Cleaning Candle Wax from Various Surfaces

Cleaning candle wax is a handy skill if you are in the habit of lighting candles in your home. Although the use of candles create soft, romantic light, dripping wax can leave a nasty clean-up job, especially if carpets, tablecloths or other fabrics are involved. Fortunately, removing candle wax is not that hard when you use the proper method.

Candle Wax on Carpet

Carpets are the most common surface that gets candle wax stains. To begin the removal task, get some ice cubes from your freezer and apply them on the candle wax. This will lower the temperature and freeze the area around, which will prevent the stain from spreading when you try to remove the wax. Once this is done, get a butter knife and scrape off the candle wax gently with its back.

Scraping off candle wax will leave residues. Hence you are going to need a cleaning fluid that has been made specifically for removing candle wax. But before applying the cleaner, test it on a hidden part of the carpet to see if it will fade its color. If it is safe to use, apply the cleaner in small amounts only, blotting after each application with a towel. If the candle wax has been dyed, there would be a faint halo that will be left on the carpet surface. This could be removed by diluting 1 part rubbing alcohol with 2 parts water. Apply this homemade solution in small amounts on the stain halo and again, blot out with a towel after each application. This should remove the dye residue and excess moisture on the carpet. Repeat the process until all traces of the wax dye had been removed.

Candle Wax on Tablecloth

If you have stained your tablecloth with candle wax, another method has to be utilized in order to remove it. If it is safe to iron the tablecloth, you can use the hot iron to heat up the wax stain and remove it from the material.

Again, the task should be started by freezing the stain and scraping as much of the wax as possible from the cloth. Blotting paper should then be placed on both sides of the wax stain. If you do not have a blotting paper at home, you can use brown paper bag or paper towels. But no matter what kind of paper you use on the stain, your next step would be to set the iron at low temperature and press it on the area of the wax stain. After you have saturated an area, move the blotting paper around. When heating candle wax on fabric, always be careful not to spread the stain accidentally, compounding your task. A cleaning fluid and a rubbing alcohol mixture can then be applied to remove all traces of the stain. Once the task has been completed, wash the fabric first before storing it.

Candle Wax on Wood

If you accidentally dripped candle wax on wood, freeze the wax stain and scrape off as much as wax as you can. Make sure that no damage is done on the wood surface when scraping. Once all the wax stains have been removed, you should then buff the wood surface.