You no doubt know this: you have lit your newly purchased (scented) candle, and when you extinguish it after an hour or so you find a moment later that there is some kind of crater in the wax. Such a shame… And most of all: how did that happen anyway?

Well, the explanation for this is simple. The candle did not burn long enough. Very important: always make sure that the top layer of wax is completely liquid before you extinguish a candle. Because otherwise, this will create a hole, a so-called tunnel. And you will not get rid of this problem, the candle will continue to show a hole even in the next burnings.

Well, there is possibly a solution. Suppose you have to leave urgently and you have to extinguish the candle prematurely, with the unfortunate result of a crater. Then you can cut away the raised edge of the wax so that the surface is even again. This is a bit of a waste, though, because by cutting away wax you obviously shorten the lifespan of a candle.

But here’s a second tip. Take a hair dryer, put it on the hottest setting. And then let the hair dryer blow wax on the raised edge. Best from a distance, otherwise you will get splattered wax. But normally that edge will liquefy again and you can fill the hole in the candle with hot wax. However, this is not possible if the hole is already too deep.

Anyway, it is of course much more convenient and better to make sure that a candle burns until the entire surface of the wax is liquid in the first place. That way you will enjoy your (scented) candle to the fullest.