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! 🙂
Hi collin
I make Candle’s Use a blow dryer with some kitchen towel… It should all come up 🙂
Use ICE. It will get hard and you can chip it off carefully.
ICE is right….i had the same thing happen to me. I used ice cubes on my counter and floor where the wax dried and it all came off.
Mr.Clean Magic Eraser does the trick!
Collin, why get rid of it?? It’s such a lovely shade of pink 😉
Ice, ice, baby. Ice will make the wax hard, and you’ll be able to gently scrap it off with a credit card. DO NOT USE nail polish remover or actone!!! It will strip the finish on the flooring and the furniture. The dye in the wax will probably stain the floor no matter what.
I’d use something oily (Vaseline, cooking oil, K-Y). to polish/remove the remaining residue. Any application of heat or harsh solvent will damage the finish. Even “nice” furniture may have veneer or laminate component on a solid wood base.
Note for future candle purchases…don’t buy candles with colored wax especially if they have an intense or concentrate hue.
Well we know Collin has plenty of K-Y 😉
I just had this happen… but in carpet! Any ideas??
Place a brown bag over the carpet where the wax is and heat your iron. Use a low setting and it should come right up. It worked for me but took a little patience. 🙂
Use a hot iron and brown paper bags. Heat iron put the brown paper bag over the wax that is in the carpet and iron away.
To ge wax out of carpet (or tablecloths, or any fabric) cover with paper towels and iron the paper towels with a warm (not hot) iron. The wax will melt and get soaked up by the paper towels. Keep replacing the peper towels until no more wax comes up. Like magic! Make sure there’s no wax residue on your iron before you use it on clothes again LOL!
I did the same thing about 5 years ago….used a plain paper bag, warm (not hot) iron on a dry setting, placed the paper bag on top of the wax, put the warm iron on top of the paper bag and presto! The wax adherred to the bag…it was unbelievable! It did take a few different times (and bags) to get it out (just used the inside of a supermarket bag) but it was gone…on light carpet too! Goodluck!
Place a clean cloth over the spot and use an iron to get it but but only after you have flaked off all the excess you can.
for your carpet use an iron, put a paper towel down and iron over the wax . Don’t put he iron on too hot because it will burn your carpet.
I used a washcloth and iron. the wax soaks in to the cloth…voila!
Place a piece of wax paper over some paper towels, use an iron to heat up wax and it will soak to paper towels (change paper towels often), the wax paper is prevent the wax from ruining your iron…takes a while but it works, I have had it happen on both wood floors and carpet….have patience cause the end product you won’t it be able to tell it happened.
use a damp old towel or rag and an iron on low to med heat lay the cloth over the area and iron over the wax it should come right up 🙂
I have not personally tried this, but seeing as there are so many uses for KY Jelly, maybe you can put some on the parts that didn’t come off and rub it off?
LOL.
How to Remove Candle Wax from Wood Furniture
There are actually two solutions for removing wax.
Let’s start with the hot method:
1. Warm up the wax with a hairdryer. That’s right, get it nice and gooey.
2. Start wiping it up with a soft cloth. Preferably a cloth you don’t care too much about.
3. Clean the remaining residue with a vinegar solution. One part vinegar, one part water.
If that doesn’t sound appealing, try the cold method:
1. Freeze the wax with ice cubes. Make sure the ice is tightly sealed in a plastic bag. You don’t want water dripping on the wood.
2. Carefully scrape off with a credit card or a butter knife. Be extremely careful! Chip off little bits at a time. If you’re in a hurry, you risk gouging the wood. If possible, try wrapping a paper towel around your tool.
I have used the ice cube method on carpet before and it worked. Maybe it would work on furniture, too?
Sorry that happened. What I would recommend is plug in your iron, take a paper towel put the paper towel underneath the iron & it should soak up the wax. Maybe look into Scentsy it’s safe, wickless & fameless. It’s the best next thing to burning candles 🙂 Good Luck
Wow!! You guys rock!! 😀 Thanks so much for all the helpful advice!!
Love your file cabinet. I have been looking for one like that. Where did you find it?
