needs might be — including realistic but flameless LED candles that replicate real wax candles.
Aside from replacing some of the very common candle shapes, sizes and styles, flameless LED candles are available in many other styles:
- LED Tea Lghts
- Tea lights are a crowd favorite as they have so many different uses, such as lighting jack-o-lanterns at halloween, lanterns for a party, table centerpieces, or just adding a little color to a room in a decorative candle holder. In addition to the safety hazards mentioned above, tea lights are also tricky to light, as they are typically in some kind of container that’s too tall or awkwardly shaped for you to easily light with a match or lighter.
- Now, you can get flameless LED tea lights, from budget-friendly ones with on/off switches to remote operated ones that can be turned on from afar. These are not only safer than regular tea lights, but they are easier and more convenient.
- LED Taper Candles
- For a romantic night dinner, elegant ambiance, and special ceremonies, taper candles are a must. These long candlesticks were most prized for their long-lasting nature for back when candles were a go-to for nightly lighting needs, but these days they are more for show. No matter your reason, you can find various battery-operated taper candles for whatever you need.
- Emergency Lighting
- Many of us always keep candles available for emergency-lighting situations, such as a power outage. But in an emergency situation, that last thing you want to do is add another hazardous element to the mix. Consider keeping extra flashlights and other battery-operated lights available in your emergency kit rather than candles. In most average power outages, you aren’t likely to kill the battery before the power comes back on. Keep extra batteries just in case a power outage does go extra long, and save candles as a last resort.
Candle Safety
For those who are candle loyalists and want to continue using candles in their house, it’s important to keep safety in mind for yourself and those in your household. The National Candle Association gives us a list of several candle safety tips to abide by, including:
- Always keep a burning candle within sight. Never leave it unattended in another room. If you need to leave a room, extinguish the candle, making sure the wick is no longer glowing.
- Never burn a candle on or near anything flammable.
- Never leave children or pets unattended in a room with a burning candle, and keep the candle out of their reach.
- Always burn candles in a well-ventilated room with good airflow.
- Always use containers/candle holders that are specifically meant for candles.
- Trim the wick to 1.4 inch before each use.
- Never burn a candle all the way to the end. If it’s coming close, extinguish and discontinue use.
If you love candles for room fragrance, consider getting a wax warmer. This is a great flameless alternative that can still be decorative and give the rooms in your house a pleasant smell. For any candles or wax warmers you decide to use, make sure to get toxin-free versions, such beeswax and soy, and ones with fragrances that are free of synthetic chemicals.
There are so many candle safety concerns, you might start to think twice about continuing candle use and begin thinking about incorporating alternatives in your life. But for those times that you just want to light a candle, keep safety at the forefront at all times and consider switching to flameless LED candles!
