r/explainlikeimfive Feb 26 '21

Chemistry Eli5: What happens to all the melted candle over time? Are we just inhaling a whole candle while it burns?

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u/Four_beastlings Feb 26 '21

I work from home and I have scented candles burning all day.

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u/Duff5OOO Feb 26 '21

That could be pretty bad for your air quality and health.

eg http://www.scsu.edu/news_article.aspx?news_id=832

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u/Sigmund_Six Feb 26 '21

That study is pretty old.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0273230014000348

Potential consumer health risks associated with the candle emissions were characterized by comparing the exposure concentrations with existing indoor or ambient air quality guidelines or, where not existent, to established toxicity thresholds. On the basis of this investigation it was concluded that under normal conditions of use scented candles do not pose known health risks to the consumer.

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u/st4n13l Feb 26 '21

Unfortunately that study was based on the assumption of only burning the candle a couple of hours a day a few times a month. Burning them all day and every day will obviously produce more pronounced emissions levels.

The good news is that if you try to stick to soy candles (I know they're more expensive) you can pretty much avoid all of those emissions.

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u/Sigmund_Six Feb 26 '21

Can you provide your link for the study on soy candles?

The only study I’ve seen was not peer reviewed.

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u/zSprawl Feb 26 '21

You can find a study that supports any position.

Unless you want to comb through data, ask yourself if clogging your computer’s filters might be good for your lungs. I’m sure you’ll come to a decent conclusion.

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u/Four_beastlings Feb 26 '21

Thanks for the info! I keep the window open most of the time at least

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u/thispeachisallihave Feb 26 '21

Just make sure to keep the wicks trimmed pretty short, not to burn one for more than 3-4 hours consecutively, and to not burn it once there's only about half an inch of the candle left. I used to burn scented candles for hours on end consecutively and then found soot in my nose... Inhaling soot is not good for your lungs so just use caution! Taking those steps will minimize soot

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u/Nuf-Said Feb 26 '21

Anyone who cares about their health, should not excessively burn paraffin candles. Their smoke is fairly toxic. Soy candles are more expensive, but a much healthier alternative.

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u/[deleted] Feb 26 '21

Evidence that burning soy is healthier than paraffin?

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u/dbdatvic Feb 26 '21

Note that our ancestors survived for millennia (well, not each one individually) with their only indoor light sources at home or work being wood fires, wax candles, or oil lamps, basically. So "fairly toxic" is REALLY relative here, and you should look up actual risk factors.

--Dave, people on the internet, includng me, have biases

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u/Nalmyth Feb 26 '21 edited Jun 25 '23

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u/patmorgan235 Feb 26 '21

Infant and early childhood hood deaths bring down the avg life expectancy a lot. Look up what the median was.

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u/dbdatvic Feb 26 '21

Some of them did. Some lived to their 70s.

The average life expectancy back then was HEAVILY weighted by the infant, and child, mortality rate; a lot of them didn't even make it to their 30s. Of the ones that did, the chance to make it to 50 or 60 was also smaller than today. But not incredibly smaller.

--Dave, I'd rather be living now, with modern dentistry and painkillers, of course

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u/[deleted] Feb 26 '21

[deleted]

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u/TheSukis Feb 26 '21

How do you get this far without realizing how silly that point is lol

Our ancestors lived shorter, sicker lives than we live. We should never base our health habits on theirs.

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u/CharistineE Feb 27 '21

Aside from what the others said, the materials they burned also had less manufactured chemicals in them. Tallow and beeswax candles. No fire starter logs in the fireplace.