Many thanks to Stephanie in AR, who left a comment after reading my last post about buying stuff little by little, including a scented candle. Hopefully she will not mind my reprinting the comment here, because it is pertinent information that could benefit anyone in possession of such candles:
"Please remember that scented candles are only good for lighting for a short time - usually 3 hours or less. Not because they don't stay lit, they will but because of the scent. Too much - both from too many or too long of burning - can make you very sick.
We did not know this & neither did our friends. During an ice storm (not this one) our friends relied heavily on her scented candles for lighting, leaving the very large ones lit in the bathroom for a 'nightlight'. They became very sick, esp. the smallest (not youngest). The Dr. said it was due to the scenting agents. Who knew?"
Scented candles are fine - they make the place smell better & brighten our mood, but only is bursts."
For our 72-hour kits, we have flashlights, which we prefer anyway, but we have some candles stocked from many years ago, because we just don't use them that often. They are for true emergencies, and I had heard something about scented candles not being ideal, but this information puts things in a whole new light. (No pun intended. :) You don't need preventable illness on top of an emergency.
If you haven't seen me mention before that I learn a lot from comments, and greatly appreciate them, here is a case in point. Thanks, Stephanie!!
6 comments:
Thanks for posting this! Very useful information and I'm glad you decided to share. When we go out to the Home Place, we always use candles in the evenings. I unintentionally bought unscented ones from Ikea when we still lived in Houston, and now I'm glad I did.
Ginger--I'm very glad to have this information before I had any problems as well--it's great how much you can learn from other people...I'll just have to keep this in mind when burning the few scented ones I have--good call at Ikea! :) Thanks for your comment!
You are very welcome. That was our first big ice storm & the first in a long while for the area. Many other people made the same mistake, her family was hit harder because her girls were very very petite & the enclosed bathroom space. I wonder if the dragginess that people think is part of having no lights isn't just a bit of unrecognized scenting sickness. Maybe natural scents would work but it is just easier to go with unscented.
Stephanie--I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people benefit from this information, and one of the good things is that people don't have to absolutely dispose of all the scented candles they have, just be careful with them. I agree that it would be easier not to have to worry about it and just go with the unscented candles--thanks again!
I have asthma and cannot tolerate scented candles for any length of time. Even burning an unscented candle is problematic, but scented are far worse. We still have unscented candles on hand but try to get by with battery operated and/or wind-up flashlights and lanterns.
Anonymous--Thanks for bringing up a situation where candles, even unscented, are not the best option. You may have helped someone with the same condition who doesn't use candles regularly to consider what their options are--thanks very much for your comment!
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