# Lighting my bedroom with candles--what do I need to know? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877 "2005-12-22T22:33:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/21 "2005-12-23T17:49:10Z")
I love my [REI candle lanterns](http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=4495&parent_category_rn=4500586&vcat=REI_SEARCH) You can hang it high and use a reflector to cast light down, or use a parabolic side reflector for directional light (and not ‘waste’ light that would otherwise illuminate an unused corner). ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/22 "2005-12-23T18:59:23Z")
How about [Floating Candles](http://hotproducts.alibaba.com/manufacturers-exporters/Floating_Candle.html) that would self-extiguish, I expect ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/23 "2005-12-23T19:10:05Z")
> [@Myglaren](#): > > How about [Floating Candles](http://hotproducts.alibaba.com/manufacturers-exporters/Floating_Candle.html) that would self-extiguish, I expect I realize now that having an open container of water is inviting your baby to drown, or something. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/24 "2005-12-23T20:23:13Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > The last time we had a power failure, I fired up a vintage oil lamp. It filled the room with a nice glow. > > After about 30 minutes, every smoke detector in the house went off. You won’t sleep for long. Word. 20 years ago almost to the day, on the first New Year’s after I got married, we lit up some lovely oil lamps. Tons of candles, and two or three oil lamps. All of which had wicks. The wicks weren’t as short as they should have been ( who knew? ) and all three oil lamps burned with soot rising up to the ceiling as they burned through the night. Nobody noticed- the only light was a lot of candle- and oil-light. I was not able to breathe by about 1:00 am. Came darned close to going to the hospital. Sat up in bed all night, mildly hypoxic, gasping away. The next morning we saw why- long dark streaks from the soot along the walls and ceiling. Everything had a light dusting of black soot on it. Every surface. Avoid soot and oil lamps, if you can. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/25 "2005-12-28T19:55:59Z")
> [@Speaker for the Dead](#): > > An additional question: if I wanted to use an oil or a kerosene lamp/lantern, would that be safe? What advice could be offered in that case? **Caution!** It was a kerosene lantern that is alleged to have started the Great Chicago Fire of 1871! ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/26 "2005-12-28T20:57:50Z")
Luckily I don’t live in a barn full of straw and cows ;). ---
**Author:** ![nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nerd)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/27 "2005-12-29T04:52:14Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Plus you might get a nice wavy pattern on your ceiling from light refracting off the water’s surface. I think that would be _reflection_, not _refraction_. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/28 "2005-12-29T08:33:19Z")
You may find that consistently using a kerosene lantern inside the house voids your home fire insurance. I’d check that before proceeding with this. P.S. Why do you enjoy reading by candlelight? What do you find nice about it? During a power outage this fall, I tried to read by candlelight, and found it quite annoying. The low level of light, fluctuating & flickering, soon made me quit. Maybe I didn’t have the right kind of candles; I just used the normal ones around the house. But I didn’t find it enjoyable at all. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/29 "2005-12-29T09:21:55Z")
My cat once caught herself on fire by brushing against a lit candle. Fortunately I was standing right there and instantly wrapped her up in a towel to put it out. The fire only lasted long enough to singe a patch of fur; she didn’t even feel the heat of it and was annoyed at being suddenly harrassed with a towel. ---
**Author:** ![sharkattack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@sharkattack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharkattack)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/30 "2005-12-29T11:22:14Z")
Speaker for the Dead I spent a few years in Africa when I was younger, both in University and travelling. I got very use to using oil lamps there and to this day I love reading by candlelight when I’m going to bed…way more so than by electric light. So I understand where you are coming from. Depending on the candles, I’ll use maybe 3 or 4 and try to blow them out before I sleep…but sometimes it doesnt happen, and Ill wake up to a nice glow in the room, and then doze off again. Its really not that big of a deal, and its unbelievably relaxing (maybe so only because of my previous experiences). I always have the candles on plates though, and never near anything. If I dont blow the candles out then they just burn down to the plate and eventually go out by themselves. Candles are great for other purposes as well, and falling asleep to candlelight embracing a “friend” is fantastic. Yes, they can be dangerous, but so is driving your car. Thousands of people die in house fires due to candles…but many peopel die also from automobiles, lightning and farm pigs. As long as you are very aware of the dangers, use common sense and take precautions, (and dont have cats!), I dont see any reason why you should have problems. People have living by candlelight for thousands of years, and many people in “third world” countries still do everynight, and live to the next day. One piece of advice, just make sure if theyre near your bed… dont push your pillow towards them when you are sleeping, or someone else may need to be speaking for the dead speaker of the dead. Good luck SA ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/31 "2005-12-29T15:31:39Z")
Use candle lanterns or something that covers the flame. Use more than one, otherwise it’ll cause eyestrain- one candle ins’t enough, and it flickers. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877/32 "2005-12-29T15:55:49Z")
All right. You are all great. I’ll give y’all the rundown of the current situation. I’ve abandoned the oil lamp idea, for a number of reasons. The most prominent is simply that my city is woefully undersupplied in practical non-electric lighting. I’ve ordered a simple tin lantern from eBay that will serve two purposes. First, most of the candle’s soot will be deposited in it, rather than around my room. Second, it can be completely closed, so if it is knocked over when I’m not in the room, the flame won’t be able to reach anything flammable. I’ve also bought a really nice wall-sconce with a mirror in line with the candle. It provides a surprising amount of light, while being much safer from my inquisitive animals. To those who are curious what I see in it: I just enjoy it. It has a rustic/antiquated feel that I’ve always been partial to, in addition to being a really pleasant colour of light. There’re little bits of flickering, but I’m usually able to ignore them. All in all, it’s nice. My girlfriend likes them too, which helps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lighting-my-bedroom-with-candles-what-do-i-need-to-know/336877.md?page=1)