It’s from Pottery Barn…it was a little splurge of mine. 😉
First, you must let the wax harden. Then you can scrape it up gently with a spatula, butter knife or a pampered chef food scraper. Then try something that removes oil if residue is left. Don’t try to clean while it’s wet. You’ll have a much bigger mess.
I was going to suggest the pampered chef food scrapper! I use them for all kinds of stuff.. candle wax, caulk, paint… you name it LOL!! Good Luck Collin!
My H did this one time with a green candle all over the livingroom. Turned out one of the best methods was to get up what you can with gentle scraping, but then put down an old rag or towel you don’t care about and use a warm iron on top of that (nothing too hot). The wax melts from the warmth and soaks up into the rag/towel. Works great on carpet and hard floors 🙂 Good luck!
We had laminate in our last house and it was extremely durable but I still wouln’t use polish remover. Soap and water or any household cleaner should remove stains on the floor. It really isn’t a stain that is applied to laminate anyway. The other furniture is a different story.
You can use a scraper (like from Pampered Chef for the baking stones) to get the main pieces off. I have also heard that if you put a towel (again one that you don’t care about) down and then put a warm iron on top of it you can get the wax out of carpet.
The absolute best way is to lay a paper towel over it and iron over it with a clothes iron and it will come right up into the paper towel.
EXACTLY!
BTW, here’s a chance to recommend this site: https://www.courtneyscandles.com/fragrancelamps.html?gclid=CKepk5vZqakCFYXc4AodKQkjMQ
I have been searching for lamps like the Lampe Berber which are very expensive, and found this site to have similar lamps and oils too. I ordered their Mystery Lamp last Friday and it comes with a free oil. https://www.courtneyscandles.com/mystery.html I am waiting for my package. I can’t wait. These lamps are supposed to scent up your rooms better than candles do, and no wax!
put a paper towel on it and get your iron pretty hot and the wax will soak into your paper towel. i did this when i got wax on my carpet and i was able to get it all out!
On the bright side I Love the file cabinet. Where did you get it?
Collin, You need to use a nylon pan scraper as soon as it cools! (Like the one that comes w/ a baking stone). They will scrap the wax right off without damaging your floors or furniture. I’ve had to use them before for that exact thing!
how did that even happen ? lol
A bottle of Goo-Gone and a roll of paper towels. It worked for me when I dropped a (very full) candle on my bathroom floor.
I was wondering the same. I have several jars of green Yankee candles thru-out the entire house and don’t want to experience anything like this.
Let it dry and scrape it up with a credit card or your finger nail if its on all hard surfaces 🙂
A second vote for using an old credit card instead of a metal scraper. Much less likely to scratch the finish.
get a towel semi wet and use your iron. It will come up, but make sure to use a towel you don’t mind wrecking :o) I did this to my very light tan carpet, wood floor & fridge not to long ago. Glad to know I am not the only one
I have had this happen before and all I did was take my hairdryer and the heat will melt it just enough to wipe clean with paper towel. Keep the hairdrying going so the wax doesn’t harden again and work on one area at a time, constantly wiping with clean paper towels. Worked like a charm for me!! This method obviously only works on solid surfaces, not cloth or porous!! Good luck!!
This happened to me before. I found that what worked the best is to hold a hair dryer on high by the wax, and when it melts, wipe it with a paper towel. It came right up for me, and didn’t leave any marks on my furniture. Good Luck!
I’ll throw my two cents in. If you try scraping off the wax you may scratch the wood, I would use a hair drier to heat the wax then wipe it up with paper towel, If the coloring in the wax shows on the light colored wood flooring use a magic eraser sponge and a cleaning product safe for wood floors. I wouldn’t use the iron method because I would be afraid it may get too hot and ruin the floor or set the stain from the colored wax. Good Luck!
I always use goo gone or Gold Canyon Candles Wax remover.
I have unfortunately had thie happen many times over the years . I have had excellent success by using a damp paper towel and a hot iron. Place the paper towel over the wax area and iron. The heat will allow the wax to become liquid and will be absorbed in the paper towel. It is very easy to do. You will probably need more than one paper towel. Hope this helps!
