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Topic: Candle light dangers (Read 59 times) |
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Wildside
Senior Member
One who plants a garden plants happiness and hope.
Posts: 466
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Candle light dangers
« on: Dec 12th, 2003, 9:57am » |
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I use a lot of candle light as opposed to electric lamps and I love it! It's softer and puts me in a good mood. (What do the survivalists say is the first thing you should do when you are lost in the wilderness -- build a fire! It helps focus the mind.) However, I think since I've been promoting candle light, I should also point out it's downfalls!
DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!!!
1. Fire hazard! I tend to fall asleep with the candles going and have twice melted holes in our TV set using tea lights set in glass voltives. I don't use regular candles due to my nodding off, but tea lights that I know will burn out after about 4 hours of burning. I can usually time it so they burn out just as I'm falling to sleep. Luckily I found a stash of free ceramic tiles, so have put these under all my candles through out the house (I need about 10 candles going to effectively light the way in the evening without electric lights). And you really want to make sure the flame isn't getting near anything it could readily set on fire, through just the heat radiating outwards and upwards even! Be very careful! It's not worth saving $ here if you are going to burn the house down...
2. Oil candles/lanterns emit toxic fumes. I get a headache from them, so have decided they are a no go. So if you use them, make sure it is just for short periods of time and that you air out your house every day. Even scented candles are bad as often the scents are petrochemically based. Beeswax candles are best as they are natural and emit things that are actually healthy to humans (but sorry, can't tell you what those are off the top of my head)...
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Cheers, from my backyard to yours! --Wildside
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Anais
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Hi, Wildside...
Just was browsing thru the great postings this morning and read....
We love candles also! I am trying to use them more around the house for lighting. Great tips BTW!!!
I am concerned about toxic fumes (trying to save electricity but then poisioning yourself from hazardous fumes is not a good idea) I agree, everyone should be very careful what candles you buy.
When you say oil candles/lantrens emit toxic fumes, have you come across anything hazardous regarding OIL LAMPS that burn parrafin?
We just bought four glass wick lamps like the ones from http://www.lehmans.com along with crystal clean lamp oil that's 99% pure parraffin. Is this toxic?
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Wildside
Senior Member
One who plants a garden plants happiness and hope.
Posts: 466
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Re: Candle light dangers
« Reply #2 on: Dec 12th, 2003, 6:16pm » |
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 Sorry, Anais... I've been searching but haven't found anything that clearly states that parrafin is toxic. Others have just told me that burning all these candles wasn't a good idea because of the fumes and I did get headaches when I used candle oil (parrafin) last year. The parrafin wax in tealights doesn't seem to bother me in the least bit, but scented candles will as I seem to have a bit of chemical sensitivity to perfumes. Today I did see a blurb in my internet search that said parrafin may be carcinogenic, but no details and nothing to substantiate that claim. So I checked out some toxicology web sites and did a search on "parrafin" with zero result. (Is that good? Think so, but not sure...) Someone told me yesterday that they heard a doctor talking on TV about candles and toxic fumes this week, but I haven't been able to find any reference to it at all.
One thing I did find in this search this afternoon is a toxicology link that might prove fun and interesting (to someone with a more up to date computer!)... I'll post it under "Everday learning"...
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| « Last Edit: Dec 12th, 2003, 6:23pm by Wildside » |
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Cheers, from my backyard to yours! --Wildside
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Anais
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Wildside,
Thanks for posting the link and info. I, too haven't found an substantial evidence about the toxicity of paraffin.
I, too, have a terrible chemical sensitivity to scents... to things like artificial candles, potpourris, plug ins, cleaning products and more. Funny, the more I exclude these products from our lives, the more sensitive I become to any artificially scented products. I can’t even go into the beauty section of say, a dept store, as I get headaches and can’t stand the smell.
Keep up the great posts. I hope I can be able to join in more often.
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Wildside
Senior Member
One who plants a garden plants happiness and hope.
Posts: 466
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Re: Candle light dangers
« Reply #4 on: Dec 13th, 2003, 10:47am » |
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Thanks for sharing that about your chemical sensitivity, Anais! I do appreciate it as I sometimes really feel like an oddball. The perfume thing was a really big problem for me during my 9 to 5 years. I could sometimes even sense when a certain person had gotten off the elevator and was on their way to see me! Very hard to stay focussed and professional when you feel so physically agitated by their dousing of scent. I may miss the good steady income, but I really don't miss at all being cooped up with only office air and the perfume products and germs of 2000 other people to breathe!
Could we start another thread based on chemical sensitivity? A good idea, perhaps?
*****************************************
P.S. I didn't light my (usual four) candles this morning since I got up at 6 AM, quite a bit later than usual... I see it's now almost 8 AM and I cannot believe how dark it seems still. Candles really do help! 
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| « Last Edit: Dec 13th, 2003, 10:51am by Wildside » |
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Cheers, from my backyard to yours! --Wildside
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Wildside
Senior Member
One who plants a garden plants happiness and hope.
Posts: 466
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safe alternative to candle light
« Reply #5 on: Dec 14th, 2003, 12:19pm » |
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Idea gleaned from the frugal living web site @ about.com!
Here is an idea as a safe alternative to candle light, using a maximum of 7.5 watts (not living off the grid, but living less of the grid!):
Use night lights in any room in the house that is not in constant use (where using candle light might not be safe), but does need to get used periodically in the dark, like the bathroom. "Why turn on the overhead light unless you really need to?"
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Cheers, from my backyard to yours! --Wildside
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sbdmom
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I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
Posts: 25
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Re: Candle light dangers (long)
« Reply #6 on: Dec 17th, 2003, 12:06pm » |
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Hi
I used to make scented candles . Its a lot of fun..lol
but your right the paffafin and the scents can be irritating. I found this if your intersted in the subject.
http://www.epa.gov/ordntrnt/ORD/NRMRL/Publications/600R01001.htm
I want to say though handmade products and candles that are made in the U.S.A. have lead free wicks which help. really cheap dime store candles probably do not as they most likely are imported.
Another candle alternative which is sparking my interst is soy or vegtable based candles. They are a non toxic (yes you could even eat the wax if you wanted too), renewable energy source. and it is made mostly by farmers in the USA. It burns longer and can be cleaned up with soap and water. Its the hip ticket..lol
http://www.naturalights.com/hcostore/text_1.asp?
tx_id=63&
What ever you burn use common sense. I personally like to burn container candles. IF I happen to leave one burning the likelyhood of it lighting something on fire is smaller (provided the area around it was free and clear of clutter...lol)
One tip for burning votives....ALWAYS burn them in a holder first of all..but before you put them in the holder put about a teasthingy of water in the bottom that way when its time to take the candle out it should just pop right out.
Jamie
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Wildside
Senior Member
One who plants a garden plants happiness and hope.
Posts: 466
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Re: Candle light dangers
« Reply #7 on: Dec 17th, 2003, 7:44pm » |
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Thank you for all that info and tips re: candle burning, Jamie!
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Cheers, from my backyard to yours! --Wildside
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