Can I Ever Leave Melting Wax Unattended?

Question: Can I Ever Leave Melting Wax Unattended?

Vicki from Amity, Oregon wrote in with more of an answer than a question, or rather an answer to the question that I've posed several times when we were discussing candle making safety - "Is it ever safe to leave melting wax unattended...and just what do they mean by "unattended"?"

Answer: Here's Vicki's story:

In reading your candle making safety article, I notice you mention never to leave melting wax unattended. Here's a real life story to pass on if you would like.

In 1958, when I was in the 4th grade, we had a teacher who was teaching us to make candles. Her apartment was attached to the school, a mere 1000 foot walk from the classroom to the back door, and another 1000 feet to the front door of her apartment. She was going back and forth often checking on her melting wax. She was very new to candle making, and was melting the wax in a pan directly on her kitchen range burner. She taught us all a very valuable lesson that day, as abut the 3rd time she went to check on it, she discovered it had caught fire, burned her unit down and badly damaged both units beside hers! She lost everything that day, and we lost one of the best teachers we had ever had. We also had to smell the burned apartment for weeks afterward, as it permeated the school and surrounding area. To walk to and from school I had to walk beside it, so it was a constant reminder every day. I have never had the desire to make candles, until now, due to the harsh lesson we learned from her. After making soap for about 12 years, now and chocolates for the past 2 months, I think I am ready to gather the supplies I have had for some time, and actually put them to use, and make candles! Several things I will never do are:

1. Never leave the candle wax melting while I am in another room, on the phone, talking to others, or otherwise distracted. NO PHONE CALLS FOR ME, PERIOD!
2. NEVER melt wax directly over a burner!
3. As with soap making and candy making, ban kids, pets and others from the project area, for safety.

Thank you so much Vicki for that story! I think sometimes it really helps to understand that real accidents happen to real people sometimes when we don't follow standard safety practices.

If you have a candle making safety story...or a candle making safety tip, share it with us!

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Mailbag Monday is a feature on the site where I share readers' questions and the answers. You can ask questions about candle making, soap making, or any of the related crafts that we engage in. Just email me with "Mailbag Monday" in the subject line.