Gel candles can explode and pose a serious safety risk.

See the email warning here.

Yes and no.

Candles of any type are a safety risk when left unattended or placed near flammable materials. So are gel candles significantly more dangerous than wax candles?

Let's take a closer look at the claims made in the email warning:

"Gel candles can explode" The putative explanation offered - gel candles 'build up a gas' that can explode - isn't very illuminating. To be pedantic, all candles, whether wax or gel, burn because of a gas or a vapor. And unless the gas was confined, how could it be concentrated to the point it could ignite and explode?

Another possible explanation is the candle container becomes so hot that it shatters spontaneously, or, in other words, 'explodes.' Note that this is not caused by exploding gas, it's caused by the heat of the candle. Heat stress and shattering of the candle containers can happen with wax candles as well. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a number of recalls for wax candles with containers that have shattered or exploded.

"[A gel candle] came apart in her hand" Judging by recalls issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, this has happened. But it is a risk posed by the candle container and can happen with both wax candles as well.

Examining candle recalls does not yield solid evidence that gel candles are significantly more dangerous than wax candles. Of the twenty three candle recalls issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, only two were for gel candles. One recall was because of dangers similar to those in the email, "The candles could flare up during use, causing the candles' glass holders to overheat and break. Consumers could be burned or injured by broken glass." However, wax candles have been recalled for exactly the same problems.

The combination of uneven burning, liquified gel, and containers that can break or shatter probably can make gel candles more dangerous than most wax candles if used inappropriately. Candles of any type are always a fire risk and should be used with care.

The Urban Legend Zeitgeist wonders why the anonymous author of the email warning did not also raise the alarm over the dangers of exploding toilets, "they didn't discover the fire until there was an explosion, which was her toilet blowing up," since that was what doomed the house.

Much like the email warning on boiling water in a microwave, this email seeks to dramatize the danger inherent in a common household article. It certainly makes more of an impression than a safety warning without the personal testimony.

Web references:

• Lighting/Lighters Related Recalls from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• CPSC and Candle-lite Announce Recall of Clearfire Candles from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• CPSC, S.C. Johnson Announce Recall of Gel Candles from Glade from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• A warning against gel candles on the eve of Christmas from the Finnish Consumer Agency
• Candle Safety from the National Fire Protection Association
• Gel Candles Pose Fire Hazard from About.com
• Gel Candle Danger from the Urban Legend Reference Pages

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