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. Contine to decrease the wick size until your wicks no longer mushroom or until your melt pool is too small for the candle (unburnt 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 repour, 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. |