A How to Guide to Removing Candle Wax from Your Carpet

Posted on January 19th, 2011 by Jennifer Marcial-Ocasio

Do you remember when you were a kid and you got that sticky piece of gum stuck to your hair? How annoying and stressful it was, right? But, fortunately there are many home remedies to get rid of it without going to the extremes and cutting the piece of hair off. The same thing happens with your carpet when you accidently drop a piece of gum or even candle wax. So, in case that romantic night you planned our with your significant other before moving to a new city left you with a huge mark or candle wax on your carpet, there is no need to call a carpet repair company to replace it; at least not yet.

This is a common situation that happens in more ways than one. Whether you were just enjoying a glass of wine by the fireplace and had a few candles around, if you just moved into your new home and had no power the first night, or if you just like the look and smell of your candles scattered around the house you don’t have to regret this decision because MovingCost.com brings you the solution to get rid of that unwanted wax on your carpets.

The first thing you need to do is to let it cool down. Do not touch it or try to wipe it of as soon as it happens, you will only risk two things: 1. getting burned and 2. spreading the wax even more. Once you step away from the wax stain, you need to gather the supplies you need in order to get the task done. Grab a piece of paper and a pen to write them down just in case you have to run to the store to get them.

• Brown paper bags (like the ones you get in supermarkets or in small grocery stores)
• An iron
• Cleaning Rags
• An icepack
• A butter knife

Just like you would with a piece of gum stuck on your hair or shoes, try rubbing an ice cube (or placing the icepack) over the wax stain. This will help to harden the wax making it easier for you to peel it out. Just be careful and don’t get the area to wet.  Now, using the butter knife try to carefully remove the top layers of the wax, those that are hard enough and that will easily come out.  Once you have removed as much wax as it was possible by cautiously scrapping it off with the butter knife, cut a piece of the brown paper bags just bug enough to cover the wax stain and start heating the iron as you will soon need it.

Once the iron is hot enough, place the piece of paper bag you cut out and place it over the wax stain. Cover the paper bag with one of the cleaning rags you got. Now, just like you would iron a delicate satin shirt, run the hot iron over the cleaning rag and watch out for the spots around it; you do not want to burn the carpet around it. By ironing the cleaning rag, you will provoke the wax to melt once again but this time it will be transferred to the paper bag instead to the carpet.

Do this for approximately 10 seconds and pull back. Pull the paper bag out and you will see the wax transferring to it. You may need to repeat this process a few time (using a new, clean paper bag) until you get rid of all the wax stain. Once you remove it all. Get one of the cleaning rags damped and clean the area. Then proceed to cleaning the carpet as you normally would.

Related Articles:

1. Deep Cleaning Your Carpets: Do It Yourself or Hire Professionals?
2. Carpet or Wood Flooring: Decisions, Decisions!!!
3. How Do I Know Which Carpet Is Right For Me?

Tags: candle wax stain, carpet cleaning, moving

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 at 9:57 am and is filed under Learning Center. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.