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First Craft Show! - Issue with candles sweating??


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21 minutes ago, Lighten Up said:

Even though I don't use your wax, I feel inclined to chime in here. I'm one of the lucky ones that has to redo all my testing with the 2017 wax.  I've been using 415 for over 10years and this year's wax is like starting over. I will agree with you bout the consistency - mine has gone from a clear/oily to kind of an creamy/opaque. It's also fussy and I am always fighting bubbles. I did also experience a little sweating in the warmer summer/fall temps, I just made sure I didn't rush to lid them. That all being said, at this point, I am quite happy with the wax so far(ht is possibly even better than before), and kind of wish I had started with it. Not happy with the re-testing though, I've lost most of my season.

Thanks so much! That’s diff encouraging! Sorry to hear about your troubles with it also!!:/

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3 hours ago, ChristinaD said:

@birdcharm If I get another batch that appears this way. (I’ve used this entire box) Will heating it up - letting it cool - and then heating up again “fix” the issue, if it’s moisture? Also, should I heat it to a higher temp? Like what would your exact procedure be for that, if you had excess moisture in your wax? Thanks for your help! Ive been FREAKING out today!! 😂😂🙈

 

I'm getting the feeling that the humidity level as well as temperatures can affect this wax.  I wouldn't heat it to any temperature higher than what is recommended (I've read that it can become slightly discolored around 200dF), but if there is bubbling, I would leave it on the heat a little longer.  The other thing I'm wondering about is drying out the wax a little bit ahead of time, but that might be a pain.  I've noticed that my most recent order of soy seems more moist than my older stock, but I haven't had any major issues. 

 

As for shipping, one thing that helps to insulate is newspaper, yet I don't know how you would avoid temperature extremes without using heat packs or ice packs and I don't think anyone wants to have to go in that direction.  If this is just condensation, then maybe a little note about this included with the candle would be a good idea.

 

Edited by birdcharm
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Sorry...I don't use 464..but with all the changes in soy wax in the last few months, maybe the FO didn't mix with the wax?  Before the changes, you could see the swirling of the FO when added to the wax...then as it was mixed, you could see it become very clear.  With the new waxes (I have been trying Q210 and 220)...they seem to be a more "cloudy" when melted, so it makes it a little more difficult to tell when the FO is blended in.  Not sure if that is the same with 464?.  I am almost finished with straight Soy...I just received a new wax that is coconut/soy that i will try.  By the way Kristina..your product looks great! 

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@birdcharm I’m really hoping this batch was a fluke and the next one will be better!! 🤞🏻But I had thought about possibly including a card talking about soy wax and explaining what to do if the candle arrives and it is soft or melted on top... thanks for all the help! :)

Edited by ChristinaD
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1 minute ago, Gary in Canada said:

Sorry...I don't use 464..but with all the changes in soy wax in the last few months, maybe the FO didn't mix with the wax?  Before the changes, you could see the swirling of the FO when added to the wax...then as it was mixed, you could see it become very clear.  With the new waxes (I have been trying Q210 and 220)...they seem to be a more "cloudy" when melted, so it makes it a little more difficult to tell when the FO is blended in.  Not sure if that is the same with 464?.  I am almost finished with straight Soy...I just received a new wax that is coconut/soy that i will try.  By the way Kristina..your product looks great! 

Yes! It used to be golden clear, now it’s so cloudy I can’t see through it at all! It is all so frustrating! :/ 

Thank you! :) 

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@ChristinaD  You might want to read this https://www.woodenwick.com/what-is-candle-sweating/  Maybe you can get some ideas from them.  Also..I remember reading quite a while ago that "sweating" does not affect the candle quality, and is common in soy candles (I read it...but not sure if I believe it)...and if I remember correctly, the article said to wipe the top of the candle with a paper towel.  Hopefully the article will help...  Wishing you all the best in your new venture!! :)

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I've been having this problem too! It's horrible. It's the temperature. If I move them to another room where the temperature is even 5 degrees different, they start sweating like crazy. It's like they can't be in a room that's over 70 degrees. I use 8% FO in a blend of 90% 464 and 10% Coconut 83. It used to be great. I've never had this sweating issue before. I find that if I put them in a room thats super cold, the sweating goes away. Other than that, I can't make it stop happening. 

