The latest Pacific Northwest snow and ice storm that struck last week packed a very strong wallop. Practically everyone in the surrounding Olympia area lost power in time frames ranging from hours to days. Even if your power lines are below ground you are still at risk losing power. It is best to be prepared in the event of losing power for up to a week. A week may seem extreme, but it’s best to have a surplus of emergency supplies than to have not enough. An absolute necessity that you can’t have too many of when the power goes out are candles. Candles are a relatively inexpensive light and heat source that can be bought in almost any store. Next time your power goes out, fight back with candles.
Candles have been around for centuries and were the primary source of heat and light for our ancestors. Different candles were made for different requirements so a lot of the guesswork got removed on which candles work the best. Oil lamps have also been around for many years and are also great for when the power goes out. An oil lamp gives off excellent heat and light and unlike a candle you can adjust the flame height with the turn of a dial without having to blow out the flame. Oil lamps will be discussed more in depth in a later article.
Of course with all candles and oil lamps, safety must be practiced at all times. One can say that when you light a candle you are playing with fire. If the candle is not sitting well in its holder it can very easily fall out and ignite the carpet, furniture or you. Always be in the same room as your candle when it is lit. It’s a good idea to have a bucket of water near the candles at all times. That way, if a candle falls and ignites the carpet, you won’t be wasting valuable time getting water to put the fire out.
Also, keep aware of what happens around the candle at all times. Don’t put a candle in a place that your pet frequents, your pet can see in the dark better than you can. When my power went out, the candles stayed pretty much on top of my piano where my cats don’t get up on. No candles were on the lamp table because that’s a high traffic area where my cats go. And don’t think that a cat knows what a candle is all about, they are curious creatures and a lit candle does ignite a cat’s curiosity and sometimes a whisker or two. Plan ahead and place the candle in a safe location.
As the candle is burning, you may notice the air seems heavier. That is because the candle uses oxygen to burn and of course oxygen is something that people breathe to stay alive. It’s something to keep in mind when burning candles that if you feel groggy, step outside for a breath of fresh air. If you get too groggy you may fall asleep. Sleeping while candles are burning around you is not a good idea at all and an invitation to disaster.
Not all candles are created equal in relation to light and amount of heat generated. Votive candles are fun, decorative and give a pleasing aroma to your home, depending on their scent. But their flame is small compared to the taller tapered candles. Also, the amount of unburned wax is more with the votive candle than it is with the tapered. This unused wax is either thrown away or save it if you want to make your own candles.
The shorter thick tapered candles you find in the hardware stores are best suited for emergency situations. The tapered candles last for a long time and give off quite a bit of light. You can find holders for these tapered candles just about everywhere in many different shapes and form from wall mounted candle holders to sit on the desk holders. These candles are very useful and versatile. In fact, today’s tapers look almost identical to the candles homesteaders used over 100 years ago. Some tapered candles come in drip-less form, which is neat because there’s less mess to clean up. If you get a drippy candle, you can either throw the wax away, or save it and try to make your own candles.
The little tea light candles only last for about an hour and aren’t very practical for keeping a home lit and warm. Because of their short and squatty nature, these also have the least amount of likelihood tipping over. These candles worked well on my wobbly kitchen table when the power went out. The tall tapers would threaten to fall out where the tea lights just sat there. It could be said that the little tea lights can be one of the safest candles to use.
Pillar candles are awesome and so are the ones in the glass jars. My mother gave me a very large pillar candle with three wicks inside and so far that one gave out the best amount of light and heat. For safety, all of my pillar candles sat in old metal pie tins. This was a precaution to catch the spilling wax so it wouldn’t go over the bookcase. Sometimes these pillar candles burn unevenly and a hole can open up in the candle spilling all of the hot wax at once. Also the pie plates make clean up much easier when the power comes back on.
Candles do help keep you warm when the power is lost as I found out in our latest storm. After closing off the unnecessary rooms to my home there was about 900 square feet to warm up. My gas fireplace was not functioning so any heat source had to come from candles. Soon, there were four oil lamps and twenty six candles going at once in my living room and kitchen. At five in the afternoon my home was a chilly 53 degrees inside, cold enough to see your breath. An hour later, my home was up to 55 degrees with the same number of candles going. By eight in the evening, three more candles were lit and my home temperature had gone up to 57 degrees. The house reached 58 degrees by nine that night. Fewer than thirty candles were going and made a five degree difference in four hours in a 900 square foot space. The light was just bright enough to read comfortably with or even play a card game.
Candles are thankfully relatively cheap. You can find many of them at garage sales, second hand stores, hardware stores and online. It’s a good idea to have a few on hand at all times because if you‘ve lost power, there’s a good chance that your closest store has as well. Even if the store is running on a generator the clerks may be doing a cash only basis. Candles fit well in an old shoebox and take up very little room just make sure you can get to them.
If you desire to, you can even make your own candles. Jas Townsend & Sons specialize in primitive 1700-1800’s goods; from cooking to clothing and around the house items. They have a very nice candle making kit that has everything you need for a reasonable price. http://jas-townsend.com/ Is the link to their website and you can come away with many items that are power-outage friendly. Another good website is http://www.trackofthewolf.com/ they too sell primitive items with a really neat wooden lantern kit.
The ice storm that struck last week was a little worse than the ice storm that hit back in 1996. We were without power for about the same amount of time on both occasions. Back then our family pulled through with candles and this year we did it again. Candles aren’t just for decorations but they are an absolute must for heat and light when the power goes out. They’re inexpensive, fantastically helpful and give off a comforting warm glow in the dark. If you store your candles in a cool, dry place they can last for years. Next time you’re at the store, toss in a pack of candles and matches. They can be an investment you won’t regret.
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