Incense Safety Tips - How To Enjoy Incense Safely
Generally, following good fire safety rules and using your best judgment are the keys to using incense safely. In general, basic incense has a small ember and doesn’t burn hot enough to do serious bodily harm. But it can hurt if a loved one accidentally touches it! And it can also damage other household items and potentially ignite flammable materials. So it’s always best to be overly-cautious to make sure your favorite relaxation space stays safe, calm and relaxing.
At WeIncense, we consider ourselves incense experts, but we’re not health or fire safety experts. The following is provided for general informational purposes only and is our opinion and a place to get started - we highly encourage everyone to do their own research and to please always defer to your own best judgment and to the advice of experts.
The big keys to incense safety are:
Heat-Safe Materials
Supervision
Space
Heat-Safe Materials
Use a heat-resistant area or item to burn your incense on. Always remember incense is hot and can potentially damage materials or surfaces that can’t handle the heat. If you're not sure if a material or surface can handle heat or ash well, try a quick online search to see if any burners are sold using that or similar material.
Also plan your burning area for the case some embers or ash fall outside of your burner. Keeping your incense burner on a larger heat-resistant tray or stone slab is a great way to know you’re covered. Also, a layer of sand or uncooked rice at the bottom of cone burners (or any burners) is a great extra safety measure. To be extra safe, also be mindful of other items nearby that are hanging over, or could fall near, your incense.
Incense should also never be burnt near flammable substances or liquids, just to be safe.
Supervision
Keep an eye on your incense while it’s lit - never leave burning incense unattended. Keep in mind that heat and smoke tend to rise, so also make sure the general area around your incense is safe for use. When you're done with your incense, make sure to take extra care to make sure it has completely cooled before disposing of the ash and whatever else remains.Space
Use in a well-ventilated area - you can still enjoy incense and partake in incense-centric activities in well-ventilated areas. Using incense in larger spaces or with a window cracked should do the trick. Most incense is potent enough that it can even be enjoyed outside!
Incense, lit or not, should also be kept out of the reach of little ones and beloved pets - we would never want an inexperienced loved one to unknowingly touch or ingest an incense item.