Quality
Distinguishing between good and bad candles based on appearance alone can be quite difficult. As a consumer, we are often led by the price. Meaning we tend to forget that cheap also often equals poor quality.
Recognize the quality of your candle
With the growing range of candles available, it is becoming increasingly difficult to choose a quality candle. Consumers regularly ask us how to distinguish a good candle from a bad one. From the look of the candle, it is hard to tell whether you have bought quality or not.
Spaas has an excellent reputation when it comes to the quality of candles. We believe it is important to offer products that meet the highest quality and safety standards. Check out some tips to recognise the quality of candles.
- Burn time
The packaging should state the burning time of the candle. The burn time is largely determined by the mixture and the wick. If these are well balanced, the candle will burn as it should. If they are not, the candle will not achieve its burning time.
The burn time is always an indication, it is rarely achieved exactly. Spaas calculates with a variation of about 10%.
- Size of the flame
The flame of the candle should be sufficiently large. Depending on the size of the candle, the ideal length is between 1 to 1.5cm. A flame that is too long often gets a sooty tail and causes the candle to burn out too quickly. A flame that is too small is predominantly blue and naturally creates little atmosphere and warmth.
- Soot
A quality candle should give off as little soot as possible. You see bad candles get a black soot tail to the flame. This turns the ceiling black and spreads too many soot particles in the room. Spaas therefore tests all his candles for soot emission in a lab.
Outdoor candles are an exception: these often have a thicker wick to prevent the candle from blowing out. Consequently, they emit more soot. If in doubt, read the icons on the label.
- Dripping
Household candles and pillar candles of good quality do not drip. This has the great advantage that your table or tablecloth will not get dirty. There is nothing more annoying than having to scrape or iron out candle wax from the tablecloth after a party. At Spaas, we strive to develop high-quality candles that don't drip. Moreover, candles that don't drip burn much longer.
Beware, placing a candle in front of an open window or fan causes dripping even with good candles.
- Candles in a glass
You find more and more candles in glass. Here, the candle surface should melt off evenly. If after about 3 hours only the middle of the surface has melted, you have a candle of inferior quality. A pitting forms in the candle, preventing the sides from melting away. As a result, part of the candle does not burn out. This often means that the candle does not reach the burn time (stated on the packaging) and you have therefore paid too much.
- Glass breakage
You sometimes hear that the glass of the candles jumps because of the heat. This should not happen. Glass must meet certain quality standards so that it does not break when heated. Under price pressure, some manufacturers sometimes choose unapproved glass. If a flame is held against the glass for too long, there is a chance that the glass will jump. The cradle plate should therefore not move when the candle wax melts completely.
- Scented candles
You can expect a scented candle to smell pleasant. If not, the perfume is of poor quality or the candle's mixture (the blend) contains a faulty component (e.g. petrol or heating oil). The perfume percentage in candles varies and says nothing about quality. Odour perception is, of course, subjective. However, it is normal that a better perfume or higher perfume percentage makes the candle more expensive. So be careful with cheap scented candles. When candles contain too much perfume, they can start sweating or crystals form in the candle, but this in itself has little effect on burning behaviour.
- Icons on the packaging
On all our Spaas candles, we put icons indicating how to burn the candle. We often get complaints because people do not respect the icons. So please read carefully the symbols put on the labels/packaging.
- Quality certificate
Spaas candles come with the internationally recognised BRC quality certificate. This certificate stands for high-quality and safe products that meet strict quality standards. To what do we owe this? We use only the best materials and a state-of-the-art manufacturing process to produce perfectly finished candles. When you choose Spaas' certified candles, you get only the best consistent and reliable quality.
The quality of Spaas
All our products are compared and tested in our laboratories. We ensure that the soot emissions, flame size and burn time of our candles comply with international and European standards. As for fragrances, the statements are on the packaging where necessary. Finally, our ISO 9001 certificate proves our achieved standards of our quality management system.
We appreciate your feedback
With our Spaas team, we are committed every day to bringing candles on the market that meet the highest quality and safety standards. Still have feedback about one of our products? If so, please leave your details below.