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With the end of the year celebrations, you plan to offer an indoor candle to one of your loved ones. But are they so harmless? Aren’t they a source of indoor air pollution? The answers of Martine Ott, Medical adviser in indoor environment at the University Hospital of Strasbourg.
Vanilla scent, berries, floral scent… Some people like to light an indoor candle to perfume their home. But if they are pleasant, are they without risk to health?
Volatile pollutant emissions
Lit candles release components into the surrounding air. While many people underestimate this risk, it is nonetheless very real. “In addition to fine particles, indoor candles, when burning, release volatile organic compounds or VOCs, which are harmful to health” confirms Martine Ott, medical adviser in indoor environment at the University Hospital of Strasbourg.
According to Ademe, the environment and energy management agency, “the main volatile pollutants emitted by candles are toluene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde“and we also find”low benzene emissions”. According to the agency, “formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and toluene are measured at concentration levels of several micrograms per cubic meter“and more ominously, “a slight decrease in formaldehyde concentrations after the end of combustion, or even an increase in post-combustion concentrations for several candles tested, which probably indicates secondary emissions of these products”.
“Possible to light one from time to time”
“The idea is not to banish these candles completely,” says Martine Ott, “we can do that, that’s fine, but if you want to light one from time to time, during this holiday season, it’s still possible. “.
On the other hand, it should not become a habit and you need to smell a smell inside. “As I always say, the clean smells nothing. Because generally, the people who use them get used to the smell, and don’t smell it anymore. So they tend to turn it on again more easily”.
Price is not security
According to our colleagues from UFC Que Choisir, who have looked into the question, the price of the candle does not necessarily determine its quality. In their December 2022 issue, 16 indoor candles were tested. The lowest rated in their ranking is a candle from the Diptyque brand, which costs 54 euros, the best being priced at 2.99 euros at Carrefour. So be careful not to believe that an expensive product is necessarily less polluting or safer…
A word of advice: ventilate!
It is therefore possible to use indoor candles in a reasoned way, to scent your home in an easy and pleasant way. Two recommendations are nevertheless issued by Martine Ott: “In general, you have to learn how to ventilate your home, with or without using a candle. If you light one, it’s best to ventilate afterwards, but you have to have the same reflex of creating a draft if we cooked fish and it smells strong” she recalls.
The second advice relates to fragile people, such as those affected by respiratory allergies or asthma for which it formally advises against the use of these candles.