Use ICE for the furniture and once it is hardened use a credit card or card of some sort to get all of the wax up. It should just come up off the floor.
I just had this happen yesterday. My husband and son both claim they didn’t do it but there was candle wax from my Scentsy candle burner on the counter top the floor and the table. I used my same tupperware spatula and scraped it right off.
My DD did this with melted crayons several years ago. Fortunately, the wax is easy to scrape up. It’s the dye in the wax that is still visible even after all this time. I feel for ya, it scraped for days! LOL!!
🙁 I hope it all comes up – that’s beautiful furniture. Sounds like something I would do – only I’d probably have it all over myself too
a janitoral supply store will carry gum and wax remover. it will not harm wood or laminate
Whatever you do, do NOT use too much moisture, if you get alot of moisture your laminate will start to buckle and swell and it won’t be warrantied!
I used a blow dryer on high heat to melt the wax and rub paper towells over it while it melts.
Wow. I am impressed! So, Collin, does this mean you will start a new area for your site? Not only do you rock with coupon ideas and deals,you could now have a Helpful Household Hints section for your readers to find needed cleaning/emergency helpers. 🙂
Use ice on the laminate floor and a soft spatula to pry it up when it is hard and on the carpet use an iron and paper towels, light heat, put paper towel on top of wax and iron lightly moving the paper towel around to a clean spot each time. Blow dryer and paper towel works on the furniture as well as ice. Good luck!
I’m not sure if this will work on the wood floor, but on carpet it does. Place a couple of paper towels on the floor and place clothing iron on medium on top of towels for a several seconds and it should come off easy.
Whenever this happens on fabric, place paper towels over the wax and iron over it. This melts the wax and the paper towels absorb it. Start at a low setting and work your way up as needed. Change the paper towels when saturated.
I’ve done this for carpet and upholstery and it works well. Just place a brown paper bag over the wax and run a hot iron over it. It pulls the wax into the paper and off of the material!!!
The iron and paper towel – worked for me – on the carpet, wall and credenza where all the wax went splat – just like yours!!!!
If you have one of the plastic scraper tools used to clean stonewear (for cooking), they make great wax scrapers. The one I have is from Pampered Chef, but I bet you could find them even cheaper at Target or Walmart.
Place a paper grocery bag over the wax on the floor and furniture. Set iron on low setting and iron over bag until wax absorbs. You may need multiple grocery bags. It worked for me on my suede couch :0)
I sell candles and we recomend the blow dryer as the PP said. For anything you can put in the frezzer do that everything else you can warm up with a blow dryer and it will turn to liquid and wipe right up then throw your towel in the frezzer and in a few hours it will all fall right off the towel and it will be as if nothing ever happened. A iron on the towel will work to if the blow dryer does not work. I had that day yesterday but not with wax so have a good day and good luck getting it cleaned up and the best thing for your spirts is glass of wine and hot bath. LOL
LESTOIL works wonders! Cleans any stain or messy mess I have encountered!
Use a blow dryer!!!! Works great have a paper towel in hand to wipe it up! 🙂
This happened to me once on the carpet. Totally WAS the.kids fault. I just figured we wouldn’t get our deposit back. Turns out, the no-weekly vacuuming I did for a month straight brought it right up. Couldn’t even see or feel it anymore.I know this isn’t helpful to you now, but if you get it on carpet, just for future reference… Lol
My husband and I worked really hard to help update my mother in laws kitchen new floors and counter tops. My MIL burned a candle on the counter letting the wax spill over… (I was not happy after all the work we had done to make something nice) I put down a couple layers of paper towels and took the iron to the counter. The heat from the iron melted the wax which the paper towel absorbed. MIL burned the candle each night until it was gone so each night I was doing this while cleaning up the kitchen before bed.
I had a scentsy spill on my wall and floor and I used a Pampered Chef plastic scraper for pans. It worked great.
I would apply ice.
I had candle wax on my table once and candle holders. Just used a blow dryer and a paper towel to wipe it up when the wax melted. Then used a cleaner to clean. got the idea on the internet and it worked wonderfully.