How Do I Fix A Candle That Has Tunneled?

Picture this. You have started burning your new candle. You decide to burn it a second time and now the edges aren’t melting.

This is called candle tunneling and is caused by failure to burn for long enough on the first burn. You should always allow extra time on the first burn of a candle

(can be up to 4 hours) to ensure that the wax melts right across the top of the candle to the edges of the jar.

If your candle has tunneled, don’t worry – you may be able to save it!

First, you can use a hairdryer to heat the ring around the edges as the hot air will level out the melt pool.

Be careful not to crack the jar with the heat. It may be best to wave the hairdryer over the candle in a sweeping motion.

If this does not work, you can try the popular tinfoil method. Simply place tinfoil around the edges of the candle, covering the unmelted wax,

leaving a circle in the middle for the flame and smoke. The heat from the flame will reflect onto the foil and back into the wax around the edges causing it to melt.

Once the wax has liquified into an even melt pool, take away the tinfoil to avoid overheating. Be careful as the tin foil will be hot.

Finally, you can place your candle in a large hurricane style vase. The shape of the vase will allow heat to warm the edges of the

candle sufficiently to melt the wax. Again, once there is an even melt pool, allow the candle to harden and then remove the candle from the vase to avoid overheating.

If you are successful with one of these methods and manage to create an even melt pool,

ensure that future burns melt the wax to the edge of the candle jar to avoid tunneling being repeated.

If none of these methods work, the tunnel may be too deep to fix. Although this is frustrating,

please do not manually handle the wax using your hands or metal knives etc. Such action may cause further damage to your candle,

the candle jar or even to yourself.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our customer service team at contact@avamayfair.com who will be happy to help.