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HomeSafeHome:  Candles  |
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jo Thompson
True Blue Farmgirl
603 Posts
Jo
the mountainside of the Chugach
in Alaska
USA
603 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 09:13:28 AM
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My outdoorsy husband is also a chemist by training, UAF Fairbanks, permafrost engineer father so he's kinda smart. He also did environmental air studies. WELL, I'm the queen of candles, love candles. I chat up the other evening, saying, oh gosh, we should probably use soybean candles instead......... his reply.
Soot is soot. He's filtered it, analyzed it, blah blah blah. The guy did his thesis on that stuff you get from temperature inversions! Explains sheets of carbon chains in great detail to me, the final word is, soot is soot, it's what you breathe in second hand smoke, it's what you breathe when you don't carefully open your wood stove door without venting it first. It's what you get when you burn candles, ANY kind of candles. Of course it helps when you don't quite add all the other stuff, and car exhaust and all that other stuff has alot of nasty chemicals in but it's still something you should not fill your lungs with on a daily basis. It's what causes lung cancer amongst other things.
We have some nice long dark days here in the winter, so this news was a little saddening to me. So, as much as I love candles, I may crack the door a bit more and cut back a bit, cuz soot is soot.
labfun in alaska
http://homepage.mac.com/thomja/Anchorage/PhotoAlbum14.html |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 09:19:39 AM
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My drafty old house probably helps in that regard. I love scented candles..especially in the fall and winter. I have been thinking about cutting back some too.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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katiedid
True Blue Farmgirl
601 Posts
Kate
West Jordan
Utah
USA
601 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 09:22:46 AM
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Thanks for the good info...
I have a child with asthma...I shouldn't be burning them at all. I thought a soy-based candle with a cotton wick was better, guess not.
I appreciate it..
Kate |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 12:29:36 PM
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I also heard recently that some scented candles are actually very toxic when burned and will even kill household pet birds. Anyone else heard anything about this? I tend to be the sceptic unless I can prove things, but this has caught my attention.
Di |
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Nancy Gartenman
True Blue Farmgirl
9092 Posts
Nancy
West Seneca
New York
USA
9092 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 12:31:58 PM
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YES, candles should not be burned around birds, have heard that many times.
NANCY JO |
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julia hayes
True Blue Farmgirl
1132 Posts
julia
medical lake
wa
USA
1132 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 1:04:50 PM
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I love my candles too, so this news is indeed disheartening. However, I will counter with the less measurable, less scientific aspects of pure enjoyment.. the joy one receives from having candles lit from time to time. The calming effects they have on the mind and body...I don't know how to apply standard deviations to such matters but I contend that there is a balance somewhere..Still, when I light my candles I will do so knowing fully the hazards and the benefits!
Here's to candle-light
Julia Hayes
being simple to simply be |
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Georgia
True Blue Farmgirl
92 Posts
Angie
ballwin
mo
USA
92 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 3:05:38 PM
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What about pure beeswax cancles, with cotton wicks? I haven't used them but I want to start using then. They are supposed to have a beautiful smell. But I think moderation in everything is a good Idea!
dreamer |
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Mumof3
True Blue Farmgirl
3890 Posts
Karin
Ellenwood
GA
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 3:33:03 PM
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How sad. I love candles. And the smellier the better! I will just have to crack a window.
Karin |
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Clockwood
Farmgirl at Heart
8 Posts
Carol
Buffalo
NY
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - Jul 24 2006 : 5:20:11 PM
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| Soot maybe soot...But you have to have something for light when the power goes out.... |
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therusticcottage
True Blue Farmgirl
4439 Posts
Kay
Vancouver
WA
USA
4439 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2006 : 10:42:03 AM
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If you love scented candles but don't want the soot then try one of those candle warmer plates. You get the scent but no flame. I have one and it works great. I like soy candles just because soy is a natural product -- but soot is soot.
I choose faith not fear.
