CANDLES: An Unlikely INDOOR AIR QUALITY VILLAIN

Great idea! My g.f is a yankee candle nut. I'm gonna have to check to see what yankee candle uses. There are enough pollutants outside. I don't need anymore inside of my home!

Lesley,

This is something I never considered in more than six decades.  Makes sense, though.

Mike in Tucson

Thats nuts!  I never heard of such a thing, I wonder how high the levels of these toxins are?

Soy or beeswax are how I roll.

I love candles, but you are so right.

Also the problem of 'ghosting' happens more with the cheapie candles...great post!

Lesley,

Thanks for posting this information. Indoor Air Quality is so important for our health. Many people do not realize that many of our illnesses are caused from poor air quality in our homes.

As others have already pointed out, many people have allergies that burning candles can aggravate. I would like to point out, that although soy candles are a good alternative, many people are sensitive to soy products. I have a relative that is hyper-allergic to soy. So use caution if expecting visitors.

As a Professional Home Inspector, I would like to offer this tip. If you are selling your home, please do not go overkill when using candles, air freshners or cleaning products. Other than the odors being offensive to some potential buyers, a good home inspector looks at this as a red flag. Whenever I enter a home, and am overwhelmed with unnatural odors, my first thought is "what are they trying to hide"? Burning candles can cause a condition called "ghosting", causing stains on walls and ceilings. Smoking contributes to ghosting. If there are causes of odors in the home, example pet urine, cigarette smoke, mildew, etc., correct the issue. Have the carpets/walls etc. professionally cleaned. Don't try to cover it up. The "pleasant" smells may help you get an offer on the home, but later as the freshners dissipate, the problem will become evident, and you could be placed in a precarious situation. As another above stated: a clean home has no odors.

Lesley - I've never given much thought to candle toxins before, but now I'm really glad I don't burn them. 

Thanks for that information.  That explains why the room in our home used by the previous owner as a massage / aroma therapy room had a gray ceiling instead of a white one. ugh!

Crum!  I burn candles all the time.  I know I have several soy based ones...  Thanks for the post.  I will check the "ingredients" next time I buy.

My goodness, everything can kill you if it is used wrong. Of all the problems we have in the world, I doubt very highly that candles in a home will greatly affect our lifespans. Here in the US we fret over child seats, venetian blind cords, seat belts, cell phone caused brain cancer, irradiated food, and everything else we can use to scare each other. I am not surprised there is not a study on the chlorine gas released from our toliet bowls, not to mention the methane I guess. Seems like we Americans have become scared of our own shadows lately. Here we have crooks going around scaring the 55+ residents by telling them there is a trace amount of arsenic in the county water. So of course, they offer to sell them a nice $7,000 water system to get rid of it, supposedly. Shameful.

I recently read a study by a well-known university that said the reason our young are so vulnerable to swine flu, asthma, peanuts, etc is because we started running around sterilizing everything the kids came into contact with. Many of use had the chickenpox, measles, mumps, etc and to add to that we are old. Yet we are not in a priority group for swine flu. Maybe too much protection is not a good thing. And it is a well proven fact that worry and anxiety definitely have negative health effects. Wish we just for a day stop coming up with something else to scare the public with.

However, while we fret over these least of issues, there are literally millions dying worldwide from gennocide or the lack of medications we can buy for a few cents over-the-counter. Yet we will spend billions to save a few lives (not a terrible thing for sure), but we forget that those billions could save millions of lives in other places. We should be grateful instead of sweating the small stuff and stop thinking that just because someone lives in another country they are worth a little less than we are. A mother losing a child is a mother losing a child. Hurts just as much everywhere.

So sorry guys. I quit smoking two years ago, if I want to light a candle and you do not want to visit me because of the horrible danger you feel it poses, So be it. Guess I am just willing to live dangerously in this respect. What a rebel I am! :) Would love to see a valid study that shows a clear connection between candle use and life expectancy. And I am not sure that burning a diesel engine in my living room is quite the same as burning a candle. Otherwise if I wanted to end it all, all I would have to do is light that bayberry candle mom gave me. No need to start up the car in the garage.

I have recently become a fan of flameless candles. They can be found at Costo in a 3-pack for around $19. They smell like vanilla candles (at this time they only offer vanilla) but they are battery operated. I like the candle ambiance and use them alot in my listings.

Oh no!  I am a candleaholic, I will have to get all new ones

There are two places for candles in a house.  Number one is on a birthday cake.  Number two is in the fireplace with the damper slightly open. 

Hello Lesley,

I love candles and had no idea about the toxins.  I will start buying soy candles and read the labels. I will also try your scented soup.  Thank you so much for your post.  I appreciate it.

Rita

Lesley -- This is excellent info.  Guess soy and beeswax is the way to go.  I have been in homes, especially around the holidays, where the 'scent' is choking.  I only buy scentless, but those can be bad also I am sure.  I need to look into those flameless candles.