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How
to Troubleshoot Wick Mushrooming.
Wick
Mushrooming
Wick mushrooming is a problem that arises when the wax in a candle burns
faster than the wick. The result is usually a curled, blackened bit of
excess wick that does not burn completely, and hangs like a charred ball
over the candle. A small amount of mushrooming is generally not a
problem, but excessive mushrooming can cause your candle to smoke as the
burning wick catches up to the fuel (wax), and even drip burnt pieces of
wick into your melt pool.
The most common cause of wick mushrooming is using a wick that is too
large for the candle. To rule out the wick as the source of the problem,
simply go down a size in wick on your next poor and try again. Continue
to decrease the wick size until your wicks no longer mushroom or until
your melt pool is too small for the candle (un-burnt wax around the
edges of the candle). If your melt pool gets too small or shows other
symptoms of a too-small wick, go back to the last smallest wick that
burned properly.
If after finding the smallest wick that works for your candle, you still
have mushrooming, you should begin investigating whether or not your
candle has more added oil than it can handle. Generally, this means
fragrance oils, colorants, and oil-based additives (shortening or
petrolatum). Begin with one of these factors at a time, and re-pour,
reducing the amount of the chosen additive (such as a single fragrance),
until you have none. Once you have none of the additive in the candle,
you can rule it out as the cause. After the wick, fragrance is the most
likely culprit of the four, but work your way down the list until you
find which one is causing your mushrooming problems.
As always, when troubleshooting, keep precise records of each and every
pour to help you compare each effort.
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