Candles can create a wonderful ambiance in a home, but candle wax on the carpet is not something you want to have. Wax in the carpet can be difficult to remove but don’t worry; there is a way to get it out.
How to get wax out of carpet? There are different methods for getting wax out of the carpet. If you have an iron, you can follow these three easy steps:
- Soak a cotton towel in water.
- Fold the towel in half and place it on top of the wax on the carpet.
- Put a hot iron on top of the towel for about 10 seconds.
Continue this process until all the wax is removed from the carpet. This neat trick can work as the heat will draw out the wax from the carpet and cause it to stick to the towel.
Read on to learn all the ways to get wax out of your carpet, including freezing the wax or melting the wax.
Also, to make cleaning your carpet a breeze, take a look at the BISSELL SpotClean ProHeat Portable Spot and Stain Carpet Cleaner:
Click here to see this cleaner on Amazon.
This carpet cleaner has a deep-reach tool that can remove embedded stains and dirt from the bottom up. It also has heatwave technology that can help maintain the same temperature while cleaning.
How to Get Wax Out of Carpet?
Removing candle wax that melted on the carpet is not that difficult to do, but you must use caution; otherwise, you can destroy your carpet. A neat way to remove the wax is by using an iron and damp towel:
- Soak a cotton towel in water.
- Place the folded towel on top of the wax on the carpet.
- Place a hot iron on the towel for about 10 seconds.
So all you need for this wax-removing method is a clothes iron, a cotton towel or absorbent paper, and a little patience. If there’s only a small amount of melted wax on the carpet, this method should work well. You just have to dampen or soak a towel with water. Next, fold the towel in half and put it directly over the wax. Get your clothes iron, plug it in the outlet, and set in on “high.”
Place the clothes iron on top of the towel and let it stay there for at least 10 seconds. The heat from the iron will draw out the wax from the carpet and cause it to stick to the towel. It should remove a small amount of wax from the carpet. For a bigger wax stain, it may take up to 30 seconds of towel ironing to get all of the wax out.
To completely clean that spot on your carpet, you need to vacuum to get all the tiny bits of wax that may still be lurking deep in the carpet’s backing. For this situation, you can use the BISSELL Little Green ProHeat Portable Carpet Cleaner.
Click here to see this cleaner on Amazon.
This portable cleaner has a powerful spray and suction clean, which can dry your carpet in just one step. There’s also a built-in water heater in this machine that will keep the water at a constant temperature. This machine has separate tanks for clean and dirty water. Although it is small, it can provide thorough deep cleaning every time you use it, including when removing the wax from your carpet.
Remove Wax in the Carpet by Melting It or Freezing It
How to get candle wax out of carpet by melting or freezing the wax? There are two different (opposite) ways of how to get candle wax out of the carpet. One is by melting the wax, and the other is by freezing it.
Method 1: Melting the Wax
Step 1: Get a sheet of brown paper bag and place it over the wax on the carpet. Don’t use a bag made of plastic.
Step 2: Get a towel and put it under the part of the paper bag that is not directly over the wax. You are going to move this bag around as the melted wax saturates it. In this way, the wax won’t spread onto the surrounding areas of the carpet.
Step 3: Get a clothes iron, plug it in, and set it at “warm.” Do not place it at “very high” because it might burn the paper bag. The steam setting isn’t also recommended since you only want to use heat with no steam.
Step 4: Melt the wax by ironing the paper bag slowly. It will be drawn out of the carpet and absorbed by the paper bag. In time, the paper bag will be saturated with wax. Thus, you have to move the paper bag around so that a fresh part of it will draw the remaining melted wax out of the carpet.
Also, don’t let the iron stay too long on a particular spot on the paper. If that part gets overheated, it may burn. Repeat the process as necessary. When you don’t see wax staining the paper anymore, lift the paper and check if the wax is completely removed.
Step 5: Pour rubbing alcohol in a piece of clean cotton cloth. Rub the cloth onto the remaining stains, and then place another clean cloth over the wax stain. Set the clothes iron on “steam” and put it over the stained spot. Any wax stain left on the carpet will be drawn out into the cloth.
Step 6: Spray the spot with cleaning solvent or carpet spray to ensure that it is completely clean. Get a sponge or clean cloth and blot dry the spot. You can also set the clothes iron to “steam” and go over the spot.
If that spot does not return to its normal appearance, you can vacuum it. The BISSELL SpotClean ProHeat Portable Spot and Stain Carpet Cleaner is just the right cleaning tool for this purpose.
Click here to see this cleaner on Amazon.
This carpet cleaner has a deep-reach tool that can remove embedded stains and dirt from the bottom up. It also has a self-cleaning mechanism that makes carpet cleaning a breeze. Moreover, this machine has heatwave technology that can help maintain the same temperature while cleaning. You can also easily fill and empty the water tanks because they are removable.
Method 2: Freezing the Wax
How to get wax out of carpet without heat? Or, more specifically, how to remove wax from carpet by freezing it? Here are the steps to remove wax from the carpet without heat, using the freezing method:
Step 1: Get a plastic bag and fill it with ice. Put the bag directly over the wax stain. The wax will freeze, solidify, and will get even harder. When this happens, it would be easier for you to remove it. Let the ice bag remain on that spot for a couple of minutes. Check later if the wax is completely frozen.
Step 2: Get a butter knife and start to chip the wax stain into little pieces. Remove all the small pieces so that you can perform the next step much better. Be sure that all wax residues are completely removed. Less wax will make the job easier.