 

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@Christian8191 Thanks so much! Thats a great confirmation because I was coming to the conclusion that it was that, but your right, the temp was only 5-8 degrees difference & I never had that effect them before! This is soooo crazy! I did also test some and all burned fine. BUT I JUST got a new batch of wax today & it looks like the old wax!!!!(before this bad batch) So I’m really excited! Hoping I don’t have this problem again! Everything was different with this last batch of soy I had!! I never had issues with sink holes or having to re-do the tops with a heat gun & this bath took several refinsihings to fix all the sink hole & all the other issues now TODAY a I find out that one of my REALLY strong scent has ZERO hot throw now!! And another one that was very strong is now slightly scented! Other scents are totally fine, but I’m waiting to hear back on the other candles in my Line & I’m worried that I’m gonna end up just having to toss at LEAST 30-50 candles, (hopefully not more) which I know won’t be a lot to most, but just starting out, it sux!  So fingers crossed this next batch will be okay, so far it looks great!! So I’m hopeful! Also my supplier says NO one else has complained about the wax, which seemed VERY odd to me BUT I’m taking that as a good sign that this was a fluke & they haven’t been having issues with their wax (hoping their customers aren’t just tight lipped LOL) Good luck to you! I really hope it gets better, my website grand opening is this weekend & it’s looking like im going to have to put some of my scents as “sold out” and go back to testing before I move on!!  ** I’m very new & taking this as a teachable moment! If I ever have wax that looks “off” again, I’ll know to take precautions before proceeding!**

Edited by ChristinaD
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4 minutes ago, moonshine said:

Do you have insurance in place just in case this is more than a sweating issue 

I am in the process of getting it. I did a bunch of senerios to see what would happen, including burning them, putting open flame all around the tops, etc & I truly believe they are melting & not leaching oil. They would do it when moved to my husband’s work, the ones at home did not do it at all. When he brought them back home they dried up. The ones friends have testing at their home have never done it either. These candles were 4-6 weeks curing & very fine until taken to the show & his work 

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So I got a NEW BATCH of 464 yesterday and it looks NORMAL!!!  No bubbles or popping & it is Golden clear again!!  I’m so relieved! I started running some tests yesterday, so “fingers crossed” it’s back to normal!! And if I ever get some that looks “odd” again I’ll know to stop and run extra tests! You live and you learn I guess! 

Edited by ChristinaD
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 I think many  people made, tested and then tested again for a long time before even thinking of selling their product.   I don't do candles but have been playing with it for over a year.  I do soap and other B&B and have been doing so for 7 years I tested and researched for well over a year before even considering selling. I had family and friends as guinea pigs. I also didn't sell anything until I had insurance and all my other ducks in a row (tax stuff, sales tax, business registration etc).  Others may have a different perspective. But I didn't want to risk everything if something went wrong.  Unfortunately, we have no control on how others will use our products.

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The question I would ask myself is which is worse: A  delay to ensure my product is as intended or a companywide recall?

 

It sounds weird to many starting out but you really should have product liability insurance and general liability insurance before attending shows and/or selling products. Of course having your tax ID and such also sounds frivolous when your business is small but it isn’t. They are both costs of doing business. 

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First of all, a number of us contacted retailers asking if people complained about problems with soy wax and most were told they had not heard this from anyone else.  So you can't go by that.  It would be interesting to know if you and @Christian8191 had wax from the same batch (marked on the boxes).

 

Second, if you are not going to sell the jars, I would put some in a low temp oven, let them slowly melt, and let the water evaporate from the wax.  Once cooled, see if the problem is still there or if they can be used.  They don't need a two-week cure again (from what I've been told on this forum).  Nature's Garden states "If you do get water in your wax, or you notice water in wax; put your turkey roaster on the low setting and keep it uncovered.  This will allow the water to evaporate out.  When wax is made into slabs, the manufacturer uses water to cool the wax.  Sometimes, water can get trapped in the wax as it cools, and this creates water pockets.   The water will evaporate; just keep an eye on the wax."

 

If you are only having problems with a couple of fragrances, you could put "coming soon" or "sold out" as you suggested on those candles on your website.  

GoldieMN

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I have a question about that suggested method of "evaporating" water from molten wax. Water sinks to the bottom of the melt po as it has a higher specific gravity than wax.  You can often see if water is in there as contained bubbles on the bottom. how will it ever evaporate if trapped by wax? It is the same principle as canning using wax to seal the contents below. 

