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How to Remove Candle Wax from Placemats, Tablecloths, and Cloth Napkins

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By Diligent77
User-Submitted Article
(5 Ratings)
Remove Candle Wax from Placemats, Tablecloths, and Cloth Napkins
Remove Candle Wax from Placemats, Tablecloths, and Cloth Napkins

We have all experienced the sinking feeling of hopelessness as we watched spilled candle wax harden upon our tablecloths, cloth napkins, or placemats. Removing candle wax is not as impossible as it may intitially seem; here are some tips to help get the candle wax out of your cloth items.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  • A regular household steam iron
  • Some clean brown paper bags
  • Ice cubes or an ice pack
  • A butter knife
  1. Step 1

    You will need to apply the ice cube or ice pack to the spilled wax. You will have to wait until the wax has cooled and somewhat hardened before applying the ice cube/ice pack. The ice cube/pack will make the wax brittle and much easier to scrape off.

  2. Step 2

    Use the butter knife to gently scrape off the brittle wax. Make sure that the butter knife does NOT have any kind of serrated edge (even if it's a small one), as you do not want to damage the cloth that you are scraping. You may also use any type of firm, thin-edged object, like a plastic spatula or a credit card, to scrape the wax off as well.

  3. Step 3

    Now it's time to break out the paper bags. Place one paper bag underneath the cloth, and then one paper bag on top of the cloth, making sure to cover the area where the wax was spilled.

  4. Step 4

    Heat the iron to medium or medium-high heat. You will have to judge how high the heat needs to be based on the type of fabric. You definitely don't want to risk burning the fabric, so use your better judgment on this.

  5. Step 5

    Iron the top paper bag, making sure to cover the area where the wax was spilled. The wax should transfer to the paper bag. Repeat this process, using a new paper bag, until you have removed as much wax as possible (hopefully all of it). Throw the used paper bags in the trash once they have cooled off.

  6. Step 6

    For optimum results, wash the cloth as soon as possible after this process.

Tips & Warnings
  • If the wax was from a colored candle, you may have a stain left behind even after you remove the wax. In this case, use a spot/stain remover and pre-treat the stain before washing the cloth.
  • Please exercise caution when using the iron--don't burn yourself!
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