How to Remove Wax Residue

Wax candles provide us with light an beauty and, when scented, they delight our sense of smell. Wax candles illuminate our workspaces, bring joy to our meals, and allow us to worship. They serve not just as functional tools, but also as conversation pieces and objects of beauty. Unfortunately, the very wax that they are comprised of also provides us with endless cleaning hassles. Fortunately removing candle wax involves only a little preparation and effort with tools you probably already have around the house. The steps for removing wax residue from cloth, carpeting, wooden furniture differs slightly, so be sure to use the right method.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• ice cubes or an ice pack a blunt object such as a butter knife, a credit card, or a wooden ruler an iron newspaper or a paper grocery bags a vacuum if you're removing wax from carpeting cream furniture polish if you're removing wax from wooden furniture a soft, clean cloth if you're removing wax from furniture

Removing Wax Residue from Cloth

1. Let the wax that's dripped onto any cloth dry and harden to avoid smearing it and making the wax even harder to remove.

2. Place ice directly over the spot where the wax spilled to freeze it. This makes the wax brittle and easier to remove.

3. Use a blunt object to chip off as much of the wax as possible, leaving only the residue that has soaked into the cloth.

4. Place a newspaper or paper bag on either side of the cloth and gently iron the area on medium high setting until the wax reside transfer to the paper.

5. Repeat the ironing process on fresh areas of paper until all the wax has been removed from the cloth.

Removing Wax Residue from Carpeting

6. Let the wax that's dripped onto the carpeting dry and harden to avoid smearing it and making the wax even harder to remove.

7. Place ice directly over the spot where the wax spilled to freeze it. This makes the wax brittle and easier to remove.

8. Place a newspaper or paper bag on top of the spot where the wax spilled and gently iron the area using a low setting until the wax reside transfer to the paper.

9. Repeat the ironing process on fresh areas of paper until all the wax has been removed from the carpet.

10. Vacuum any loosened wax from the area of the spill.

Removing Wax Residue from Wooden Furniture

11. Let the wax that's dripped onto any wooden furniture dry and harden to avoid smearing it and making the wax even harder to remove.

12. Place ice directly over the spot where the wax spilled to freeze it. This makes the wax brittle and easier to remove.

13. Use a blunt, non-metal object such as a credit card to chip off as much of the wax as possible. Use gentle strokes to avoid scarring the wood.

14. Once the wax is removed, polish the area with cream furniture polish.

15. Buff the area where the wax spilled to clean off any remaining wax residue or polish.

Tips & Warnings

• If your candles are made from colored wax, remove the wax first and then treat the area as if it has been stained with dye.
• Be sure to use the proper iron temperature for the cloth or carpeting. Cloth can typically handle higher temperatures than carpeting. If your iron temperature is too hot on carpeting, it may melt and destroy your iron.