Candle wax spills and drips occur — the taper candles around the dinner table have been made to burn while you’re in another room; a guest moves a lit candle, spilling molten wax onto the table or carpeting. Wax drippings do not have to be catastrophic. Oftentimes, the wax can be removed from hard surfaces and materials alike, returning them to their own original wax-free condition once more.
Freeing Wax From Fabric
Candle wax left onto a fabric-based belonging — if a tablecloth or tunic — renders the material temporarily unwashable, because washing can create multiple oily spots resulting in spots. Bend and Lay the fabric back and forth beneath the darkened areas to decode the waxsome pieces can fall away or could be scraped off easily with a fingernail or a plastic knife or scraper. Freeze the fabric for some time to harden the wax more, and repeat the process. Remove remaining wax by putting the fabric between two sheets of thick plain paper, such as panels of a brown purse, and ironing on low heat. The wax melts as the paper warms, moving the wax into the paper. Keep ironing with fresh pieces of paper until no wax is left.
Rug or Carpet Wax Removal
A zippered sandwich bag filled with ice cubes hardens candle wax when you leave it to sit over the affected area for several minutes. Rub the edge of a plastic scraper back and forth over the hardened wax to chip it away. Remove remaining wax by putting a brown paper bag over the place and ironing at a low heat setting. Lift the paper every couple of moments to see if the wax has transferred onto the paper. Use fresh paper every time the paper absorbs wax to prevent the wax from moving back into the carpet or rug fibers.
Floors and Furniture
The ice-cube treatment removes wax from hard surfaces such as furniture and wood or tile flooring. Keep the ice cubes in a zippered bag to keep the ground or furniture from getting wet. After a few minutes, lift the ice bag away and scrape the hardened wax together with the edge of a plastic scraper or jar with a plastic spoon. For vinyl floors, hot water onto a cloth or hot air from a blow dryer softens the wax; blot up the wax with paper towels.
Candle Holders
Metal candlesticks or glass candle holders become coated with hardened candle wax even when you’re careful. Remove hardened wax by picking off as much as possible with your fingers before putting the item in the freezer for an hour or so. Freezing occasionally divides the wax from the candle holder enough that the wax simply pops from or from the holder. Gently or pry the suspended wax away with a plastic knife or your fingernail. If the candlestick or candle holder is made of combined substances, such as wood and metal, do not freeze it the substances can expand or contract at different rates, damaging the item. Remove wax from the exterior of a glass candle holder, or any glass surface, by heating the wax with a hair dryer and then dabbing up the wet wax with a soft cloth or paper towel.