If you are a candle lover that is on the go you might worry about leaving things inside your car during the day. This is natural because it can get quite hot inside a car on a sunny summer day. However, some things should give you more cause for worrying than others, and I am afraid candles melting in a hot car is one of them.
Can candles melt in a hot car? Candles can melt in a hot car. Inside a car, on a summer day, it gets hot enough to begin melting palm wax, coconut wax, and soy wax candles. However, depending on where you live beeswax and paraffin wax candles might be okay.
If you live somewhere that has particularly warm summers with temperatures into the 90°’s it is important to not leave your candles in a car during the day in the summertime.
Hot Cars And Melting Wax
How hot does the inside of your car get on a summer’s day? When temperatures outside are rising into the 80°s, 90°’s, and 100°’s the temperatures inside your car can reach temperatures between 130° to 172°. Keep in mind that most candles melt at temperatures between 100° and 150°.
On a hot sunny day, a car can heat up by nearly 20° in as little as 10 minutes. That means if it is 85° outside, after 10 minutes it can be 103° in your car, and after 20 minutes it can be 111° and after 30 minutes it can be 115°. After a few hours on a hot day, these temperatures can reach as much as 172°.
If your car is parked in the hot sunlight it will heat up far more quickly, and the ability of your car to get hot is also affected by the type of tint on the windows.
The other factor affecting temperature melting point is the candle made of beeswax, or is it paraffin?
Beeswax is less likely to melt than Paraffin that will melt down quite easily. Beeswax has a melting point of 145 degrees Farenheight and Soy wax has a start melt point of 120 degrees F.
Stop The Candles From Melting
How long does it take a candle to start melting in a hot car? A candle in a hot car can begin melting as quickly as 20 minutes.
If you have just picked up your candles and plan to continue shopping, the packaging around the candles will affect how quickly the candle heats up. If your new candles have been wrapped in plastic they will certainly melt more quickly.
During Summer it is a good idea to keep a cool bag, from the food store in your boot to put anything that might melt out of the heat until you go home. The cool bags are lined with foil and only cost around $2 each in the Supermarket or Grocery store.
Normally they are the sort of bags that you would put the dairy products in, but their uses extend to other products from wine and chocolate to candles.
Insulate The Candles To Prevent Melting
Increasing Your Chances of Preventing Melting Candles
Cardboard is another way to keep your candles cool, and if they have come in a cardboard box, it will take a lot longer for the melt to start.
Dark colors absorb the light and consequently will start to melt sooner. If you have a car with dark interiors it is a good idea to carry a heat deflector with you and put it over the windshield when you park, as this will slow the heat process. Leaving the window open slightly will not change anything, as your car will still heat up.
Candles With Additives May Melt More Slowly
Additives Affect the Properties of Candles
Your candles can change color when exposed to sunlight, and a darker candle can end up looking uneven in color.
Ultraviolet Light absorbers are sometimes added to the candle to reduce the fading.
If you have just purchased new candles look for an additive micro 180 that increases the firmness of the candle, and if your candle is dark in color this additive will allow it to better survive the heat on the way home in the car.
If the candle is wrapped in thick plastic, it will probably withstand the heat, but the waxed paper will start to melt as well.
Larger Candle may Melt More Slowly
Candles of Different Shapes and Sizes
Thick column candles will withstand greater heat without melting than thin taper candles and tealights, so hopefully, your heavy candle won’t start to melt on the way home.
Many studies have proven how hot the interior of a car can become, and at the height of Summer, it is much safer not to leave anything in the car at all.
Making “Melt Proof” Candles
When You Make Your Own Candles
If you make your own candles and then distribute them in the car to various outlets, there are a few steps you can take to prevent them from overheating.
- Make either beeswax or soy candles, as both have a slightly higher melting point than paraffin.
- Use micro 180 to reduce fading if candles are left in the light
- Pack your candles carefully for distribution as presentation is everything.
- If your candle comes in a glass container it will need to be bubble wrapped as well.
- If the candle has a lid, it will need to be wrapped separately.
Packing Your Candles for Distribution
Candles are always popular, once you have made them they will be ready for packing and distribution to various outlets in your car.
Candles in containers need careful wrapping, but the ones without containers are harder to package. We don’t want our candles to break or melt.
Pillar candles will need careful wrapping first in tissue paper, and then in bubble wrap. They must be wrapped individually as if any melting takes place in transit you can’t risk them all sticking together. Once they are wrapped place them in a cardboard box and mark them fragile.
