How To Fix Candle Tunneling
Updated by Sydney Bollinger
Lighting a candle can immediately change the vibe of a room, and because these mood-boosting vessels come in all different shapes, sizes, colors, and scents, it’s easy to find a candle that will please anyone and fit their personal aesthetic. I know that I love discovering new candles and finding fresh scents that resonate with my space and current mood. Smoky, musky, or wintery scents are perfect to achieve the much-loved feeling of hygge . Sometimes, though, it’s nice to have a clean, floral, or botanical scent to really brighten up a room .
While most often you can light-it-and-forget-it, there are times when your candle seems to rebel against you. Whether that means you have a persnickety wick or your candle is tunneling, problems can arise with your favorite household vibe-setting item. This is always so disheartening, especially because when your candle tunnels, you may not be able to get full use out of your (potentially pricey) purchase, leading to feelings of having wasted money.
Luckily, learning how to fix candle tunneling is fairly simple. First, though, we should understand what exactly candle tunneling is and why it happens.
What is candle tunneling?
Candle tunneling is when a candle burns through the center but doesn’t melt the wax around the outside. When you look at a tunneled candle, you’ll see a funnel-like shape with distinct wax “cliffs” around the sides. These cliffs, or edges, represent every time your candle was lit. As you continue to burn a candle that is tunneling, the tunneling will only get worse. Often candle tunneling is caused by poor candle care, burn times that are too short, or short wicks. Wax has a “memory” of sorts, which means that newly softened wax is much easier to melt than wax that has never melted before. If you have never-melted wax, it’s less likely to soften the next time you light your candle, meaning the “cliffs” of your candle will forever be less likely to melt and the central tunneling of the previously softened wax will only deepen.
When you notice tunneling happening, you’ll want to take action to fix it ASAP because it can impact the life of your candle. If the “tunnel” begins to melt too aggressively, it could squash your candle flame. Candle tunneling also greatly reduces the burn time of a candle because the wick grows shorter as you continue to use the candle.
How can I fix candle tunneling?
Fixing candle tunneling can be daunting because of the frustration it causes if your chosen method isn’t really working. One of the best methods I learned at a candle-making workshop is to wrap the edges of the candle in aluminum foil . There is some strategy to this. You’ll want to make sure the aluminum foil hangs over the edge inside the candle, so that when you look down at the candle from the top, it covers the wax stuck to the sides.
Then, you’ll just light the candle like normal and let it burn. Since you have aluminum foil around the outside, you will need to make sure that the candle has enough “space” to burn properly. When you do this, the wax on the sides will melt and voila! your candle is fixed.
If your tunneled candle is nearly burned down completely, this method may be risky because the wax could melt and cover the wick. Be sure to keep an eye on the candle and check on the wick. You might even need to replace your candle’s wick if your candle has some serious tunneling.
How to prevent candle tunneling
The good thing is that candle tunneling is easy to prevent—if you know the right candle care tips.
One of the best ways to prevent candle tunneling is to do a long inaugural burn of the candle so that it burns evenly from the start. You’ll want to burn it long enough that the entire top of the candle is a pool wax with no remaining non-melted wax on the sides. This may take some planning: you’ll want to make sure that you have enough time for a full burn, which can take two or three hours depending on the size of your candle.
During your following burns, the wax of your candle (all of it!) should melt easier, thus preventing candle tunneling. Still, you’ll want to make sure that you're able to do a good, long burn each time you light your candle.
Goodbye, tunneling!
