How to Straighten Crooked Taper Candles

If your candles are stored in a warm place they might get soft. While they are soft the wax is bendable. When the wax cools it hardens again. If the candle bent while it was soft, it dries crooked. A crooked taper candle is more likely to burn unevenly and make a mess while it burns. Heat the candle slightly to straighten it before lighting.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Choose your heat source. You can warm the wax of your candles in the oven, in a pot of boiling water or using a hair blow dryer. If you are using the oven, you need an oven proof candle holder. If you want to use a pot of boiling water you need a rod or bar to go over the top of the pot.

2. Warm the wax. Set your oven at the lowest possible setting, under 180 degrees, put the candle into the oven proof candle holder and heat it in the warm oven for 2 to 5 minutes, if that is the method you choose to use. Tie the wick of the candle to the bar and dangle the candle into a pot of boiling water for that method. Or set your blow dry to low, hold the candle in your hand, and direct the warm air onto the wax.

3. Use your fingers to gently pull and straighten the candle when the wax is soft and pliable. Hold the candle in the straightened position until the wax cools and hardens.

Tips & Warnings

• Another way to straighten the candle is to use sunlight to warm the wax. This is a slower process. Hang your candle by tying the wick onto a pencil. Lay the pencil over the mouth of a vase that is taller than the candle. Allow the candle to hang inside the vase. Place the vase with the candle in a sunny area and wait for the wax to heat enough to straighten it.
• Do not over heat the wax or your candles will melt instead of turning pliable. Whichever heat source you use, only heat the wax for a few minutes.
• If you overheat the candles and the wax melts into liquid do not touch it. Melted wax is hot and can burn your fingers.