Beautiful candles set the mood for a dinner party and give you that cosy feeling on a cosy night in, but there’s nothing charming about spilled wax. But do not despair, though; candle wax is relatively easy to remove and doesn’t take long.
Tabletops
To remove it from table tops and surfaces, cover the wax with kitchen roll or brown paper and then heat the wax with a hairdryer for several seconds, then scrape it off using a credit card, plastic spatula, or flexible dough scraper. You should be able to buff the excess away with a soft cloth and a drop of washing up liquid.
Or
To harden soft wax (from a fresh drip), place ice cubes in a plastic bag and rest the bag against the wax. The hardened wax can then be scraped away easily using your finger nail or a credit card.
Table Linens
Allow wax to harden before you attempt to remove it. When wax is frozen, it becomes even more brittle and is easier to remove, use ice to freeze the wax or place the item if it fits in the freezer. Once the wax is hard, gently flake it off with a dull butter knife. (Do not scrape since this may damage the fibers.) The dyes used in coloured candles may leave behind a stain so treat this use a stain remover.
Upholstery
First, let the wax cool on its own or speed up the process by placing an ice cube wrapped in plastic on top of it. Once firm, carefully scrape off as much wax as you can using your fingernail or the dull edge of a butter knife. If the wax is on a cushion cover that can be removed, take it off and cover the wax area with kitchen roll or brown paper and then apply heat using your iron or iron. The wax will be absorbed by the kitchen roll/paper. If you do have any lingering residue use an upholstery cleaner and then blot with clean paper towels.
As always, light candles only when the wick is a safe distance from flammable materials such as curtains or other loose fabrics. And before going to bed make sure you blow your candles out.
Rugs and Carpets
Candle wax on the carpet looks a lot worse than it is. The best thing to do it let it harden, then scrape up as much as possible with a blunt knife. Place a white cloth or paper towels on top, and run a warm iron over it but make sure the iron is on its lowest setting and work very gently. If any wax remains, try a carpet cleaning solution and spot clean using a white cloth.
