Grungedoll

Thank you @grama and @barbaranj
And @bfroberts I'd already seen the black lids on both of those sites as I get my supplies from them, I just wasn't totally sure if they'd be the right size for those jars.

In need of black lids to fit these jars, any idea where I could find them?
Thanks in advance!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Anchor-Hocking-Half-Pint-Glass-Canning-Jar-Set-12pk/43184792


 

2 minutes ago, Jeana said:

I don’t know about the electricity in storage units really, I’m just throwing out ideas. I was lucky to get a small office space about 9 years ago. When I started I used one side of the shop as a hair salon, and made products on the other side of my shop. When I built up enough accounts I dropped off the hair part. That’s why I say you can get creative and make it work. 

Well that’s awesome... thank you for trying to help! I’m going to keep on looking.

8 hours ago, Jeana said:

Sometimes you have to get really creative to keep moving forward. Can you borrow a corner in a friends garage to pour? Maybe rent an inexpensive storage place to pour in. I don't know where you live but some places have storage places for about $50 month. You could possibly ask some commercial places in business parks if they have 100 sq ft areas to rent. If you look around you never know what you could find. But if you want to sell, and you are bothered by the scents already, you'll have trouble when things ramp up pouring at home. My whole shop is only 325 sq ft. But I have a front and back door, and I can leave. Even if you have a porch or balcony, I would pour out there on a table.

Thank you for the ideas! I’m looking into it. I’ve been searching small places for rent and my fiancée and I have been asking around to see if anyone we know has garage space so hopefully something works out... no word yet though. I’ve been wanting to pour elsewhere for awhile now anyway. Do you think they’d allow a person to make candles in a storage unit...? Last I knew they didn’t have electricity in those, but I could be wrong! I’ve only ever shared one many years ago. What do you use for a shop?

2 hours ago, TallTayl said:

You may need to invest in some pretty hefty air cleaners. Imagine what you and your neighbors are being exposed to and what the apartment dwellers after you will be exposed to. The volatile compounds settle into every nook and cranny of the space. If your range hood fan exhausts to the outside, keep that on before, during and after for several hours to move that air out. 

 

Might want to read your renter agreement. Some do not allow manufacture within the premises. That’ll be mighty inconvenient once you get going 

So, you’re saying that the compounds of the FOs stay in the area despite good ventilation? I’m a bit confused. I’ve been told in the past that as long as I have everything well ventilated then I’d be fine, not to mention my fiancées well being which I’ve asked about as well being around the area afterwards. I leave fans and windows open for hours after pouring. I also don’t plan on making hundreds at a time probably even when I do start selling. I’ll only be making small batches. It’s very discouraging to me to think about all this being an even bigger issue when I genuinely don’t have anywhere else to go. I’ve heard of plenty of other people who produce in their kitchens/living rooms... if it was such an issue to that degree I would figure they wouldn’t continue to do so? We have a spare bedroom that we’ve discussed turning part of it into an area I can make my candles but now I don’t even know if I should do that. I suppose I will have to look over my renters agreement as well.

14 minutes ago, Jeana said:

 

I've definitely been there. I used to pour in my kitchen at a house I lived in. I really didn't like doing that when I started to make enough to sell.

How many are you pouring at one time? And how often are you pouring? Are you selling them?

At the moment I’m not selling them yet as I’m still doing tons of testing to see which wax, wick, FO combos I’m looking to stick with, testing burns, etc. So Ive only really been pouring at most maybe two pounds at a time (enough for two different scents at 6-7% in three 8 ounce canning jars each) but it can still get pretty strong in here since everything’s connected... (there’s only doors to the bedrooms and bathroom) and I’m doing it a few times a week. I am a bit concerned when I do start pouring more too since I do want to start selling them once I get everything where I want it and legal things in order. 

@Candybee @Sarah S thank you both for being so helpful as always!

Honestly, I’m just trying to get everyone’s opinion on how long I should really consider wearing my respirator as I’m confined to mixing and pouring all of my candles all in one little area which happens to be the majority of my apartment (my open kitchen and living room)? So my apologies that I keep repeating my question to each of you.  I’m really not meaning to come off annoying or anything, it’s just the fumes here from FOs just seem to stay around and travel around the whole apartment for quite sometime even with all the windows and fans open and going and can really begin to annoy me... so I really am very thankful to anyone who gives me any answers. I know I’ve been posting a lot but I really do appreciate this board and the input that you receive here. Thank you!

1 hour ago, Candybee said:

I wear mine while working with fragrances.

I do remember you saying that. Not to get annoying here so I’m very sorry for asking but how long after mixing the FO with the wax  would you recommend still wearing mine while making them in my little open apartment? I don’t have anywhere else to make them and the oils basically travel through the whole place.

2 hours ago, Jeana said:

 

If I stay in the shop I'll continue to wear it until the candles set up. While pouring I have both doors open for ventilation and use the mask. I prefer to shut the doors when the candles cool, so they cool more slowly. That's why i usually just leave after pouring. 

As I’d told moonshine, sadly I don’t have anywhere else to make my candles besides right in our open kitchen/living room of my apartment... so I don’t have anyway of really “leaving” the area...  I really wish I had a garage or something. How long would you wear it in my situation?

1 minute ago, Jeana said:

Since you're talking respirators, I have to give a shout out to this one. I LOVE it. It is the first one that is small enough and comfortable enough for me to wear for extended times. It is really light and easy to get on and off.  I get a really weird feeling if I don't wear it when making a lot of candles. I wear it when I make soaps too. 

http://www.rockler.com/gvs-elipse-p100-half-mask-respirators?sid=V9146?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PL&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2bDWq5Kd2wIVlorICh1beQ5wEAYYBCABEgI0ivD_BwE

How long after you get everything mixed do you continue to wear your respirator?