Step 3: Spray the spot with a carpet cleaner. If you don’t have one, use a cleaning solvent instead. Some dyes could also be left behind. Traces of dye can be removed by rubbing alcohol. After applying all of these liquid cleaners, and the spot is already dye-free, get a clean rag, and dip it in water. Wipe it on the treated area to finally remove all the stains.
Step 4: Vacuum the spot. That spot on the carpet has been stressed enough by all the cleaning and wiping. To restore this spot to its original state, you need to vacuum it. You can use the Hoover Smartwash Automatic Carpet Cleaner.
Click here to see it on Amazon.
This machine is equipped with automatic cleaning technology, such as auto-clean motion-sensing design, auto-mix, and auto-dry. It means that you will enjoy hassle-free carpet cleaning with this machine. It gently cleans all pet messes, deep-seated dirt, tough stains, and all kinds of debris.
See the below video for other ways to remove wax from your carpet:
Alternative Steps to Removing Wax from the Carpet
Here is an alternative way of how to get candle wax out of the carpet. This method consists of eight easy steps:
Step 1: Prepare Your Tools and Materials
You need the following materials and tools to remove candle wax from your carpet successfully:
- Plastic bag
- Clothes iron
- Table knife
- Pieces of ice cubes
- Brown paper bags, cut into pieces (each piece should be enough to cover the wax stain)
- Vacuum cleaner
- Ammonia
- White cloths or clean rags
- Rubbing alcohol (70 percent isopropyl alcohol)
Step 2: Get Rid of the Surface Wax
With the table knife, remove as much wax as you can out of the carpet. Be gentle in doing this step to avoid destroying carpet fibers. Your objective is to get the excess wax so you can easily remove smaller residues.
Step 3: Put Some Ice Cubes Inside the Plastic Bag and Place the Bag over the Wax Stain
The remaining wax will harden in this step. This method helps in removing excess wax, which you haven’t removed in step 2. Give the ice enough time to solidify wax residues. After a few minutes, lift the ice pack and use the knife to remove the remaining wax.
Step 4: Vacuum the Spot
You can use any of the recommended vacuum cleaners mentioned above. Start from the top of the carpet, and then going to the base or backing of the carpet fibers. The vacuum cleaner should be able to pry out all the small and hard bits of wax from the carpet.
Step 5: Use the Clothes Iron to Turn the Remaining Residues into Liquid Wax
- Plug the iron into an outlet and set it at “without steam.”
- Put a piece of brown paper on top of the candle wax stain.
- Run the iron over the paper in constant motion.
- Stop when you see liquid wax being absorbed by the paper.
- Get another brown paper and continue ironing the spot. There may be some more wax residues left behind deep in the carpet.
- Change the piece of brown paper with a new one as soon as the liquid wax is absorbed.
Step 6: Continue the Process
- You need to continue ironing and changing the brown paper. Some of the wax may have already melted.
- Use the table knife to scrape them away.
- Put more ice cubes on the stained spot to solidify the wax residues.
- Pry up these residues with the knife as they are uncovered.
- Continue this process as many times as required until you don’t see any remaining drops or chunks of wax.
- Stop the process when there are no more traces of liquid wax being absorbed by the latest brown paper you are using.
Step 7: Remove the Stain
- Pour some rubbing alcohol on a clean white cloth.
- Dab the cloth onto the stain, and don’t soak or rub the spot.
- The dye from the wax will soil the white cloth, so you may need to replace the cloth with a new one to continue the process.
Step 8: Make Sure No Stain Remains
This step requires you to use ammonia, which has a foul smell. It will be safer if you open the windows so that the odor will be carried away by the air.
- Plug your clothes iron and set it to “steam.”
- Dab the wax stain with some ammonia. You can also put ammonia on a sprayer and spray it on that spot.
- Cover that spot with a white cloth.
- Carefully iron the cloth in constant motion.
- After a few runs, the wax stain should transfer to the cloth.
- Replace the used cloth and repeat the process.
- Only stop when there are no more stains in the latest cloth that you are using.
Step 9: Finish the Job
- Get some cool water, and use it to remove the ammonia.
- Allow the spot to dry completely.
- Vacuum the spot to complete the job.
How to remove wax from carpet with vinegar?
How to remove wax from carpet vinegar? If you only have vinegar on hand, you could use it to help remove the wax from the carpet. Mix 1/4 cup of white vinegar along with 3/4 cups water. Soak a sponge or cloth in the vinegar-water solution and scrub the wax on the carpet. Or you can pour the vinegar and water solution on the wax in the carpet, and let it soak into the wax.
Vinegar is a great carpet cleaning solution because it’s made from acetic acid. Vinegar has an acidic nature that is so powerful it can dissolve and break down grease, dirt, mineral deposits, and grime. It should also be strong enough to break down the wax in your carpet, as long as there isn’t too much wax and it isn’t too deep in the carpet.
Conclusion – How to Get Candle Wax Out of Carpet?
So, to revisit our initial question: How to get wax out of carpet? Or specifically, how to get candle wax out of carpet? A popular way of removing wax from carpets is by using a damp towel and iron. Follow these three steps:
- Soak a cotton towel in water.
- Fold the towel in half and place it on top of the wax on the carpet.
- Put a hot iron on top of the towel for about 10 seconds.
The heat from the iron will draw out the wax from the carpet. The wax stain will stick to the towel as well. Continue this process until you remove all the wax from the carpet.
There are other methods you can try, as mentioned earlier. With time and patience, you will be able to get the wax out of your carpet completely.
Related reading:
How to Get Slime out of Carpet – 7 Easy Methods
How to Get Gum Out of Carpet – 6 Easy Ways
How to Get Nail Polish Out of Carpet – 6 Easy Ways