How do I Remove Wax from Carpet?

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Anyone who has ever spilled melted candle wax on a carpet knows what a nightmare this can be. If you don't act immediately, the wax hardens from its melted liquid state to a hard solid mass that attaches itself to the fibers of the rug. The next thing you know, you're down on your knees picking hardened bits out of your carpet, a little at a time. Sounds tedious and frustrating, doesn't it?

If you want to remove wax from carpet, there are easy ways to go about it, and the process doesn't take as long as it may seem. The first thing you need to do is remove as much of the hardened wax as you can. A butter or putty knife works well for this but you can use anything with a dull blade. Scrape up what you can and vacuum the debris. Next place a clean cloth, paper bag or paper towel over the wax. Run a warm iron over the cloth until the wax melts. A hot hair dryer can also be used. Once the wax is melted, it should adhere to the cloth. Lift the cloth and the wax should lift with it.

It should be noted that if the wax is colored, it may stain your carpet. Anytime you apply heat to a stain, it causes the stain to lock into the fibers leaving you with a permanent reminder of your clumsiness. It's for this reason you should use a warm iron only. You also don't want to use newspaper or any kind of paper with words or pictures on it unless you want the image to be transferred to your carpet.

If you're left with a stain once the wax is removed, you'll have to contend with that as well. Hopefully, it won't be difficult to remove. A carpet spot cleaner is your best bet; just follow the instructions on the back of the label. If none of this is handy, you can try one of several cleaning agents:

  • Mild laundry detergent
  • Mild dishwashing liquid
  • Stain remover for clothing
  • Vinegar

Take your choice of carpet cleaner and dab onto the stain taking care to blot, not rub. When you rub a stain you risk not only spreading the stain, but wearing out the carpet fibers as well. Blot until the stain is lifted. Rinse by blotting with a damp sponge until all the cleaner is gone.

If none of the above seems to work, you'll probably want to contact a professional carpet cleaner who will either advise you of a cleaning product or make an appointment to do the job himself.

It doesn't take too much effort to remove wax from carpet, and it's a much better alternative than rolling up the rug and bringing it to the curb. As long as you act quickly and don't leave it for too long, the damage should be only minimal. You'll probably want to move your candles to a safer place though.

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Discuss this Article

ATTENTION!! I guess I'm the only unlucky one so far: Do not use paper bags! I did that and must have had the iron on too high or left it on the paper too long. Now I have the *paper stuck on the wax that's stuck on the carpet!!* Now it's even worse! Use a towel instead!!!
- anon32712
Just tried your tip on 2 very old and large wax stains on my carpet...*amazing*!! Completely gone!! Thank you very much for saving me a lot of money to re-carpet a large room.

Dawn

- anon30570
Works like a charm. Got the white candle wax out of my red shaggy rug. But, I should caution that the iron should not be too hot or it will melt any man made fibers in the rug.
- sail1993
I spilled melted Christmas candle wax on our off white berber rug and just used your wax removal suggestion and it worked like a charm.. I'm a bumbling man, whom my wife tells me is always doing things like this, so if I can do it anybody can...
- anon23107
The instructions for removing wax from carpets do work, but too time consuming. Buy a bottle of GOO GONE and save yourself some time. It also works well on other stuff.
- anon21591
Works like a dream - thank goodness white wax on a dark jade carpet was not the best look. Thanks!
- anon20085
this is awesome. Thank u so much. it worked brilliantly.
- anon20052
Wonderful Thank God for the internet....spilled a Frebeeze Candle and I assumed the carpet was ruined...quickly looked on the internet and there was a solution....it took about 15 minutes and the spill is completely gone. Thanks for the tip, I will pass it on.
- anon19238
Thank you so much! My son accidentally spilled the wax out of a candle warmer last night. The carpet is off white and the candle wax was pink. Imagine that! I tried the cloth with the iron this morning and my carpet looks like new *and* there are no stains!
- anon17141
thank you so much, really!

- anon13456
I don't know who came up with this idea, but they are a genius. I dropped an entire 15.5 oz red candle on my new beige wall-to-wall carpet. I was considering cutting a whole in the carpet and having it replaced. After taking this advice my carpet is nearly new again. Little hard on the knees since the stain was large but my carpet is nearly new again. Thanks genius......
- anon11244
The stain removal help for wax on carpert works brilliantly!!! I had a beautiful pink candle that dripped copious amounts of wax onto my cream carpet. After following these intstructions my carpet is no longer waxy pink but cream again. Thanks heaps for the tips!

- anon1743

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