Helpful Ways to Get Wax out of a Carpet

Keeping a house clean and stain-free often seems like an impossible task. You need to think about cleaning things like tile grout, blinds, curtains, and carpets in the presence of pets and children. Luckily, there’s a lot of information about removing all sorts of unsightly stains when it comes to carpets. We understand that stubborn stains such as red wine, nail polish, or candle wax can often seem so overwhelming that you might be tempted to rip up the carpet and start again. But don’t lose hope; we’re here to help.

 

How To Clean Candle Spills from a Carpet

Removing candle wax from your carpet may seem challenging, but lucky for you, we’ve got things covered. This post takes a look at the best ways to get candle wax out of your carpets using both heated and non-heated methods. Plus, we share a few additional tips and tricks when it comes to removing wax and wax stains from your carpet. So, if you enjoy creating an at-home ambiance with candles or use hair removal wax, read on. Let’s take a look at the most straightforward step-by-step guide below.

Does Candle Wax Stain Carpets?

As you can see, a candle wax spill comes out quite easily with heat or ice, but what about the stained area that is left behind? Unfortunately, candle wax can stain carpets if it’s not cleaned up quickly and correctly. However, when it comes to removing spilled candle wax from a carpet, it can mostly be done with materials you have at home. The key is getting to the spill right away; that way, your rug will be spotless and wax-free in no time at all. Remember, removing the hardened wax needs to be done first, and then you can deal with the stain.

Using Heat

The most common way to remove candle wax successfully from carpets is to use an iron or a hair dryer. Let’s explore each method below.

Using an Iron

1. Firstly, make sure the wax is in its hardened state.
2. Place a paper towel over the wax, and use a hot iron to gently press down on the paper towel for about 10 seconds. The paper towel will start to absorb some of the candle wax.
3. Now work carefully, lifting the iron and slowly dragging the paper towel out and lifting it off the carpet, then place it down again and apply pressure once again to the paper towel. Keep doing this until all the wax absorbs.
4. Do you notice a stain from the wax on the carpet? This is often the case, depending on the color of your candle. Now that you have removed the wax, use vinegar and baking soda or a carpet cleaning detergent to eliminate any waxy stains.

Using a Hairdryer

If you’re looking for ways to remove wax from a carpet without an iron, you can try using a hairdryer instead.

1. Start by scraping the dried wax with a blunt knife. This may result in some loose wax particles being left on the carpet, so vacuum these up.
2. Once this is done, the next step is to put a damp clean cloth on the stain.
3. Set your hairdryer to a low or medium temperature and place it over the towel. This should melt the remaining wax, and it will be absorbed into the towel.
4. Repeat this process of using a damp towel and the hairdryer if there is still wax on the carpet after the first attempt.
5. Finally, you can use rubbing alcohol or a regular carpet cleaning solution to clean the stain’s area and then leave the carpet to dry.

Without Heat

Perhaps you don’t want to use an iron or a hairdryer on your carpet; if that is the case, then here are a few good options for you:

Ice

1. First off, you will want to start by putting some ice cubes in a zipped plastic bag and make sure there are no holes in the bag. An ice pack should work as well.
2. Now that it’s full, put the bag of ice on the stain and press hard onto the stain. This will help make the wax even harder, but it won’t wet the carpet.
3. Once this is done, gently scrape the wax with a butter knife, make sure everything is dry and hard while not damaging the carpet’s fabric. This will result in a few chunks and loose wax particles falling onto the carpet. Get out the vacuum and clear up the area.
4. Finally, use regular carpet stain remover to dampen the affected area and remove the stain.
5. Absorb the moisture with a clean towel and let it dry.

Greaseproof Paper

So, how do you get wax out of a carpet with greaseproof paper? As above, you’ll need to use a warm iron when using greaseproof or wax paper when choosing to remove wax this way.

1. Place a folded piece of greaseproof paper over the wax. Press an iron (that is set on the high setting) on the paper for approximately 10 seconds.
2. This should remove the wax and transfer it to the greaseproof paper. Repeat this until the wax is removed, and this may require keeping the iron in place for upwards of 30 seconds

WD 40

Does WD 40 remove candle wax? Well, WD-40 is not only great for cleaning tools, fixing squeaky hinges, lubricating sticky drawers or wheels, and preventing rust. There are many more imaginative ways to use this popular product, including removing wax from a carpet, wallpaper, chalkboards, glass, upholstery, and more.

1. Start by removing the wax’s hard bits with a dull knife and the loose wax particles with a vacuum.
2. Then you should spray a generous amount of WD-40 on the carpet stain and let it sit for a few minutes.
3. Once it seems dry, use a sponge to wipe the wax off.

Removing a Wax Stain with Vinegar

1. Using white vinegar and baking soda works wonders when dealing with the remaining waxy stain. Sprinkle a fair amount of baking soda on the stain and let it sit for about a minute.
2. Then, pour vinegar on the baking soda to neutralize the stain. Apply vinegar until all the baking soda is finished dissolving. These two ingredients then act as a cleaning agent.
3. Finally, soak up the vinegar by dabbing with a towel and vacuuming the area.

Removing a Wax Stain with Rubbing Alcohol

Will rubbing alcohol remove a candle wax stain? Since candle wax is oil-based, a solvent like rubbing alcohol can dissolve oil is what you need to rid your carpet of a candle wax stain.

1. Firstly, put rubbing alcohol onto a cotton swab and start dabbing the stain. You will be able to see the oily, waxy stain melt away in front of your eyes.
2. Once it seems dry, use a sponge to wipe the wax off and vacuum around the area.

 

A Few More Helpful Tips

Have you recently spilled Scentsy candle wax on your carpet, or perhaps a pot of eyebrow wax? Here are a few more helpful hints and tips to rid your carpets of candle wax stains.

Scentsy Wax

Had an unfortunate Scentsy wax incident? Get the cleaning started by scraping as much of the Scentsy wax off the carpet as you can. If you need to, harden the wax with ice to make it easier to chip away.

1. Once this is done, and the excess pieces are swept away, place a paper bag or paper towel on the wax spilled area.
2. Now grab your iron or hairdryer, set it to the lowest setting and go over the paper bag. Scentsy wax is made to melt at low temperatures so the paper will soak up the wax and pull it away from the carpet fibers.
3. If you are dealing with a lot of wax, change the paper as needed until all of the remaining residue is gone.
4. Once the wax is gone, you’re probably going to be left with a stain. Use some rubbing alcohol or a carpet cleaning detergent to clean up the stay. Then rinse and dry the carpet.

Eyebrow Wax

Eyebrow and hair wax removal can be removed from a carpet in many of the same ways as candle wax. So, first off, lay brown paper or paper towel over the wax.

1. Heat your iron on low and rub it over the paper. Remember not to use the steam setting on your iron. You can also use a hairdryer to go over the brown paper to melt the wax and transfer it to the paper.
2. Repeat the process until no more wax remains.

What’s the Best Way to Remove Wax from a Carpet?

As you can see, there are many ways to get wax out of your carpet. The best way to remove candle wax depends on your preference and the tools and cleaning products you have at home. Cleaning a carpet by hand isn’t always easy, but once you find the way that works for you, from these many different methods we have listed for you, you will be able to keep your carpet or rug looking as good as new and keep hosting beautiful candlelit events at home. For those challenging stains or when you need a deeper clean, Carpet Tech’s team of trained, IICRC-certified technicians are ready to provide professional carpet cleaning services, using environmentally safe methods to maintain the quality and longevity of your carpets.