HELP! Tea light scorch mark in an Air BnB!

[QuimReaper]

I'm staying in a beautiful Air BnB. Last night I lit a few candles, and this morning when tidying up I noticed one has left a black circle on the surface. Argh!

After a quick Google I've squeezed some white toothpaste on it, any other tips?

I assume the OP home only has surfaces and furniture made of galvanised steel

What a strange thing to take away with you.

@BruceAndNosh asbestos

Hot metal, shiny plastic surface.

Nothing will get that off OP. Whatever you do, tell them and leave a good review.

Tell them you've done it and ask how much they need you to pay to put it right.

Just own up. Look on the bright side - you now understand how hot tea lights are. Hopefully this will make you more sensible in future and avoid something more serious happening.

Well it's done now, fess up, and when you get home please buy some tea light holders or you'll have a fire on your hands. They're not even expensive!

Please tell the owners, so that they can put it right. Please don't take candles anywhere other than your own home again, blinking heck.

I know you have had a spanking so I shan't press the issue further.

Wow. You don't put tea lights in holders at home either? It's simple physics. Metal casing is a conductor of heat.

You've been incredibly lucky you haven't had a house fire by now. It's super dangerous and I suggest you use them properly or not at all.

Re the air b&b you are best confessing straight away.

Deary me. I struggle to believe any adult doesn’t know to put tea lights in holders. My 3 year old could tell you that!

Suggest apologising profusely to the owner and offering to pay to replace the unit.

Oh dear. Send an email to the owner asap and see what they say.

They're going to bill you.

On all tealight packs it says not to put them directly onto wood, plastic, or painted surfaces - because the metal cup gets hot enough to burn.

Agree with above poster but just to add only put them on a coaster if it's made of non combustible material, coasters made of wood or plastic are a fire risk.
Also OP never ever put candles on a TV, it's a serious fire risk (not so common now TVs are more streamlined).

You lit a tealight...not in a holder? And put it on someone else's surface?!

You're lucky you didn't burn the house down, and I seriously think you need to consider how well you risk assess!

Well I can tell you what will happen.

the host will put in a damage claim to Airbnb and Airbnb will charge your payment card for the damage.

if the piece of furniture isn’t reparable it’s likely you will be charged to replace it.
so it’s an expensive mistake to make.

do you have travel insurance?

People die in house fires because of this. Hopefully you will never do this again. The owner could have lost their property and you could have lost yoir lives

Try bar keepers friend. It’s magic. Good luck x

I don’t like candles. I know someone, who was in a fire caused by them using candles. They were very lucky to survive. The furniture is a small price to pay tbh to know that you should protect yourself better.

I remember the fire brigade doing a video about the danger of putting a tealight directly on a surface.

It melted the surface it was placed on and the whole room was in flames within a short space of time.

It is so dangerous. You should always use a holder as the metal heats up to a really high temperature

OP you say you do this all the time, so you're very lucky you've never caused any damage / had a fire before now. This is an expensive lesson learned, I'm afraid.

If you are that desperate for flickering lights you can’t actually see by then get the little battery ones, you don’t sound the sort of person who cares about plastic and chemical waste in landfill so they will be perfect for you.

This is almost as stupid as the woman who called her sister to complain that her gift was rubbish because the wax disappeared. She didnt realise that when you light a candle, the wax is the fuel and gets used up. She thought the cancel should just last forever.

This is like that. Who lights a tea light without using a holder?

you don’t sound the sort of person who cares about plastic and chemical waste in landfill so they will be perfect for you.

Mumsnet has become so weird

She didnt realise that when you light a candle, the wax is the fuel and gets used up. She thought the cancel should just last forever. This is like that.

I don't think this is very much like that

Why did you take tealights to use in someone else's property? You are genuinely lucky that all you caused was a scorch mark.

Contact the host now and be honest, apologise, and be prepared to pay the damages. The host can do this directly with you if they choose to, or via Airbnb. I'd expect to pay to replace the peice of furniture.