Valentine’s Day is on the way. You might be planning to buy a scented candle at the local store to help set the mood. You wouldn’t be alone, if so. Roughly $2 billion in candles are sold in the U.S. each year. Unfortunately, though, studies have shown that scented candles actually can be bad for your health. That is why it could be a good idea to let go of the idea of using candles and consider some other lighting options like neon signs, which can be purchased from online stores (you can take a look at Neon Mama, which can be one option). The attention-grabbing display of neon lights can be far better than candles that emit toxic substances. Moreover, lighting candles inside a room could invite fire hazards, which neon signs would not. Anyway, if you are still not convinced about why you should not use candles, then you can read through the entire article to learn more about the subject matter.
The Study:
One study burned candles from a variety of manufactures in a sealed box and then collected air samples. They found that paraffin-based candles (most scented candles are parrafin-based) emitted toxic substances like benzene and toluene (both are carcinogens). This might not be surprising considering that paraffin wax is a petroleum by-product. No long-term studies have been conducted to test the effect of exposure of scented candles on human health, however the presence of these toxins is concerning. As the lead researcher said, “An occasional paraffin candle and its emissions will not likely affect you, but lighting many paraffin candles every day for years or lighting them frequently in an unventilated bathroom around a tub, for example, may cause problems.” This is concerning for the public, and it is recommended you try out different scented products instead, like reed diffusers from Little Miss Twiggie Twinkles, for creating a nice smell around your home. Whilst these candles probably won’t cause any direct problems, it’s worth noting that the substances the candles are releasing are dangerous chemicals. Toluene is a flammable chemical that is often stored in spill bunding to ensure that it doesn’t cause a risk to the health of workers in industrial settings. Normally, workers have to follow advice by Storemasta when handling these sorts of chemicals as they are so dangerous. Obviously, candles won’t have as much toluene in them, but it’s still concerning that they are releasing this chemical. People should really be careful when they are near candles. Toluene can be inhaled and can cause problems. Having said all this, there must be something else out there. Perhaps those who still wish to have aromas and scents around their home will find advice at the AromaTech blog for alternatives they could use.
Conclusion:
We wrote an article recently talking about similar problems associated with burning incense. So, that’s probably not a great replacement. Fortunately, the same study cited above tested beeswax and soy wax candles and neither were found to release toxic substances. So light up a beeswax candle and enjoy Valentine’s Day!
