http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ Daily Kitten Chat Forum Topic: Warning About Gel Candles en Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:30:26 +0000 http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464667 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:46:29 +0000 HuddysMama 464667@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>LOL @ WWM. They DO smell better than any other candle I've ever smelled though, with the exception of the place here Burning Desires that MAKES their own candles on the premises. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464663 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:41:21 +0000 WillowandWindismom 464663@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>*GASP* "Yankee"?????? HM, what are we going to do with you. First you say that you don't like cornbread and now Yankees????? </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464659 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:33:08 +0000 HuddysMama 464659@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>I'll have to look, Kilroy. Thanks so much for that info. Hope I can find some I like.</p> <p>I like weird scents (my favorite is MidSummer's Night by Yankee). I don't like anything fruity or flowery or 'sweet' smelling. I know, I'm weird. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464649 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:25:37 +0000 Kilroy 464649@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>I just did a quick Google, HM, and it looks like they do make scented battery-powered candles. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464647 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:24:14 +0000 Vicki 464647@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Leeny, if there's a Michael's in your area, you may find the beeswax candle kits there; if not, you can order them (and a lot of other things bee, except the bees themselves) at GloryBee Foods (www.glorybeefoods.com). </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464644 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:17:02 +0000 HuddysMama 464644@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>I love the scent of candles though. I have the tealights that I burn, but even those are always scented. You can't get a scent from a battery candle. :( </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464641 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:11:02 +0000 WillowandWindismom 464641@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>It seems like I have read other warnings about the gel candles. Isn't the problem that they get so much hotter than wax?</p> <p>Those "fake" candles that have the little light in them are fantastic! My cousin gave us one last Christmas that even has a remote. How lazy is that? They're really good if there are little kids, or pets, around. All of the ambiance and none of the danger. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464636 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:00:56 +0000 HuddysMama 464636@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Monique gave me some gel candles for Christmas one year and they were absolutely beautiful. When I burned them one of them cracked right open, thank goodness it was sitting on a stone hearth at the time because it DID burn the gel. I threw them out and haven't had any since then. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464632 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:48:02 +0000 Karenopa 464632@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Wow OW this really is an eye opener. I had no idea these candles were so dangerous! Thank you so much and thank God you and your roommate are safe! </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464617 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:05:13 +0000 Sheba's Mom in Raleigh, NC 464617@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>No candles should be left unattended. I like the battery ones tht ShopNBC has---they are real wax, not plastic. They flicker and look real and of course can be left on all night or they even have a timer. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464578 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:03:25 +0000 Leeny 464578@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Those battery-powered candles are a good alternative, Ron. Some of the containers they come in even make them look like they're flickering.</p> <p>Deb's also absolutely right; lit candles of any kind should never be left unattended.</p> <p>Vicki, they used to sell beeswax sheets in craft stores around here, and it was fun and easy just to roll up candles. I can't find those sheets anymore, though.</p> <p>Now, here's a story about a different kind of gel candle hazard that my late mother-in-law experienced. H and I had given her one that looked like a fruit salad in juice, kind of like fruit cocktail in a clear jar. Well, she thought it was fruit salad, and tried to eat it. She knew something was wrong, though, when the spoon wouldn't go in.</p> <p>She just used that candle for decoration; she never lit it. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464454 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:31:13 +0000 Renee in Arkansas 464454@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Cindy liked to use the battery powered candles that you can get around the holidaies and you can also get battery powered lanterns that are a lot safer that anything that burns and should be safe for children also </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464431 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:31:05 +0000 JoanfromNewJersey 464431@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Thank you for the eye-opener, OW. I have a couple of gel candles, but my favorite ones are the Yankee candles - safer because the wick is contained in the glass, so you don't have the hazard in a breezy area that you do with a regular pillar and there's no open flame for kitty to get into trouble with. Biggest reason: they provide lots of light and since I live in the woods and the power goes out often, they are quite helpful. I never leave them unattended. