Candles Affect on Your Indoor Air Quality

Posted in Air Quality, on July 25, 2016

Although candles are great decor for your house, and smell heavenly most of the time, the damage most candles do to your indoor air quality, makes it really not worth it. Lighting a scented or aromatherapy candle in your home can be compared to sitting on your cough and smoking a cigar, neither of them are good for your health or your air quality. It has been brought to the public’s eye that most scented candles that you can purchase from any common candle retailer actually emit pollutants such as benzene, styrene, toluene, acetone, and particulate matter. Those harmful pollutants actually can severely damage your indoor air quality every time you light your candle.

As scented and aromatherapy candles continue to gain popularity in the mainstream media, indoor air pollution as well as other illness that can be linked to air quality have increased by a staggering amount, making a lot of specialists question the true damage these candles have on our bodies and our air quality. When candles are not manufactured the right way, that is when the air quality problems start to happen.

Also a lot of candle wicks are not being manufactured using lead or hard metals, which when burned can be very harmful towards your health and your indoor air quality. There has been a lot of educational workshops over the years dedicated to educating people on the damage scented candles do to our health and air quality. As these candles continue to rise in popularity, it is now more important than ever to educate people on the real risks that are associated with these candles.

Although the smell of the candles are great, it is really not worth the damage it does to your air quality and your health. There are a lot of alternatives to scented candles, ones that are natural and have no real harm against your health or air quality. Candles made from beeswax or soy are a much better option, as they are more natural and no not contain the same type of wax that is harmful to the air and air quality.

If you do purchase a scented candles from a mainstream retailer, look for candles that only have one wick, as multiple wicks are more dangerous. Also cut the wick to 1/4 of an inch and ensure that the thickness of the candle is equal to the size of the wick.

When burning candles, try to look for candles that are made of hard wax, and try your best to avoid any candles with high aromas because they usually contain volatile aromatic hydrocarbons, which is really damaging to your air quality.

Also, while the candles burning try to avoid sending drafts onto the candles, which spreads the harmful chemicals around your house. Try not to exceed burning the candles for more than one house. The smell of the candle should linger for a while after you have blown it out, which is a plus because the danger to your air quality and health is eliminated but you still have the pleasant smell the candle gives off.

All in all, although candles smell great, they aren’t worth the risk, and natural options are always better for your health and for your air quality.