How to Remove Candle Wax Stains

How’d that happen? You look down and there’s little splatters of wax on your beautiful clothes. Candles are wonderful to use as decorations or for birthday celebrations but oddly enough, the wax ends up on our clothing. Acting quickly is important to remove the wax along with any dyes before they leave a permanent mark.

Removing Wax and Treating the Stain

The following method is safe for all fabric types.

You Will Need:

• Spoon or Butter knife
• Brown paper bags
• Iron
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Clean white cloth

Steps to Remove the Wax/Stain:

1. Gently scrape hardened wax with the spoon or butter knife to remove as much as possible. If wax is still soft, place the garment in the refrigerator for a few minutes to harden the wax and then scrape away.
2. Preheat iron to lowest setting with NO STEAM.
3. Place a brown paper bag on your ironing board. Be sure not to use brown paper bags with words printed on them as they will transfer to your waxy garment leaving you with another, more difficult stain to remove.
4. Place the waxy area of the clothing on top of the brown paper bag.
5. Top the waxy area with another brown paper bag, avoiding any printed words that may be on the bag.
6. Gently move the warm iron over the waxy area until it melts and adheres to the paper bag. Keep the iron moving in circular motions to keep from scorching the area.
7. When you see a dark spot forming on the bag (this is the wax being absorbed), move both bags – underneath and on top of the clothing – to a clean spot and iron again.
8. Repeat as necessary, until no wax remains.
9. If dye from the wax remains in your clothing, you will need to tackle that stain next.
10. Place a small amount of rubbing alcohol on the spot. Be sure to test a small inconspicuous spot to make sure it doesn’t damage the fabric.
11. Blot with a clean white cloth to remove. Repeat until the dye no longer appears on your clothing or shows on the cloth when blotted.
12. Sponge with water to rinse the area.
13. Wash the clothing as per the instructions on the care tag.
14. You may want to air-dry the clothing to be sure the stain is not noticeable when it’s dry. If you place it in the dryer and it’s not completely gone, it will be set from the heat and impossible to remove.

Additional Tips and Ideas

• Be careful not to let the iron set in one spot too long or it may scorch the fabric.
• If wax residue still remains, use a dab of dry-cleaning solvent and blot to remove.
• Prevent more wax spills by buying quality candles. Petroleum candles tend to drop more and contain dyes that are difficult to remove.
• Silks and delicate fabrics should be cleaned with caution. If you are trying to remove the stain from an expensive piece of clothing, you may want to have a professional remove the stain.