Hipsters to the Rescue: Candle Wax Explosion
I think the picture above says it all, don’t you?!
It has not been a very “hip” day around the Morgan household. This candle wax explosion literally happened about 10 minutes ago and let’s just say the kiddos didn’t do it. 😉 I am now trying to figure out how to go about removing candle wax from my laminate floors, chair and file cabinet. Do you have any frugal suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated! 🙂
you could use a blowdryer and warm it back up to wipe off and then use some kind of cleaner on it. good luck, that is no fun 🙁
I just got my blow dryer plugged in and guess what?! It’s coming up quite quickly! What a great idea… thanks so much! 🙂
If it leaves a residue – nail polish remover should clean it up. Good luck!
Awesome! I will definitely try that too!
Be careful of this! I dropped a cotton ball with nail polish remover on my wood coffee table for only a second and it stripped the stain/sealer right off and now I have a gross spot! 🙁
Collin — Be careful of the finger nail polish remover. I have made the mistake before in using it to get things off and it has actually taken the finish off of my table. I would be a little hesitant of using the polish remover because of that.
not on laminate!!!!! the acetone will eat off the finish!!!
so glad it worked for you!! heck u help us all that time 🙂
DO NOT USE the nail polish remover which is acetone it will remove the finish!
If you had a Mia Bella soy candle it would remove with warm water and soap… see my website: www scentsolicious.scent-team.com
Vinegar and water will get the residue off, no nail polish – even the non acetone can mar the finish if you leave any behind!!!
The blow dryer works for crayon on the walls also.
I’ve always followed grandma’s advice: warm up your iron and then turn it off and place a thick old towel down and “iron” up the mess! Good luck it’s no fun! I’ve had it happen to me!
Sorry I should have been more specific – use NON-acetone nail polish 🙂 (It’s all I keep in my house)
Put a paper towel over the wax and use a warm iron on top. The iron will heat up the wax and then the paper towel will soak up the wax.
You can put a paper towel down and then blow dry over it as well. The wax will stick to the paper towel. This works on micro suede couches as well (you can guess how I know that 🙂 ).
I have used this method with an iron and brown paper bag….it got the wax out of the carpet!
I have used the pampered chef little square scraper to get wax off of things
Hehe me too!
this is exactly what I’ve done. I almost threw that darn plastic sqaure away since I never have used it but it totally came in handy when I spilled Scentsy on the laminate floors.
Applying ice to wax usually hardens it to a point you can sometimes flake or chip it off in small chunks.
That was my idea too!
I’d use my fingernail and scrape it..
I had a similar explosion!! I used a magic eraser 🙂
1. Ice the affected areas with an ice pack for 10-15 seconds.
2. Use a credit card to gently scrape the wax off.
Good luck!!! :o)
put ice on it then “peel” it off and wipe dry quickly
Ice will make it release.
Wow, that just happened and still typing smile faces! You go girl!!!! I wouldn’t know what to do except sit there and stare at it for a while. good luck!
LOL! That’s what I did when it first happened. I stood there and stared… I guess hoping it would magically disappear! 😉
I did that about a week ago when I dropped a full bottle of Kikkoman’s Teriyaki sauce and it exploded all over me and my kitchen. I just stood there willing time to turn back. We will be finding droplets of teriyaki sauce for years to come…
I’m thinking a credit card to scrape. Don’t want to scratch the finish.
If you have an iron or steamer….
Put an old t-shirt or rag over the wax, then run the steamer or iron (on low) over the wax, applying pressure. This should heat the wax back up and it should stick to the fabric instead of the floor.
Goo Gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best product EVER 🙂
Amen!
I use to be a candle lady with party lite one way I told my customers to wax out of carpet was to put a paper bag over the wax a use an iron to heat up the wax and the oil will soak to the paper bag it may work for your floors and cabinet worth a try 🙂
I also do the iron/hairdryer trick with a paper bag to soak it up.
This works really well on carpet!
That is exactly what I had to do when I knocked over a 4 wick red candle onto my cream carpet years ago. Luckily google helped me come across the trick of using a brown paper bag & iron. Able to get it out & no one could tell where my clumsy accident happened!!
An iron on low and a brown paper bag, just put the bag down and iron over the wax…the wax will melt and soak into the bag.
what kind of candle was it? i sure don’t want to buy any of those!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
probably a free one LOL sorry Collin couldnt help my self.
On the wood floor, use a hairdryer to soften the wax then use a soft cloth to remove the wax. You can use a mild vinegar solution to remove any excess and then clean your floor as normal. I couldn’t tell if the chair was fabric or not…if it is, scrape off as much as you can, then you can use a brown paper bag and an iron. Just lay the bag down and iron over the top. Be sure to move the bag around frequently so it has plenty of clean area to absorb into.
ohhh… wow. the iron thing everone keeps talking about seems like it should work! good luck!
