There are many, many reasons why you might decide to light a candle. It could be that you want to get rid of a smell that you dislike, or it could be that you want to save some money on electricity. However, there might come a time when you find that you don’t have a lighter to light your candle with.
While you might not know what to do when first faced with a situation like this, it is safe to say that there are a number of methods that you can use to get the candle lit. Some might involve purchasing something new to get the candle going, whereas many others will use common household objects to get the candle lit up without a problem.
1 – Use Matches
If you realize that your lighter either doesn’t work or is missing, the easiest solution to turn to is going to be to use matches. While they might not be as convenient to use as a lighter, they are just as efficient at getting the job done.
More often than not, you will have regular matches that you can use inside your home, and if you don’t, just about every grocery store out there has matches that you can choose from.
With this being said, there are a few problems that come with using matches. For instance, a candle that you have had for a long, long time might be close to being completely burned out, but you might want to use what little is left.
This cramped space is generally not the best idea when you are working with the open flame that matches provide. If you are having an issue of reaching into a burned-out candle, there are still a few things that you can do to get your candle lit and burning.
2 – Use the Stove
The stove can actually help you in quite a few ways when it comes to keeping a candle lit up and going. The first method is really only going to work when you have an appliance that relies on electrical resistance.
This includes room heaters, toasters, stoves, and ovens. There really isn’t much you are going to need for this method other than a heating element and a candle, preferably one of the long and skinny ones.
With this method, all you really need to do is turn on the stove, wait for it to heat up a little bit, and then touch the wick of the candle to the heating element. In most cases, this will set the wick alight, essentially burning your candle for you.
Once you have one lit candle, you can light up as many other candles in your house as you need to, meaning that it can act as your lighter. Of course, you should always turn off the heating element once you are done using it.
There is another method that you can try if you do not have a long, skinny candle that you can touch to a heating element. With this method, you are going to want to be cautious above all else.
You are also going to need a dry piece of spaghetti. Just as you would touch a candle to an activated heating element, you are going to want to touch the dry spaghetti noodle to the heating element.
This should set the spaghetti on fire, giving you a makeshift match that you can light your candle with. If you have multiple candles, you should gather them all together so that you can light as many as you can before the spaghetti stick burns out, or you should have multiple noodles to spare.
Either way, this is a quick and easy method to light just about any candle, assuming that you have electricity still running.
Keep in mind that there are plenty of alternatives to spaghetti sticks, such as cotton swabs, napkins, and so on. However, spaghetti noodles will give you a little bit more time before the whole thing is completely burned out, making it the best makeshift match that you can use in this kind of situation.
In the case that there is a power outage and that is why you are trying to light candles, there is one other solution that you can consider.
3 – Use a Battery
This method can be a little bit troublesome, so keep that in mind when you are applying it to your candle. You should also exercise caution when doing this, as it can start a fire if you are not careful.
With this method, you are going to want to use a battery and some tin foil. The battery can be a AAA, AA, C, or D cell battery, depending on what you have on you.
First things first, you will want to cut about ¾ of an inch of tin foil that is twice as long as the battery you are using. You should fold this piece of tin foil in half and make sure that you mold the folded end to a point less than ¼ of an inch wide.
Once you do that, you should unfold the other end of the tin foil and hold each end of the tin foil to one end of the battery.
The narrowed section in the middle, where you folded the points to be smaller, should quickly become hot enough that you can set the wick of the candle alight, allowing you to light your candle no matter what time of day it is.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Film/Video/Media Studies, as well as an associates degree in Communications. I began producing videos and musical recordings nearly 15 years ago. I am a guitarist and bassist in Southwest MI and have been in a few different bands since 2009, and in 2012 I began building custom guitars and basses in my home workshop as well. When I’m home, I love spending time with my three pets (a dog, cat, and snake) and gardening in my backyard.