Candle Soot: Is Candle Burning Healthy?

An "emerging" indoor air pollutant is soot from candles.

The "discovery" of sooting in homes from candle burning has accompanied the growth of a multi-billion dollar business. Defenders like to point out that candles have been around for a long time and nobody complained before.

Not so fast.

Since before recorded history, humans have lived near fire.

In medieval times, laws were passed requiring high ceilings and tall windows in new buildings. This was because smoke and soot, built up near the ceiling, and had to be exhausted through windows. It wasn't called the "dark ages" for nothing.

The fact that our ancestors used candles is scant evidence of their safety. Only about one hundred years ago whole families would cluster around the light of a candle.

If company came they lit a second.

Despite the availability of electric lights, most homes have at least one candle. Everyone should have an emergency light source, but modern candles have gone far beyond that.

Yesterday's light source has been changed into a romantic and festive mood-setter by marketing muscle. Can you guess what industry needs to unload tons of petroleum base products, waxes and paraffins, after light distillates are piped away?

Uh-huh, Big Oil.

Studies show the marketing barrage has worked. In one survey, 96% of female respondents had made a candle purchase in the most recent year. Now that other forms of "romantic" lighting are available, we can just say no to routine candle burning indoors.

Incandescent Carbon

Fire is invisible to the naked eye. It is just heat created by a chemical reaction. The light we see as flame is the luminescence of carbon particles which are very hot but do not burn completely. Non-combustible carbon atoms are released, rising into the air. These combine to become sooty particles made of thousands of carbon atoms. In the hot flame these particles are incandescent and glow, giving the flame its yellowish-white color.

As the particles rise, they cool and stop glowing, they are now black candle soot.

Dirty Laundry

Airborne soot particles eventually collide with other particles, combining into larger particles. Particles of soot have a positive charge which causes them to clump together around negatively charged airborne particles. This flocculation creates a snowball effect: the resulting charged clumps stick by electrostatic attraction to everything.

Soot attaches to furniture, walls, and drapes. It is this soot which causes the ionizer air purifier's "black wall effect." Carpets slowly change to a darker color. A/C ducts become lined with soot.

Soot is difficult to clean with normal household detergents. Good luck getting your electrostatic air purifier collector plates clean after the candles go out.

Candle Soot Damage

Homeowners have received some real shocks when they got the cleanup charges for the damage candles cause. Environmental damage disclosure standards which must be met for real estate financing are on the horizon.

Candle soot analysis by professional engineers is employed more often in property appraisal and litigation. Heating and air conditioning companies have successfully defended furnace failure lawsuits on the grounds that the homeowner used candles.
Of course candles are not the only soot source; fireplaces, gas appliances, smokers, and other particulates are sometimes present. Frying raises oils above their smoke generating temperatures.

But many who would work to exclude these dangers will unknowingly accept the "romantic" mood setting, festive candle.

Aromatherapy is In

Aromatherapy candles have recently gained popularity. These disperse scent chemicals in addition to black soot. That "fresh" smell comes from volatile oil added to the wax.

Stronger scents come from higher concentrations of oil in the air. Fragrance oils are unsaturated hydrocarbons which soften the wax so that it doesn't burn as hot. Cooler burning produces more soot.

As a candle in a jar burns down inside the container, oxygen, needed for a clean flame, is reduced.

Candle Soot and Health

Workplace soot exposure is associated with respiratory disease.

The winter months, while homes are closed against the weather, see the highest candle consumption.

Candle soot has a chemical composition similar to diesel engine exhaust! Soot from candles is .06-.1 micron in diameter.

These particles are deep lung penetrators. Particles of this size class can go right through home air conditioner filters. Soots' tiny carbon core acts as a carrier for many types of toxic molecules.

Studies have found candles emit low levels of toxic substances such as toluene, acetone, mercury, benzene, and styrene.

The Environmental Protection Agency tested a random group of over 30 candles and found 20 Volatile Organic Chemicals.

Toxic Wicks

Metal core wicks, formerly made from Lead, have not been made in America since 1974. Metal core wicks spread particles through the home. Carpets, where pets and children hang out, accumulate soot and metal.

There are no standards or labeling requirements, so imported candles may still have metal wicks. Most U.S. made candles now have cotton wicks, though a few zinc-core wicks persist.

Candles are a leading cause of home fires and fatalities.

A new business has emerged offering beeswax or soy-based alternatives. While these may be preferable to older candles, persons with asthma, allergy, MCS, or respiratory problems are advised to remove all burning from the home.

Softer candles outgas toxic chemicals while they are just sitting around waiting to burn.

For better health eliminate all combustion sources, nothing should burn inside a home.

I know a few people are calling me "Grinch", a nasty party pooper. Of course, birthday cakes with candles are an exception, just let the child blow them out after a minute and ventilate the room. Why not recycle the same birthday candles next year?