For the floor, I would use a metal spatula to scrape it up. (I do it all the time on mine with stuff that doesn’t come up easily, lol). Not sure about the dressers though. Hope you get it cleaned up!
I concur with the rest of the girls…old credit card, blow dryer or ice, (both work) paper towels. I’ve had several simialr accidents (though non quite so big!). At least it didn’t happen on carpeting!..Did to me! 🙁 ….Good luck!
Oh my! A very dangerous situation glad it did not start a fire. I can’t use regular candles anymore because I am too clumsy and would forget to blow them out. Now I only use Scentsy Wickless Candles so I don’t have to worry about it. Good luck to you on getting all the wax up. I think the Pampered Chef stoneware scraper or a credit card would be good ideas…
Actually with wax… it’s just messier if you heat it up. You want to get it as cold as possible and it should lift right up. Anything that stays behind should be scraped up pretty easy with a sharp edge.
Good luck!!
I did that to our carpet, once! Ironing over a paper bag (I used a gift bag, since I didn’t have any grocery ones lying around) pulls the wax into the paper…good luck!
YEP….this method works!!
Oh my gracious! Blow dryer is the best idea. Then follow up with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
An iron and a paper bag works the best. Rip the bag so it lays out flat then put it over the wax and iron on top of that. The paper soaks up the wax, oil and color. Works great!!!!!
ICE!!! Melting it just makes it harder, ice causes it to contract and pop off!!!
My yellow lab’s tail wagged into my scentsy and wax went everywhere. all over the wall and CARPET!! Someone told me to do the iron thing and it will get it all up! I hate when everything is going well especially when I am motivated to clean and then BAM ruins your whole idea of organizing and cleaning!
Put down a paper bag and a warm iron on top. Should get it right up!
thats what I learned and whats even better is the bag absorbe’s the wax so no left overs perfect for carpet
Do not use fingernail polish remover on any of your wood…it removes the finish!
KY Jelly?????????????????????????????
LOL!
I use my pampered chef square brown scraper to clean up wax and then hot water on a paper towel to remove residue. The ice cube trick works well too. I don’t know what caused the explosion, but maybe we need to talk about something a littel safer.
Let it dry and then scrape it off.
should been *little*!! 🙂
I’ve had this happen to me on a fireplace. First of all–RELAX. Next, heat iron to warm or medium warm setting and use paper towel and wala–it will call come off. Amazing! Good luck, but you should not have any problems.
This has happened to me twice with Scentsy wax. It was bright red & made such a mess all over my walls & carpet. It still didn’t come completely out of my carpet with the iron/bag trick.
Good luck!
Be careful nail polish remover may bring some of the color off the furniture!!! It did when i used it on some wood items i had :/
I have sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo done this except I also caught the bed in the explosion too 🙁
Let the wax dry (or ice it) and scrape off with credit card, library card something that wont scratch floors. For the residue I believe I used a water/vinegar mix to take off… Good luck!
A flat razor blade does wonders for removing candle wax…
Sorry for your mess but here’s on way to hex the wax! Put iec cubes in a ziplock or any plastic bag and hold over the wax until hard and the use a butter knife or any dull blade and just gently scrape it off. Good luck and thanks for all the great info and bargains you provide!
i did not know a candle could EXPLODE! now i’m afraid to ever light them again as long as my kids are little!
I think she dropped it….
Scentsy is a perfect alternative if you do not want to use candles with flames! I love it and the variety of scents and warmer styles that are available.
I had one explode! Luckily it was on a bathroom counter and didn’t catch anything on fire! Wax, sut and glass everywhere! BE CAREFUL with candles!
I did this with melted crayons a few times. I scrapped it off the floor and then used a Magic Erase sponge to get the rest up.
Put an old towel down and iron over the mess. The towel will absorb the wax. Do not use a chemical-it will ruin the finish of the furniture and the gloss of the laminate. Good luck.
EEEK! Get a Scentsy warmer. No flame and not as much wax to clean up in case this happens again.
brown paper bag and iron! works like a charm!
What kind of candle, and how did it explode?
DO NOT use the nail polish remover it will remove the finish on the wood. I hope the hair dryer works.
If you were burning one of my candles it would clean up with soap and warm water! see my website.
When you get most of it up, goog-gone is a safe way to get off the residual waxy film.
OMG… This totally happened to me too!!! I have a jar candle on a candle warmer, and all the wax was liquified. I went to lift the candle off the burner, and the whole bottom of the glass jar broke off as I lifted it up and half a jar of liquid wax went everywhere. Needless to say, that burner went in the trash! Anyways, I got the wax off everything with a few rolls of paper towels and an iron. I folded sheets of paper towels and put them over the waxed areas and the moved an iron back and forth over it, and as the wax melts, the paper towels absorb it all. Trust me on this… I totally had a lot more wax to clean up!!! :Þ
Did no one notice her indication of what she was doing when this happened? LOL
if blow dryer doesn’t work all the way…use ice cubes…will harder up wax and scrap off