Do Smoke Odor Candles Work?
When your pals are departing your man cave after another wild poker night, you’re not alone if you’re wondering how to get rid of the smell of cigar smoke before your wife comes home. Before you buy a hazmat suit or call a divorce attorney, you’re probably wondering if you can fix the situation fast and easy with a bottle of Febreze or a smoke odor candle.
Sanitizing your favorite smoking room is serious business when your spouse or significant other doesn’t like smoke, and while a smoke odor candle can help, it may not be your best ally. Removing smoke from your environment is easier if you designed your man cave with good ventilation, smoke-friendly materials, and the right furniture in the first place.
How Are Smoke Odor Candles Different?
Smoke odor candles contain enzymes that neutralize odors from smoke, pets, or other unwanted smells. They also come in a variety of scents, and some will burn for up to 70 hours. You can burn a smoke odor candle before, during, and after you smoke, but you don’t want to burn a candle for more than four hours because candle wax produces excess soot when it liquifies. A smoke odor candle is more effective than a traditional scented candle, but it is most effective if you follow our guidance for managing and removing the smoke in your home while you’re burning a smoke odor candle.
Scented Candles Mask Odors and Produce Soot
Scented candles mask odor versus removing it. Candles are appealing because they can change the ambience in a room and improve your mood through your olfactory sense, and while they may obscure any lingering smells, they are less effective at eradicating them.
Because most candles are made from paraffin wax, which is a petroleum byproduct, burning them can pose potential health risks – although experts argue, candles are okay when used as directed. There are cleaner-burning candles to choose from now, too, that are made from soy or beeswax. In either case, it’s important to trim the wick on a candle regularly to minimize soot production. Candles are designed to be burned in three to four-hour increments, but burning them longer increases soot production as the wax liquefies. A candle can come in handy if you need to mask the smell of smoke temporarily when you’re in a pinch, but the smell of smoke will return after you blow your candle out.
Why Does Tobacco Smoke Linger?
Smoke smell is made up of water, oils, and ash, and it settles on surfaces and sticks to your clothing. Ash and the smell of smoke is the result of the incomplete combustion of tobacco. Essentially, you’re smelling residual smoke particles that are attached to the walls and surfaces in the room where you smoked. That’s why candles aren’t the most practical way to get the smell out.
Properly Ventilate & Clean Your Smoking Room
Preventative maintenance like properly ventilating your home makes getting any leftover smoke out of the air much easier because the smoke won’t accumulate. To remove smoke odor, perform a deep cleaning of flooring, furniture, and surfaces. Using an air purifier and an exhaust fan are more effective methods at getting smoke out of the air than lighting a candle when you smoke indoors. Consider stashing a few air-purifying bags of activated charcoal under your furniture or in the corners of the room. They’re effective at removing the smell of smoke from cars. Many aficionados who smoke cigars in their cars will toss one under the seats. Combining some, or all, of our suggested methods with a smoke odor candle will lead to future cigar-friendly evenings down in your man cave free of the worry that smoke will linger when the party’s over.