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464426 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:09:16 +0000 sweetamy189 464426@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>hmm ok </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464425 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:03:52 +0000 AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew 464425@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>sweetamy189, doesn't always happen, like driving a car and the tire blows out, doesn't always happen but there is always a chance of it. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464423 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:55:25 +0000 sweetamy189 464423@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>i burned a gel candle and it didnt explode =/. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464420 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:50:06 +0000 owlwatcher_974 464420@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>When I get some money, I am going to get some of those solar lights for outside. Those would be wonderful to have in case of emergency. Thanks for the wonderful idea! </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464418 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:39:32 +0000 AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew 464418@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Kilroy, or even solar lights from outside, you can bring them in for emergency purposes and they are great because they last up to 8 hrs on a day's charge. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464415 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:33:36 +0000 Kilroy 464415@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>I agree with Deb - flashlights are the way to go! Glad you're safe, OW. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464413 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:21:15 +0000 AZDEBRA 5/27 & crew 464413@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>And not to be a naysayer, never ever, repeat never ever leave a candle burning unattended no matter if it is gel, wax or anything else! I have had two friends who lost their houses, all their belongings, and one lost her furry ones to fires caused by candles left in SAFE places and/or SAFE containers. </p> <p>Glad that you are safe though and all that happened was some cleanup that needs to be done. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464399 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:40:56 +0000 Vicki 464399@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>No gel candles for me. It just seems unnatural to burn gel. Besides, beeswax candles smell much better, since their scent is natural (honey) rather than synthetic. </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464394 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:34:36 +0000 beth 464394@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>ooh i have several gel candles ... won't be using those... </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464387 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:08:36 +0000 mollycat71 464387@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Thanks for that, I have several gel candles myself! Glad it wasn't more serious for yoU! </p> http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/topic/22476#post-464386 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:50:35 +0000 owlwatcher_974 464386@http://www.dailykitten.com/chat/ <p>Many of you may know this already, but I wanted to post this in case there is anybody who doesn't know how dangerous these candles can be.</p> <p>Last night the power went out and we had to use candles to light the house. We had lit a number of wax candles, and one gel candle that my aunt had bought me for Christmas a few years ago.</p> <p>When we went to bed, I wanted to keep at least one candle lit in the living room because I am not used to sleeping in a room that is completely dark. After considering all the places that Shiva might jump up on during the night, and the types of candles being used (housed in containers vs. standing on plates), I decided on the two candles - a wax candle the gel candle - that were on the shelves away from the areas where Shiva usually goes at night.</p> <p>The gel candle was a beautiful watermelon scented candle with butterflies and other decorative items in the gel. The glass that it was housed in was very thick, and I thought it would be able to withstand the heat. </p> <p>I was wrong.</p> <p>Early this morning I was awakened by my roommate rushing past me. The power was back on and the lights were all on. I was about to comment on this when I noticed that he was trying to put out the gel candle which had caught on fire! The entire top of the candle was burning. I told my roommate to take it into the kitchen, and he replied, "I can't!"</p> <p>That was when I went over to the shelf to see that the glass that housed the candle was broken and gel was leaking out everywhere. As I stood there wondering what to do, my roommate brought in a rag and tried to smother the flames. The fire quickly went out, but when he lifted the rag, the fire started right back up. He put the fire out again, and this time it stayed out. </p> <p>As the swamp cooler aired out the house (the living room and kitchen were filled with a smokey haze and the stench of the burning gel), I took a closer look at what had happened. It appeared that the candle had actually exploded. There was glass on the floor and on the shelf with the candle, and the gel from the candle had liquefied was leaking onto the shelves and the floor.</p> <p>If my roommate had not come in to the room when he did, it could have been so much worse!</p> <p>I did a search on "gel candle fire" and found the page on snopes.com that confirms that these candles can be dangerous and should not be used for more than an hour or two at a time. So, if you have gel candles, please be careful with them. They heat up a lot more that the wax candles do (my wax candle was also still burning this morning and it was much, much, cooler than the gel candle), and they can 'explode' and start a fire if left burning too long. </p>