How to Remove Candle Wax

Considering the care most people use around candles, it sometimes makes you wonder how we manage to spill candle wax on such a variety of surfaces, not all of which can be treated the same for removal.

For quick spills on a hard surface floor, e.g. linoleum, tiles, cushion floor, etc. apply an ice cube and scrape it off with a butter knife in an instant. Yes, it will peel off without the icing, but that makes it quicker.

On a surface that can't be scraped, like a hardwood floor, use your hair dryer to soften the wax and wipe it up with a cloth.

And speaking of cloth, nothing is worse than setting a lovely table for company, and having those beautiful taper candles turn out not to be the non-dripping kind. To remove candle wax from cloth, take as much off the surface as you can, either by letting it harden on its own, or using an ice cube. Then take two pieces of absorbent, non-print paper such as a paper bag or paper towels, and use a warm, dry iron to heat the wax and let it melt into the paper. Move your paper around every few seconds, so that you won't be trying to get a saturated section to absorb more than it can.

If it is only a small spot, whether on a tablecloth or piece of clothing, and you are afraid of scorching it with the iron, you can use the same upper and lower layer of paper towels, but heat a teaspoon or tablespoon and use the bowl of it to press over the paper and melt the wax into the towels underneath.

Sometimes if the candle was colored, you are left with a colored stain. Try dabbing it with a Q-tip soaked in denatured alcohol then laundering.