Candle wax expands when it melts and naturally shrinks when it cools. Sinkholes in candles occur when the wax cools much too quickly.

And one of two things causes it – either you poured the candle wax into a cool candle container. Or you poured the candle wax too hot and didn’t allow for cooling. 

When this happens, a sinkhole forms around or near the candle wick. How do you fix a sinkhole in a candle? Use a heat gun to remove the skin hole. Hold it about 6 to 8 inches away from your candle and rotate the heat gun in a circular motion to melt wax until the sinkhole is filled. 

Candle wicks are often the last choice or even an afterthought when it comes to candle making. Often, I get caught up in choosing my candle wax type, containers, and scents and determining my fragrance load. The type of candle wicks I’ll use frequently gets decided at the last minute. 

Unfortunately, this has proved to be a big mistake when you watch your perfectly scented candle flicker and pop, spiraling little sparks onto the surfaces around it! 

If you light a candle and it flickers, you’ve got a problem. Typically, this means the candle wick is too long. If a wick is too long, the flame will be too big and burn too hot. Blow it out and trim it again. If the problem persists, then you’ve got the wrong-sized candlewick.

The path to a strong-scented candle involves learning the difference between a cold and hot throw and how to get the best of both worlds. Most likely, you made one of these candle mistakes:

 – not adding enough scent

 – adding your scent at too high of a temperature 

Read our guide on making scented candles, covering how to avoid these candle problems in more detail. 

The first, sometimes not obvious, solution to a drowning candle wick is to look closer at your candle container. Did you pour the wax above an area where the candle container shape changes? Or overfill the container, not leaving room for the wick and melt pool? 

The second issue involves rethinking our candle wick choice. It’s possible the wick may be too small for the candle’s diameter. Compare your candle wick size to your container size with our printable candle wick charts in the Simple Living Library. 

You’ve probably heard this term before but may not be able to recognize this candle problem.

What does candle sweating mean?

Sweating is characterized by little beads or sometimes pools of fragrance gathering on the top of a container candle or, worse – seeping out the sides of a pillar candle. So this answers the question – What happens if you put too much fragrance oil in a candle?

This used to be a candle making mistake I made frequently. One would think adding more fragrance to a candle would only help make it smell stronger. But, unfortunately, there is a delicate balance of just the right amount of fragrance needed. Use our candle fragrance load calculator to get the right amount for your homemade candles. 

This is a popular question and one I’ve gotten pretty good at! We spend a lot of time and money choosing candle containers – so why not use them again? 

Here are two methods for removing candle wax from glass containers:

The good news is that you didn’t do anything wrong in the candle-making process! This is one of those candle problems that happens to even the most expensive store-bought candles. It all equates to burn time. 

Like burning calories at the gym, a short five-minute burn won’t leave you with great results. When lighting a candle, you need to be in it for the long haul! Candles must be burned until the wax melts across the entire diameter – from edge to edge.

Two hours is generally a good burn time. But some candles may need up to 4 hours to burn all the way across if they are really big – like a dough bowl candle. Regardless of their size, without waiting for a full burn, you can count on a tunnel forming in the wax and shortening the candle’s life. 

Note: However, if you keep seeing this candle problem in your homemade candles, you may not be using a thick enough wick to form a melt pool adequately. Here’s help for choosing candle wicks.

This happened when I tried using vintage ornate metal baking tins as candle molds. Luckily, this is one of the few candle problems that is very easy to avoid and fix! 

For starters, don’t fill molds over the fill line, and avoid pouring the wax too hot. And make sure you’re using the right candle wax for this type of candle. See my candle wax guide for choosing the correct candle wax type. 

If you’re reading this now with stuck candles, place them in the fridge to shrink and contract the wax for a few hours. Then, tap them out onto a hard surface.  

You’ve got a jump line if you see visible lines on the outside of your candles or through the glass of container candles. This can’t be fixed, but it can be avoided.

If fragrance oil is settling to the bottom of your candles, you’ve definitely got the wrong fragrance load for your wax type! Use our fragrance load calculator to determine the correct amount before you make candles. 

Uneven surfaces and bubbles are one of the most common candle problems. It frequently occurs when air escapes from the top surface of wax or water mixes with the wax.

Thankfully, there are several things you can do to prevent this. And there’s also a remedy for smoothing candle surfaces. Let’s start with preventing this candle mistake.

How do you smooth candle tops? Use a heat gun on the low heat setting. Hold it close to the area where there is a flaw. Then, move quickly back and forth over the surface of the candle. The candle wax will melt slightly and fix imperfections for a smooth candle top. 

This is poor adhesion, sometimes called candle wet spots. It is most noticeable in glass containers and has the look of a wet appearance. Even though it is actually trapped air between the container and the wax.