The UK has the biggest market for scented candles in the whole of Europe. As so many of us have fallen in love with the gentle twinkling light they emit; it's no wonder wax stains are becoming increasingly more common.
Luckily, you’ll be pleased to know that there is no rush to get a wax stain off your clothing.
Wax needs to dry before the stain can be treated. So you can continue to relax, surrounded by candles, whilst you read this guide on how to remove wax stains from your clothes.
Removing Wax From Clothes With An Iron
Here's what you'll need to get wax off your clothes using an iron.
What You'll Need:
Some websites recommend using blotting paper in place of paper towels.
However, the results you get are the same. Plus paper towels are a lot easier to find than blotting paper these days!
How To Remove Wax From Clothes Using An Iron
The following three steps will help get wax off clothes:
Step One - Wait & Be patient
Wait for the wax to become solid. Trying to tackle it when it is still wet will lead to spreading it further and making a more significant problem to fix.
Step Two - Remove Excess Wax
Use your dull knife, or an old bank card, to scrape the excess wax from the item. Be gentle while doing this as you don't want to cause permanent damage to the fabric.
Step Three - Iron The Stain
You may be confused as to why we let the wax cool, just to heat it back up again. We let it cool to allow us to remove the excess wax to make this step easier.
Unfortunately, heat is required to shift stubborn wax from the material fibres.
Place a couple of layers of paper towel on an ironing board and place the stain face-down on top the paper towels.
Place another couple of layers on top of the back of the stain and begin to iron over the stain. Do not use the steam setting for this step.
As you iron, the wax should melt and be absorbed by the layers of paper towel.
Occasionally move the fabric to a new patch of paper towel to allow more wax to be absorbed from the fabric.
Step Four - Treat The Stain
Often with wax stains, it's not just wax you're tackling; it's coloured dye too. Once the wax has been removed, you can begin to tackle the dye stain.
Apply a pre-wash stain remover treatment according to the instructions on the bottle.
Step Five - Wash The Garment
Finally, wash the garment as you would usually with bio laundry detergent.
Once the item has been washed, check to see if the stain has been removed. If not, don't put the item in a tumble dryer, instead, repeat the application of stain remover and wash again.
Here is a great video showing this method:
How To Get Wax Off With A Hairdryer
If your fabric is too delicate to be ironed, you can also use a hairdryer to remove wax from your clothes.
What You'll Need:
How To Remove Wax From Clothes Using A Hairdryer
Following these 5 steps should help you remove wax from clothes:
Step One - Be Patient
Just like removing wax with an iron, the first step is to wait for the wax to harden to prevent it spreading further.
If you want to speed up the process, you can always hold an ice cube on the wax or put the garment in the freezer - though you may wish to put it in a bag first!
Step Two - Remove Excess Wax
Use the dull knife, or an old bank card, to scrape the excess wax off the garment.
As with the first method, be gentle as you don't want to cause any additional damage to the garment.
Step Three - Heat With Hairdryer
Place a couple of layers of paper towels underneath the stain.
Turn your hairdryer on to a hot setting and slowly move the hairdryer from side-to-side over the stain.
Blot the stain with another paper towel. Repeat this process until there is no wax left.
Step Four - Treat With Stain Remover
Apply pre-wash stain remover to the remaining dye stain.
Follow the instructions on the bottle to ensure best results.
Step Five - Wash The Garment
Wash the garment as usual with a bio laundry detergent.
Once the wash cycle has finished, inspect the garment to check that the stain has been removed.
If it is stubborn, apply the stain remover again and wash for the second time.
Removing Wax From Clothes With Boiling Water
This final method of removing wax involves using boiling water to extract the wax from the fibres of the garment.
If you choose to use this method, please take care not to splash boiling water on yourself.
What You'll Need:
Follow these 5 steps to get wax off your clothes:
Step One - Wait & Be patient
As with the other two methods, it is best to wait until the wax has cooled and solidified before proceeding.
Step Two - Remove Excess Wax
Use the dull knife to scrape the solid wax from the garment.
Take care not to damage the fabric by scraping too hard.
Step Three - Boil Water
Fill a large saucepan half-full with water and bring to a boil.
Add six teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda to the water.
Step Four - Dip Garment In Water
Taking care not to splash yourself, dip the stain into the boiling water.
Leave for a minute and then lift it out using the tongs. The wax should have separated from the fabric and be visible in the water.
If there is still more wax on the fabric, dip it for another minute.
Don't leave the garment in the boiling water for an extended period as it can remove the dye from the fabric.
Step five - Wash As Normal
Once you have removed all of the wax, wash as normal with bio laundry detergent.
Have any friends or family who are candle-addicts? Consider sharing this article with them so they know where to go in case they have a wax-based disaster of their own!
If you have any other kind of stain, it's probably on our list of common stains here.