 

when I clean dirty beeswax and the beeswax melters I use gallons of water to get the last bits of precious wax in the melter to rise. Then cool the melter, peel off the cleaned wax and allow to dry completely. Otherwise the wax will never release the water. have done similar with soy wax blends, but never used the soy wax after. 

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1 hour ago, Shari said:

 I think many  people made, tested and then tested again for a long time before even thinking of selling their product.   I don't do candles but have been playing with it for over a year.  I do soap and other B&B and have been doing so for 7 years I tested and researched for well over a year before even considering selling. I had family and friends as guinea pigs. I also didn't sell anything until I had insurance and all my other ducks in a row (tax stuff, sales tax, business registration etc).  Others may have a different perspective. But I didn't want to risk everything if something went wrong.  Unfortunately, we have no control on how others will use our products.

I actually have done all that, just don’t have the insurance finalized. But everything else as far as registering & all that business stuff is done.  I’ve had about 30-40 people I’ve been using as snuff tedterd & 10-15 people I’ve been using as “testers” who have actually been burning the candles. 

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1 hour ago, TallTayl said:

The question I would ask myself is which is worse: A  delay to ensure my product is as intended or a companywide recall?

 

It sounds weird to many starting out but you really should have product liability insurance and general liability insurance before attending shows and/or selling products. Of course having your tax ID and such also sounds frivolous when your business is small but it isn’t. They are both costs of doing business. 

I totally agree! Just Curious how others have done that & kinda saved face at the same time! I pushed this back over a month from my original date (it was just in my head, no one knew about it), before announcing anything bc I wanted to make sure no issues! But I felt everything was set  & started promoting on social media .. these issues popped up after that, but I HAVE determined that a few scents ended up being ok - which are actually my Christmas scents... so I’m kinda just trying to determine if I should set everything else up “sold out”  & put those up?? They are from the same batch of wax but my testers have reported no melting or leaking & no issues  with the throw... originally I thought it was all scents... The new batch of wax I got doesn’t seem to have any issues, but I will be doing testing for a few weeks to confirm that before selling them. I certainly don’t want to sell a dangerous or faulty product! Just Morally AND that’s bad for business... 

Edited by ChristinaD
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A candle (soap, lotion, bath bomb, etc)  goes through a lot of changes in a year, which is why many suggest longer * time * to learn and test, not just number of batches. 

 

 Having only just begun in August you have not seen those effects of time yet, and have not had enough time to master your craft. 

 

If if you stick with it you will see by this time next year how much more you will know and understand. When you go back and read you will see as others do now.

 

You will see other newbies next year in the same predicament as you are in now and will have sage  words of advice for them. 

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I think what is kindly trying to be said here is you started in August- that's not long to be launching a grand opening 

you haven't been making and  testing your product long enough to know what it's going to do over great lengths of time - wax burns so diffferent from 1 day to 1 week to 1 month to 6 months to a year 

464 is notorious for bloom- growing to the point of burying the wick - do you know if yours are going to do this? Your issue with sweating....you don't know this wax well enough to be able to explain what is happening and a temperature issue would have likely shown up sooner 

soy wax can sweat if sitting in hot weather  but it shouldn't with only a 5-8 degree temperature change like you said 

there is nothing wrong with wanting to start a business and be excited about it but you have to take a step back sometimes when issues arise - your sending a flammable product out to people's homes - it would be a different story if this was wickless 

I would test your new wax and just change your date on your opening until your 100% confident 

Edited by moonshine
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8 minutes ago, moonshine said:

I think what is kindly trying to be said here is you started in August- that's not long to be launching a grand opening 

you haven't been making and  testing your product long enough to know what it's going to do over great lengths of time - wax burns so diffferent from 1 day to 1 week to 1 month to 6 months to a year 

464 is notorious for bloom- growing to the point of burying the wick - do you know if yours are going to do this? Your issue with sweating....you don't know this wax well enough to be able to explain what is happening and a temperature issue would have likely shown up sooner 

soy wax can sweat if sitting in hot weather  but it shouldn't with only a 5-8 degree temperature change like you said 

there is nothing wrong with wanting to start a business and be excited about it but you have to take a step back sometimes when issues arise - your sending a flammable product out to people's homes - it would be a different story if this was wickless 

I would test your new wax and just change your date on your opening until your 100% confident 

I understand, thank you for all the advice! :)

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