Candlewax on Carpet- Help!
 

I'm havint a candle catastrophe .. I couldn't hear the dripping until I looked up and it was too late - Ive got a line of red candlewax on my carpet.

Will this come out with regular carpet cleaner? Or do I need something stronger?

I knew it had somethig to do with an iron and a paper bag - but i could't remember what..

an iron and a paper towel :D

http://nhnh.essortment.com/removewaxfrom_rflp.htm
Everybody loves candles these days. Whether you use them for atmosphere, aromatherapy, or as a fragrant compliment to the holiday season, candles provide a note of welcome and comfort any occasion. Unfortunately, accidents sometimes happen with dripping wax. To prevent wax spills in the first place, you can purchase glass discs that fit over tapers. But if the spill has already occurred, here is a quick and easy method for removing wax from candles and fabrics without harming them.

You will need paper towels and an electric iron. I recommend a very absorbent paper towel for the best results. Use white towels only as dyes may bleed onto the carpet when exposed to the heat of the iron.

Before beginning the procedure, use a brush or your hands to pick away at any of the excess wax that you can get out of the carpet fiber. Be gentle and be careful not to unravel the pile when brushing.

1. Plug the iron in and turn it on to the lowest setting possible.


2. After the iron heats up, take a paper towel and place it over the wax. Gently apply the warm iron to the paper towel. The wax should begin to liquefy and the paper towel will absorb it. Do not set the temperature of the iron any higher than the warm setting, or you may harm synthetic fibers. For berber or some sculptured carpets, you may have to press down harder with the iron. Be especially careful with the berbers and do not pull on any fibers or loops. Pulling on those loops can cause a "run" much like the runs in panty hose and can ruin the rug, as the run will travel across the length of the carpet.


3. Continue working the iron and paper towel until all of the wax is absorbed. You may need to turn the paper towel several times as the area where the wax is being absorbed becomes saturated. If it is a large spill you may need more than one paper towel. The watch word here is patience, as working this process can take time.


This method should work effectively. In cases of very stubborn spills, you may come to a point in the procedure where you have absorbed all of the wax you can and find that there is still some residue in the carpet. Try to gently pick out as much of the remainder as you can. It may help to apply an ice cube to the stain and re-harden the melted wax. Caution is advised here too, as some dyes may fade when water is applied. Check with your manufacturer if in doubt.


If you have tried all the above steps and you still have some wax in your carpet you may wish to call a professional carpet cleaning company. Choose a reputable company as most carpet cleaning services that advertise in mailers or have "specials" do not train their personnel to handle such a job and they may make a bigger mess than the one you began with.


Happy cleaning!

We had a carpet cleaning company come in and clean the carpets in the store I worked in over the summer. The guy who was cleaning volunteered all sorts of solutions to carpet problems. One he gave me dealt with candle wax. He said that to get it off your carpet all you have to do is lay a wash cloth over top of the wax and press a warm iron to it and it would lift off the carpet and stick to the wash cloth. I haven't tried this, but you could give that a try.

it might, but it will depend on how hot it was when it hit, and what your carpet is made of. Most likely it's made of a synthetic (read: plastic) fiber and if the wax was hot enough it may have melted it a bit. You might have some carpet damage.

Carpet cleaning won't help, but I can give you a tip on wax removal if you want to do this yourself.

Set an iron on medium heat. Cover the wax with a brown paper sack or butcher paper, then place the warm iron on the paper. The heat should soften the wax and it will be drawn up into the paper. Move the iron to a clean spot of the paper as wax is absorbed.

Do not use to high of a heat setting or you run the risk of "setting" the red candle dye into the carpet fibers.

Good Luck! :thumbsup:

"Resident Rug Sucker"

Edit: Oops, my post was late. I would follow the advice in Mal's post. :)

Great tips .. I guess that means it's time for monkie to get an iron - only thing in the way at this point!

and my carpet is the crappiest suckiest carpet you've ever seen .... its been here a LONG time.

The bag iron thing works great. If your carpet is old and "dirty" that could work to your advantage. It may be that the dirt is acting as a buffer between the carpet and the wax. :D

Think positive and let us know how it turns out.

I've done the iron thing too. But prior to using the iron, I placed an ice pack over the wax to aid in breaking up as much of it as I could. My wife let a 4 inch or so diameter candle go unchecked for far too long. The cold wax broke apart far easier than the room temperature wax.

It's suppose to drip on the nipples not the carpet... silly monkie.

I'd go with Mal's advice.

Hmm, I'd hate to have to iron *that* off! :eek: :lol:

Now that's hot!

I thought I was the only one to see this thread and immediately think what was 'Monkie doing to get candle wax on the carpet.... and all that... Clearly, I am not the only 12 year old with a mind in the gutter. Thank goodness. :D

Nope it was only you Jess (I was just channeling you).

Alternate plan:

Melt 250lb of red wax and gently work it into the remaining carpet. This has the advantage of reviving the carpet with a new bright coloured coating, and rendering it waterproof.

Extra tip: use scented candles, and your house will smell nicer.

Thank me later. :D

Damn all you window peepers!!! :D

I forget what the candle scent was .. but its definitely very smelly in my room now, lol.