to make our home candle free over air quality concerns

[toriuk]

Dp loves candles, but I've always thought they are not good with all that black smoke. We have cut down a lot, but aibu to just get rid of them all?

I hear that beeswax candles are safe, but a pack of 6 tea lights costs 5, so no way can we afford that.

I think if you drive a car or live in the same country as other car drivers, then a few candles are the least of your problems where air quality is concerned.

Why don't you just not burn candles if you're that worried about air quality?

Why are you looking for less firey fire when no fire would be even better?

This is true. That fiery fire is dangerous stuff.

There are cars near me, but I don't let any of them run the exhaust in my house.

To be fair we are all having a bit of a chuckle at your expense. But the truth is that the impact of candles on your health is negligible. Particularly if you for example live in a city and walk along the streets breathing fumes, travel on the tube breathing dirt etc, drive a car (you will breath fumes through the windows and fans), have an open fire or sit in a pub or restaurant that has one, go to a bonfire party etc.

I can understand your thought process though.

The generally accepted guidance is that popular opinion about soy candles being better than paraffin candles is incorrect and arose from a marketing ploy. Soy is heavily processed to be made into candles and oil is just as natural a material as soy. The paraffin used is food grade (meaning it is so safe that you can eat it). It is the same stuff as is used on cheese. Both types of candle will release carbon and water when burned. The difference in soot and smoke is purely down to wick length.

Beeswax is no different (and actually there are negative consequences of harvesting beeswax).

If you want to minimise the health impact of your candles go for those scented with essential oils rather than synthetic perfumes and go for candles that haven't been coloured. The research I posted was about soot and air quality and didn't look at the differing impact of things that are added to the candles.

Well I have a wood burner. But there is lots of evidence that humans cope with wood fire fine as we have been using them for thousands of years unlike petrol chemicals \ diesel.

I used to live off the Marylebone road (one of the most polluted places is Europe) and now live out in the country and get very unwell when I go back to London. Anyway I'm buying led candles, do would often light dozens each night in the winter.

Well if that makes you feel better then that's a good thing (but your wood burner is no different to your candles - it produces carbon and water)

OK I was all 'dude, just don't worry, it's ok, I understand, but it's ok' until you got to the wood burner and now I'm sorry I'm just laughing.

Well no the wood burner burns wood not petrol chemicals.

Sell your house on the north circular and I'll sell you a yurt in my garden

you do know that paraffin is made from oil (mainly dead plants)?

Isn't that dead over millions of years and put under extreme pressure?

Not the same as the beautiful leaves that just fell off my black fig tree

More About Paraffin Toxicity

Paraffin is a byproduct of petroleum, a non-renewable resource. And while it might seem obvious to some, many people don’t realize that inhaling the fumes from paraffin candles is not good for your health. According to a study done at South Carolina State University in 2009, the chemicals found in the fumes of paraffin candles are linked to cancer, birth defects, and such respiratory ailments as asthma––especially when there are many of them burning in enclosed, unventilated spaces like restaurants, churches, or a room in your home.
After it’s scraped out of oil refineries, paraffin wax is usually: bleached by adding dioxin; texturized with acrolyn (a known carcinogen); and then mixed with animal-based stearic acid (a nasty byproduct of the meatpacking slaughterhouses) to harden it so that it can be made into candles. When paraffin candles burn, they emit black soot and toxic fumes—similar in chemistry to diesel exhaust—containing poisonous chemicals such as benzene, toluene, naphthalene, tri-decane, tetra-decane, penta-decane, and hexadecane. Unfortunately, the FDA doesn’t require candle makers to list the ingredients in candles, so you never really know what you’re burning.

I give up.

Both wood and candles release carbon and water when burned.

Your wood burner releases far more soot into the air each night (which seem to be your initial concern) than your DH's candles could ever release in a month.

If you have a concern about chemicals then use candles that are not scented or coloured. The paraffin isn't a problem, its food grade paraffin. You could chomp on that candle if the zombies came (although it wouldn't do you any good nutritionally).

If you have a concern about chemicals I'd also eliminate all plastic products from your house and empty your cupboards of cleaning products, beauty products etc etc

Your logic is flawed so much that it doesn't seem worth explaining anymore.

I have eliminated all cleaning and beauty products in my house.

How is my logic floored? Burning wood and burning oil releases different things no?

anyway I'm buying led candles, do would often light dozens each night in the winter.

So you would rather use batteries which are a disaster in landfill and are difficult to recycle then? Not to mention all the plastics involved in making LED candles.
So long as your house looks pretty and your children aren't breathing in nasty smoke the environment can go to fuck.

*btw I am not of the knit your own yoghurt brigade but I do think that the 'think of the children' argument is flawed if you are going to use something far more environmentally damaging.

Your quote is from "natural candles.com". They sell soy wax candles……

Enough said.

No because I would never put electrics into landfill, I would recycle appropriately.

BTW please don't eat paraffin people, that was a joke.

You witch, I've just eaten a kiwi tea light

I have enjoyed this thread :o

If your DH loves candles, why not buy him one very lovely one? The Jo Malone ones are very expensive, but they do burn very slowly and last for ages. The scents last a long time but are natural and not overpowering. So I think if you love candles they are ok value as one would be enough, and would therefore minimise your carbon consumption which will be negligible when compared with the wood burner emissions anyway

I can recommend the wild pear and freesia one, it's yummy. I light mine infrequently but it's a nice treat.

Do you know how electronics are recycled?

Do you know btw that you can burn oranges? Scoop out the flesh, let it dry and leave the pith (and the big middle bit of pith) and it will burn.

www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Candle-out-of-an-Orange