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they produce soot As my bathroom walls can attest to. It took a long time to clean that up. I don't use candles for scent any more. Now I just keep them as

they produce soot As my bathroom walls can attest to. It took a long time to clean that up. I don't use candles for scent any more. Now I just keep them as one of many sources of emergency light and heat.

dsfyu404ed 4y ago
The chemical alternatives don't exactly give me confidence (though who really knows what's in a modern candle?). At least candles are a known-known even if non-optimal.
- idopmstuff 4y ago
  I have something like this: https://www.amazon.com/ElusiaKa-Ceramic-Electric-Fragrance-Aromatherapy/dp/B09BVR2Q9N/ https://www.amazon.com/ElusiaKa-Ceramic-Electric-Fragrance-A... Melts the wax and gives you that lovely smell without any fire. The wax also lasts much longer in one of these than in candle form.
  - LinuxBender 4y ago
    I may try one of those. My local grocery store has a few of them. Are they hard to clean?
    - tylergetsay 4y ago
      If it's purely ceramic and not painted, plop it in the freezer for a little bit then all the old wax comes out as a puck; no cleaning needed
      - LinuxBender 4y ago
        That is perfect. I will look for the ceramic non painted ones.
- themitigating 4y ago
  Electric light bulbs
- rsynnott 4y ago
  I mean, cooking with wood fires is a known-known and we've been doing it forever... but it's the biggest cause of death by air pollution.
  - tnorthcutt 4y ago
    Even bigger than pollution from e.g. burning coal/oil/etc.?
    - rsynnott 4y ago
      Surprisingly, yes, by many metrics. Per the WHO, 3.2 million people/year, mostly poorly ventilated wood or other biomass, mostly poor countries: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-a... _Overall_, outdoor air pollution (coal/oil/industrial effluent/etc) kills more (about 4.2 million) but in terms of single worst cause, cooking with biomass seems to be it. Even in many rich countries, wood (generally burned for heat, not cooking, in the rich world) is one of the biggest sources of particulate air pollution, as coal is phased out and vehicles get cleaner.
oliveshell 4y ago
If you do decide to burn a candle on occasion, in case the following wasn’t obvious: Keeping the wicked properly trimmed to ~1/4 inch makes a huge difference in keeping soot emissions down. There’s a reason store-bought candles always tell you to trim before burning! If the flame starts to jump and flicker (in calm air), the wick is too long. You can see big sooty plumes be thrown off when this happens if you look.
- LinuxBender 4y ago
  All good advice. I learned this from growing up with an antique oil lamp which I still have. That is another one of my emergency heat sources.
- msla 4y ago
  > Keeping the wicked properly trimmed to ~1/4 inch makes a huge difference in keeping soot emissions down. I bet this was widespread cultural knowledge in the era when candles were the primary method of indoor lighting.
prometheus76 4y ago
Try beeswax candles. They're more expensive but burn much more cleanly.

dsfyu404ed 4y ago

The chemical alternatives don't exactly give me confidence (though who really knows what's in a modern candle?). At least candles are a known-known even if non-optimal.

idopmstuff 4y ago
I have something like this: https://www.amazon.com/ElusiaKa-Ceramic-Electric-Fragrance-Aromatherapy/dp/B09BVR2Q9N/ https://www.amazon.com/ElusiaKa-Ceramic-Electric-Fragrance-A... Melts the wax and gives you that lovely smell without any fire. The wax also lasts much longer in one of these than in candle form.
- LinuxBender 4y ago
  I may try one of those. My local grocery store has a few of them. Are they hard to clean?
  - tylergetsay 4y ago
    If it's purely ceramic and not painted, plop it in the freezer for a little bit then all the old wax comes out as a puck; no cleaning needed
    - LinuxBender 4y ago
      That is perfect. I will look for the ceramic non painted ones.
themitigating 4y ago
Electric light bulbs
rsynnott 4y ago
I mean, cooking with wood fires is a known-known and we've been doing it forever... but it's the biggest cause of death by air pollution.
- tnorthcutt 4y ago
  Even bigger than pollution from e.g. burning coal/oil/etc.?
  - rsynnott 4y ago
    Surprisingly, yes, by many metrics. Per the WHO, 3.2 million people/year, mostly poorly ventilated wood or other biomass, mostly poor countries: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-a... _Overall_, outdoor air pollution (coal/oil/industrial effluent/etc) kills more (about 4.2 million) but in terms of single worst cause, cooking with biomass seems to be it. Even in many rich countries, wood (generally burned for heat, not cooking, in the rich world) is one of the biggest sources of particulate air pollution, as coal is phased out and vehicles get cleaner.

oliveshell 4y ago

If you do decide to burn a candle on occasion, in case the following wasn’t obvious: Keeping the wicked properly trimmed to ~1/4 inch makes a huge difference in keeping soot emissions down. There’s a reason store-bought candles always tell you to trim before burning! If the flame starts to jump and flicker (in calm air), the wick is too long. You can see big sooty plumes be thrown off when this happens if you look.

LinuxBender 4y ago
All good advice. I learned this from growing up with an antique oil lamp which I still have. That is another one of my emergency heat sources.
msla 4y ago
> Keeping the wicked properly trimmed to ~1/4 inch makes a huge difference in keeping soot emissions down. I bet this was widespread cultural knowledge in the era when candles were the primary method of indoor lighting.

prometheus76 4y ago

Try beeswax candles. They're more expensive but burn much more cleanly.