Lotion bars, linen water & more in my online shop! http://therusticcottage.etsy.com
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jo Thompson
True Blue Farmgirl
603 Posts
Jo
the mountainside of the Chugach
in Alaska
USA
603 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2006 : 10:59:05 AM
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those warmer plates are really nice, I used to go through so many candles, but our homes are built so tight here, you know cold weather in Alaska we tend to rebreathe alot of the air. We have some lanterns for power outage instead of burning candles, It's very dark in the winter and we live on edge of the Chugach away from any city lights. Those oil vases with wicks are wonderful!! Another way to enjoy candles is by placing them in your fireplace so that the smoke actually vents up the chimney. If you group them, they are very pretty.
My husband told me his thesis was actually on Ice Fog particulates. I stand corrected. You should have heard the lecture on carbon chains!! I'm a nurse so we have quite the discussions!
I didn't mean to sound Preachy about candles, I definitely love them, but I think I burned them a little too much! I just think it's important to think about what you pour down the drain and into the air. We have a well, and so our water is our water, the air that we breathe is clean. It's just about caring about yourself, your family and the environment.
labfun in alaska
http://homepage.mac.com/thomja/Anchorage/PhotoAlbum14.html |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2006 : 1:20:24 PM
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I have one of those warmer plates (someone got it for me one Christmas) and I love using it with candles that have wicks that have fallen down in the wax..now I will remember to use it for other candles too. I especially love cinnamon scented candles and they go so well in the kitchen!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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Bridge
True Blue Farmgirl
814 Posts
Bridgette
Southern
Indiana
USA
814 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2006 : 1:25:42 PM
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I make all my own candles from Soy Wax, Essential oil, and hemp wicks.I do not add any color or additives.
Also a candle that gives off alot of soot does not have the correct proportion of ingredients (Wick,wax,scent,color,additive)
~~Bridge's Boutique~~
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santa_gertrudis_gal
True Blue Farmgirl
198 Posts
Kim
Groesbeck
Texas
USA
198 Posts |
Posted - Jul 26 2006 : 08:24:02 AM
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Jo's husband is so right! Soot is Soot! Some soot is worse then others by what is in the particulates, BUT all soot is bad for you to breath. I used to be a chemist in an environmental lab.
Ladies, look at your family tree....if your ansestors happened to live long lives then you probably will, too. Take for instance my husbands Great-grandmother, she passed away less then a year ago at the age of 105. For over 40 years of her life she lived without electricity. Imagine the soot she inhaled compared to us.
Burn the candles and don't worry so much.
Kim
Heaven is a day at the ranch with my Santa Gertrudis! |
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jo Thompson
True Blue Farmgirl
603 Posts
Jo
the mountainside of the Chugach
in Alaska
USA
603 Posts |
Posted - Jul 26 2006 : 10:15:08 AM
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Kim, my husband's grandfather just passed away at 105, I think he'll make it that far too, he's a total nut when it comes to environmental stuff. I told him he's going to have to probably go through a couple more wives to make it that far! I have a penchant for chocolate and everything else to boot! 
oh ps the farmed salmon guys, it's for Paul. All alaskans don't like the farmed salmon thing, they infest the other fish that are natural runs with sea lice, PLUS they're really ugly and nasty things raised in nets too close together.
"friends don't let friends eat farmed salmon"
http://homepage.mac.com/thomja/Anchorage/PhotoAlbum14.html |
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mommom
True Blue Farmgirl
854 Posts
Susan
Lancaster
Pennsylvania
USA
854 Posts |
Posted - Sep 03 2006 : 12:54:30 PM
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| I have a dear friend, age 48, who has lung cancer. She'd never smoked and neither has anyone in her house. I am a true believer in living a good healthy life, but life is short...and I really hope ya'll dance! Susan |
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katalind
True Blue Farmgirl
177 Posts
Kathy
Chapin
SC
USA
177 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2010 : 10:24:34 AM
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| I love burning candles, and in the autumn I burn them almost daily. For years every time I would burn a candle I'd get a sore throat and two years ago it got really bad. Comes out it's from artificially scented candles. I never associated my sore throat with the candles but after I got rid of them the problem went away. I can still burn candles but only soy or beeswax candles fragranced with natural essential oils. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22937 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22937 Posts |
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HomeSafeHome: Candles |
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Candles