1 hour ago, ShelleyF said:

I'm pretty new so I didn't even know I should wear one. Why do you need to since we breathe in the scents in the melters? I'm glad I found this topic.

Yep! It’s very important to invest in a good respirator when dealing with fragrance oils since they are in fact chemicals. I was recommended one when I’d first started posting here and I started making candles. I found mine at Home Depot for a decent price. The vapors from mixing are different than when the FOs have been thoroughly blended with the wax. If you do some searches on here there’s plenty of topics and tons of info about it that maybe better at explaining it. Always wear a respirator and always make your candles in a well ventilated area! I also wear latex gloves to protect my hands.

Anyone else have more input.....?

10 minutes ago, moonshine said:

The second the wax starts melting until the very end when I walk out of the room 

I have been super bad about this lately making only small test batches and not wearing it and that is not a good thing....should be on through the whole process start to finish whether it’s 1 candle or 1000

I’ve tried to leave it on the whole process and it gets a bit overwhelming so I’ve just been wearing it during the time I’m adding the FO as I’ve been suggested before. However I’m making them in my kitchen right now in my apartment which is open into my living room where they set... so I can’t really “leave the room” sadly. 😕 I’ve been trying to gage exactly when I should be taking it off.... when I can assume most of people the fumes have left. I always have fans going and windows open.... but still. 

Just curious, how long do you all wear your respirator (if you wear one) while mixing and pouring your candles?

1 minute ago, runner14jc said:

@Grungedoll Having the windows open could absolutely affect how you are able to smell the candle. Have you been able to test it burning with the windows closed?

Yes, I have. It’s the same both ways. When I had the windows open there wasn’t much air current at all (there’s barely any air movement in this room), so it didn’t seem to make much difference. The first time I burned it even with them open it gave off awesome throw.... But maybe it could have effected it, who knows. Last night I burned another of the testers with everything shut and had the same issue, just got a few wiffs here and there. I’m so annoyed with my nose! 

Oh, and also! I had the same person in the room with me the first and second time I'd burned it and even they said they couldn't really smell anything either..
Sorry, I almost forgot to add that too.

@Testing123 Yes, it is.

@Sarah S I'd thought about the "nose blind" thing myself... but I did wait a day between burns as I have quite a few different testers to burn right now. Is that not long enough for it to make a difference?
I'd only had air coming through the windows both times I'd burned it, but maybe you're right about the air currents changing or something... 😕
The scent I was burning was smoked vanilla from FC which is pretty strong. If it turns out that it just stays this way, is there anything at all I can do to try and prevent it if it isn't a case of my nose or the weather? Anything I could possibly be doing wrong in the whole process....? 😕

I've been so happy lately with my newest testers! I've changed to using 8 ounce canning jars lately and the glass seems to makes all the difference in the world I think in my finished product. I still love my tins, but for now I think I'm going to be working more with these and getting them perfected as much as I can. Only issue I seem to be having now is during the first burn I had some pretty awesome scent throw that really filled the room- I even had to put it out a little sooner than I probably should have since it was a little too strong.... and now today with my second burn there isn't as much scent at all unless you're by it. :( Really upsetting since I was pretty happy about it before! Would this be more of a blending issue maybe? Or did I do something else wrong? What can I do to fix it...?

I'm using CBL-130 which is a parasoy for anyone who may not know and HTP wicks with a few fairly strong FOs from The Flaming Candle... if I'm leaving out any needed info, please let me know!

I’d been told that FOs shouldn’t at all be going down the sink drain so that’s why I’ve been leery about just washing them out and tossing the bottles. I try to use every drop that I can, shaking them and holding them over the pot the whole time I’m mixing, but honestly a few droplets maybe left behind as they cling to the bottle... is that really an issue to just throw that little bit in the bottle just into the trash? I also pour what I need out of larger bottles into little disposable medicine cups and I was actually told once I shouldn’t even be throwing those in the garbage with such a small trance of FOs in them... but I have. Haha. Too cautious...?

And @Candybee I absolutely agree with the YouTube amateur comment you made. Believe me, I definitely don’t just go off anything I see on there as the true way of doing things. I’ve read enough to know the difference.  I just wondered if weighing that way was an option is all.

Well everything is all good now! Made a bunch of candles today and all the weights of everything worked perfectly. I must have just really messed up last night. 😕 really should have waited to have said something on here... haha. But hey! My scales ok, which is good! Thank you all for your help!

7 minutes ago, Shari said:

I clean them out and recycle plastic bottles.  Glass I clean and re-use to bottle EO that came in plastic .

How do you personally clean them out?

I just took out my little escali scale and weighed a few different things on it to check and everything seems to be coming up ok. I think I just must not properly tared out the pot or something really dumb last night in the midst of everything, haha. Accidents happen, right?! My pour pot is a little over 8 ounces.... But I will be making more candles today so I'll get to the bottom of it!

What I had meant when I was talking about “taring out” the presto pot on a scale instead of a pour pot at the beginning was like what this man does with his as I’m thinking I might just not be explaining it properly on here:

But I understand what you both mean. I’m thinking maybe it was just a huge fluke as it’s the very first time I’ve had this issue (it’s also one of the first times I’ve actually used my presto, so I’ll just chalk it up to beginning mistakes.) I do weigh everything as I’m supposed to (I’m aware of how much wax I need, I just like to have a little extra) so I’m going to try a few things with my scale today and just see if maybe I was off with something last night, I’ve had a lot on my mind so it’s totally possible! If not I’ll start looking into batteries or a new scale.

One thing I’ve noticed from reading around is that many people just go off and melt a bunch of wax in the presto and only pour out enough to fill their pour pot to whatever they need for the batch on their scale. Do either of you do this and just leave the remainder of the wax in your presto....?