Flameless Candles are Fun and Safe
By Dr. Ann
@drannhh (15219)
United States
November 15, 2007 5:56pm CST
Real candles are fun and relaxing, but what if one relaxes too much and the house burns down. I've read too many news stories where a candle burning person fell asleep and the candle got out of control with disasterous results. What do you think of flameless candles? Do you think they get tiresome after a while and the real thing is so much better that it is worth taking a risk? I don't, but I am open to both points of view here.
My favorite flameless (and smokeless!) candles are the color-changing ones that have an intermittent flicker resembling a real candle, but go through all the colors of the rainbow, casting their sleepy glow about the room and making the shadows dance against the walls in lovely and unusual patterns. When it is time to turn them off, it is handy if there is a switch for instant access. Some of the flameless candles come with a delicate scent and others are actually filled with air freshener. Sometimes those get a little "loud" for me. I like to get color from the candle and scent from something else, like a reed diffuser, although one needs to be careful with them, too.
We also have a device from Homemedics that produces relaxing timed and speed-controlled light shows on demand. We love these kinds of things, and probably our favorite is a "glow" teddy bear someone special gave us that doubles as a night light and cycles through the colors of the rainbow a few times before turning herself off. One presses her paw to start the show.
One has to be careful with all mechanical devices, but I think these toys are safer than the kind of candles and lanterns that burn real oil or wax without the danger or residue.
Have you had any interesting or newsworthy experiences with candles, real or artificial? Which kind do you prefer?
6 people like this
10 responses
@Monkeyrose (2840)
• Canada
16 Nov 07
I actually prefer real candles. If you light a bunch of them they heat the air. they also have that relaxing burning smell and many have scents. i think if you had a lot of pets or kids the flamless candles are a good idea for safety though.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
16 Nov 07
My goofy but lovable and smart husband cannot stand that relaxing burnt smell, although he is always trying to spray noxious chemicals in the air, and we've had quite a few words over that. I used to require the real ones too, and still, from time to time in the proper place I do, but they really are making the fake ones more believable and your point about kids and pets is right on target. I still remember the hazard one year long ago when an unattended kitten got hold of one end of a string of lit X-mas tree lights. Ackk! No candles around that kitty!
1 person likes this
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
17 Nov 07
I wasn't going to mention this, but we can do without the heat out here in the Mohave Desert where the temperature averaged over a typical year is about 80 F and we have had summers where we never saw the thermometer go below 110 for weeks on end. But for folks in other climates your point is well taken.
1 person likes this
@Monkeyrose (2840)
• Canada
16 Nov 07
I agree with you they are getting better. Its just that real candles remind me of the campfire when we were little. We used to go camping every year as a family. I really like the heat they give off too. The fake ones don't. It can be an inexpensive way to heat your home.
@laurika (4532)
• United States
26 Nov 07
I have never hear about sucha thing as a flameless candles. i will have to search on the internet and looks what it is reallly. Yeah they might be safe, but i think real ones are just better. I love candles and burn them all the time. I just looked at the site and yeah it looks pretty similar, but real is real. And that is one thing I like about candles, to watch the flame, don't you?
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
26 Nov 07
Yes, I like to watch the flame, too, although one of our artificial candles is not only made of wax, but the flame is so real looking that I often try to blow it out. No matter, now they have invented on that you turn on and off just by blowing on the fake "flame" -- what next. Yes, I burn the real ones, too, but only in the fire place.
@ladyluna (7004)
• United States
16 Nov 07
Hello Drannhh,
I never, ever purchase scented candles. I know, I know, I'm missing out on the whole Yankee Candle fad. Oh well! I'm big on, (actually HUGE on) diffusing pure essential oils. I have an electric thingy that I can use, but don't. I prefer to use unscented farrollito candles to diffuse the pure oils.
I have never seen a flameless candle. Well, unless you include my fake Christmas candles that plug in, and sort of/kind of look like a candle from a distance. Somehow I'm thinking that my old Christmas window candles aren't quite what you had in mind.
