How to Remove Wax from Fabric, Carpet and Lots of Other Things

I’m sharing a tried & true tip for how to remove wax. This wax removal tip will have your linens, carpets, etc. back to perfect in no time at all!

For my celebrity couples birthday dinner party I borrowed a bunch of linens and tablecloths from my friend, who is a fabulous even coordinator. The silver tablecloths were gorgeous and shimmered beautifully in the candle light. The only problem was that some of the candle wax spilled and dripped onto the linens leaving them with lots of wax drippings, looking like this. YIKES!

When I saw this I thought, “she’s going to KILL me!” Fortunately my husband is also very good with random cleaning tips and he had a great solution for how to get the wax off without scraping, which could ruin the fabric fibers. So today I’m sharing our super easy tip from how to remove wax from fabric.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Ironing board
• Iron
• Old towel, thick rag or paper towels

Step 1

Plug in the iron and let it heat up. Choose your temperature depending on the type of fabric you are working with. Delicate fabrics and silk, can take less heat than other, more durable fabrics. I have found that at least medium heat, is usually best. If you are unsure, start with just a warm iron and work your way up, if you need to.

While the iron is heating up, lay the fabric over the ironing board.

Step 2

Cover the soiled fabric with an old towel. Doubled up paper towels would work too but you want to make sure it’s thick enough to get hot and not burn the fabric.

Step 3

Once the iron is hot, “iron” the towel. You want to move the iron slowly over the towel so that the heat has enough time to melt the wax, and the towel has time to absorb it. But don’t move too slowly. It’s better to make multiple passes over the wax residue, than to keep the iron in one place for too long.

Step 4

Continue to check under the towel to make sure all of the was residue has transferred to the towel and is no longer on your fabric.

Depending on how much wax are on your linens, or the texture of your fabric, this might take a little time. Sometimes it takes me multiple passes over the same spot, to lift off all the remaining wax.

After the wax is off the fabric, toss the old towel and wash the linens like normal. When you are finished with the wax removal, the linens will look as good as new and no one will ever know about the accident! Unless of course you write a blog post about it and tell the whole world. 😉

This trick also works on carpet, clothes, glass, and other types of flooring, if you have candles that accidentally drip on the floor.

I know there are lots of other tricks out there for how to remove wax, including: rubbing alcohol, vegetable oil, ice cubes, the freezer, a butter knife, a hair dryer, etc., but this wax removal tip has worked flawlessly, countless times, and I have never ruined an item, as I have with some of the other tips out there. I’d love to hear your success stories and see your before and afters too!

Here’s a video tutorial I did, in case that’s easier to follow. 🙂