If your candles are going overseas, trucks and vans get very hot and they will easily melt. So you need to be selective about who you get to transport them for you. You will require a van with air conditioning especially if your lovely candles are going to a hot climate like Singapore.
If you are driving your candles around town to various outlets, be sure to keep your air conditioning on so that the candles arrive at their destination in the best possible condition for sale.
Freezing Your Candles
Recently a friend suggested freezing the candles once they were made before transporting, however, this turned out to be a bad idea, Some of the frozen candles cracked and warped and had to be thrown away, so don’t try the freezing process.
If you are shipping your candles, use an express shipping service to reduce the chance of your candles being exposed to heat and sunlight.
These services also track your orders, so you will know where they are and how long they take to get there. Faster delivery is good for your clients, as everyone wants to get things delivered quickly. Candles remain extremely popular for the home and for gifts, especially the fragrant perfumed candles.
When you are delivering your own products arrange your journeys to different areas on different days. This way your candles won’t be left in the hot car for long.
Yes Candles Melt in a Hot Car
If you are still making paraffin candles it takes only 25 minutes in a hot car for the paraffin to start melting down. If the day is only 75 degrees, the heat inside the car could be 100 degrees or higher, and this is not a good temperature for paraffin.
It might be better to limit your paraffin candle making to cold weather only and to never leave them in the car when distributing them. Be aware that an additive called stearic acid can increase the melting point of paraffin, and help your paraffin candles better survive the Summer heat.
Stearic acid may affect the scent throw of your candle, and sometimes the color as well. Additives like stearic acid can also affect the way the candle burns, and you may have to experiment a bit to avoid getting a smoky or sooty candle.
Beeswax Candles
Making your beeswax candles is good as they have a higher melting point and also smell divine. The only downside is that beeswax is more expensive, however, you can pass the cost on and they won’t easily melt in your car when you are delivering them.
Beeswax candles and Alter or taper candles are popular with the Catholic Church. It might be worth approaching the Diocese to see if you can make candles for them, and deliver them directly to the local Churches as they burn a large number of candles every week and would be a good local customer.
If you pack them in cardboard boxes they won’t melt in your car, and you could give the Diocese a discount for volume orders. You could actually invent a special wedding candle, maybe with a Jasmine scent throw as we all want the Church to smell nice on our Wedding Day.
Your Car Windows Tint
If you purchase a new car that you intend to use for your candle delivery business. Ask the distributor to apply a darker than usual tint to the windows. He can customize the glass for optimal safety for your candles.
I think there are some legal boundaries around how dark a car’s windows can legally be. However, it is worth investigating to keep your candles from melting in the heat. It could probably also be a business-related tax deduction.
Keeping Your Wax from Melting in the Car
Adding palm wax will make the candle a bit harder and less likely to melt down in the car. try 20% palm to 80% soy wax, and this will also help you to increase the scent throw.
When you harden the wax-like this you increase its resilience and it will have a higher melting point. So you will be able to drive around and do your delivery without the candles losing their integrity in the heat of summer.
Trial and error often is a good starting point for problem-solving, and after a few years, you will become an expert in preventing your candles from melting in the hot car.
Always wrap your candles individually, then if there is a problem with one of them it won’t contaminate all the other candles, and they will make the perfect gift.
Frequently Asked Questions
Candles will melt in hot weather. Coconut wax candles can melt at temperatures as low as 100° so the sun hitting them on a hot summer day is enough to melt them. In addition, any candle will melt if left in a car that’s sitting in the sun on a hot summer day.
Keep candles from melting in the heat by keeping them out of direct sunlight. If the candles are in your car, then keep your air conditioner on or your windows down. Keeping the candles in packaging may help prevent the candles from melting.
Do not leave your candles in the sun. Sunshine is bad for candle sand cause them to fade, lose its fragrance, and can even melt them. Keep candles out of direct sunlight and cover or put them away when not in use.
Conclusion
In conclusion, hot summer days, sunshine, and candles are not a good combination. Keep your candles as far away from a car on a hot summer day as you can, and if you must leave them in the car… Make sure they are packaged well and the windows are down.
The packaging will help slow the melting process when the car heats up and if the candle does ultimately melt, the packaging will help contain the wax, protecting your car from a cleanup nightmare.
However, if your candle does melt in your car, the good news is we have an article about cleaning up candle wax. You can find our article here titled How To Remove Wax From Any Surface.