A couple of years ago we had three apartments turnover, all about the same time, and they all had a sort of black soot on the walls and ceilings that made the apartments look dark and dingy and depressing.

I was standing in one of the apartments with my mouth open, and my maintenance contractor said: “they must have been burning candles 24-7.”  He then showed me that the soot couldn’t be washed off…it had to be repainted.  Ugh.

This can be a big expense for landlords, and forces you to keep the apartment off the market longer to get painting done.  So here’s a great solution to cut this damage off at the pass:

Promote soy wax candles to your tenants!

Here’s how green and sexy soy wax candles are:

• Paraffin candles are petroleum-based products.  They are full of toxic chemicals and additives, and they are unhealthy to breathe.  They leave an icky black soot on the walls and ceilings of living spaces, and in your lungs.
• Soy candles are biodegradable, are non-toxic, are made with renewable energy resources, burn 30-50% longer, are healthy to breathe, and don’t leave soot and residue on the walls.
• Soybeans are part of the world’s sustainable agriculture program, so you’ll be investing in a valuable product that is helping the environment.
• Many soy candles are beautifully hand crafted by small American businesses and come in a large variety of appealing aromas.

I now attach a written info sheet to each new lease, and I pitch each new tenant on the joys of soy candles.

Lemons to lemonade.

Soy candles are available at Whole Foods and Amazon dot com.

Photo credit: jiposhy via photopin cc