Nope, no bad, interesting, or newsworthy experiences with candles. I do not use them unconsciously -- I pay attention. I know a gal who lost everything in a home fire. Not once, but twice! And, she's still a candle fan. Perhaps I should suggest a flameless candle to her, eh?
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
16 Nov 07
I'd buy that gal a case of 'em. Diffused oils are vastly preferrable to me, too, although I'm unfamiliar with using farrollito candles with them, and have only used the reeds (sticks). In my mind, the word farolito is used interchangeably with luminaria, the little paper bags used to carry candles in processions. In truth, I cannot think of them without remembering all the little Scandinavian girls whose hair caught fire from the practice of wearing lighted candles in winter holiday celebrations.
So I shall have to learn more about this unscented candle you use with the pure essential oils. Do you know of a web page with pictures and a description of how that works? Sounds wonderful.
1 person likes this
@ladyluna (7004)
• United States
17 Nov 07
Hello Drannhh,
Hmm, yes perhaps I should gift her a less dangerous candle option. Christmas is right around the corner. So, that's a very good gift idea.
Farolito or luminaria candles are not much different than a votive. They are the same diameter, they're just taller. I have a rather tall diffuser that the candle sits inside of, with a 5" dia. bowl to hold the water and oils above the candle. With winter approaching, I really enjoy diffusing vanilla, cinnamon, with a touch of eucalpytus. The house smells wonderful!
Farolito's are huge here in NM (I imagine AZ as well)during the Christmas holiday season. So, last year I bought a case of the candles. I figure, I'm well stocked for a long, long time.
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
16 Nov 07
I mostly use candles for religious purposes, so I can't see using these substitutes. They wouldn't actually capture the element of fire for me. As lordwarwizard said, they'd be inappropriate.
I suppose if you're just using candles for relaxation and you enjoy this kind just as much, then they're great for you. :P
I am very careful when I burn candles though, and I wouldn't do anything that could put me to sleep while burning candles.
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
16 Nov 07
*nods* I actually said "they don't capture the element of fire for me" very specifically... because I'm not saying they can't for anyone else. I know a lot of people who do rituals in much more modern or eclectic ways than I do anyway, and whatever works for them is great. I just like to do things the way my great-grandmother did when she was teaching me, most of the time. I can just imagine how horrified she would look if I used those things for a ritual. *giggles*
Over the course of my life, I've gone back and forth between working well with water and air. :)
I actually would be tempted to get some of these candles for relaxation and such, they sound neat.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
16 Nov 07
Well as I've commented before, I do all my real candle burning in the fireplace which is dedicated to that use. But when the power goes out hereabouts and it does from time to time, I like these much better than what we've scared up in the past. They are also nice night lights, and as I'm a fire-sign, I can provide my own "spark." But I do see your point. Quite!
2 people like this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
23 Nov 07
I fell in love with Scentsy wickless candles. I went to my friends house and her house smelled so great. When I asked her what it was she showed me the greatest thing. It is a warmer that heats the scented wax with a 25 watt bulb. It never gets to hot so it wont burn my kids or me and since it is a light I can leave it on 24 hours a day and not worry. It is like a lamp. I loved it so much I decided to sell it. I am not the home party kind of person but I loved the item so I signed up to sell it. I have a ton all over my house now.
The web site to see it is www.scentsy.com ( If you see something you like PM me and I would love it if you used my website. )
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
16 Nov 07
You mean there are flameless candles around?
Or are you really talking about those electronic battery-operated substitutes? :P
Why does anyone want to burn candles in the first place? Not for lights unless electric lights are not available.
So people only use candles if they want to be romantic or because they are involved in some rituals. Either would require real candles... "fake" candles seem er... inappropriate. :P
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
16 Nov 07
You and my hubby could have an interesting chat about "ambient" lighting. He loves the twinkly electronic, yes, battery-operated substitutes. But I entirely see where some people might think they are like eating from plastic plates, lol. I thought of drawing a cartoon with someone doing a ritual with one of these and wondering why it didn't work... But the truth is, technology is getting better all the time, and the real wax candles that color change from leds buried inside are pretty kewl and when you want just a little light I find them much more fun than carrying a flashlight around. Who knows, maybe wiccans of the future will be performing spells with these and thinking nothing of it. Just a thought.
