I am always amazed at how often I see candles in homes during inspections.
Everyone loves candles—I have a few around the house for emergencies myself.
Burning scented candles, or burning candles for romance is probably not the best practice in the indoor environment. Candles can be a significant contributor to poor indoor air quality and evidence of the soot candles can produce is quite common.
The worst way to burn candles is deep inside a glass jar---as this makes them burn dirtier than if they burn in free air. Some candles also burn cleaner in general than others do. Scented candles add another layer to the poor indoor air quality that can be the result.
Here is a typical guilty party on the top of a toilet tank.
---with the very typical staining above the light bulbs above the sink.
The soot is also obvious on the wall above the heater.
In both cases the warm stream of air draws the soot upwards depositing the soot on the wall surfaces and ceiling.
This IR picture pretty much shows the area of staining consistent with the colors of the image.
Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle
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