2 people like this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
17 Nov 07
Haha yea, perhaps...
But like lecanis pointed out, nothing beat real candles for rituals (I think). But it *is* possible that artificial ones would suffice if a *symbol* is all that required.
It's out of my depth here though.:P
1 person likes this
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
17 Nov 07
Hehe, it basically just depends on how traditional you are. :P
I'm a Celtic Reconstructionist Pagan, which essentially makes me a HUGE nerd. So I'm far too traditional for such things. But I'm sure most modern Wiccans wouldn't mind being so symbolic. ;P
@peavey (16936)
• United States
17 Nov 07
I think candles are relaxing the way that a fire in a fireplace is relaxing. There's something about a contained fire that soothes the human soul - maybe it meant safety at one time in our history?
At any rate, I'm with the "plastic plate" people. Flameless candles might have their place (maybe to put on the windowsill at Christmas), but they can't take the place of real candles for me.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
17 Nov 07
Yes, the fake ones would be much safer near the needles of a real Christmas tree, but you are right. They aren't really meant to take the place of real candles. Interesting thought, though, that something that has proven so dangerous for many people probably was connected with ideas of safety in our past. Good thought.
@sweetgirl_k1 (3972)
• United States
16 Nov 07
I like the real candles. I might would like the flameless candles too but I've never had one so I don't know. I have never had a bad experience with them though. And I always make sure I blow them out so nothing bad happens. I have seen some of the flameless candles in the store but I've never bought them. I'll have to try them and see which one I prefer then.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
16 Nov 07
Good for you! Watched carefully and carefully blown out, real candles are irreplaceable. However, they are making the safe artificial ones better and better all the time, and we do have one at home that is so real looking that sometimes I try to blow it out instead of turning the switch. Made of wax, it has the scent of a real candle, too, without being overpowering. The best thing is that it doesn't get soot on the walls.
@nancyrowina (3850)
•
17 Nov 07
I haven't tried flameless candles yet but would like to if I was just going to use it to change the atmosphere of the room, and there's no risk of wax going over the carpet.
I also use real candles for religious reasons though and the real fire aspect is important so they'd never completely replace real candles in my home.
@girlgonefishing (2174)
• United States
17 Nov 07
Hey there drannhh. Guess what? My husband is the one who always lights candles. He has them everywhere! If the house burns down....it's HIS fault. Nah, Nah, Nah, Na, Nah, Nah (had to say it to myself to make sure I had enough Nah's in there). LOL Anyway, I only burn candles beside my tub. If I fall asleep in there, I guess I won't live to see the whole (she burnt the house down) thing. Ok, I'm having too much fun with this.
Where the heck do I get a flameless candle? I'm gonna try one just for you because you are a MyLot friend and I like you.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
17 Nov 07
They do cast a lovely glow next to the bathtub, don't they? Well, you put a lot of responsibility on my shoulders now. If you don't like them, you will blame me (but at least the house won't burn down!) I got my favorite ones at Kitchen Outlet, but here is a web site that has many nice ones, including some made from beeswax.
http://www.flamelesscandles.net/?gclid=CIPjpcjk4o8CFSGXYAodWV0glQ
Here are some of the ones we bought:
http://www.kitchencollection.com/Temp_Products.cfm?sku=01464132
Yeah, I thought more people would have fun with this one, but maybe the idea of fake candles is just too shocking for most people. Sort of like when the ball point pen was first invented and everyone said it was a tool of the devil. I was waiting for someone to say this discussion does not sound like "frugal living" but my reasoning was that one saves a lot of money by not burning the house down. It helps if you have your own battery charger, though, or at least get them from the dollar store, although it seems that the batteries last a very long time in these. Maybe it is just that we don't leave them burning all that long.
