How to get dried purple wax off bricks near the fireplace?

Question

Some one must have tilted a purple candle and dripped hot wax onto the bricks that are in front of the fireplace. How can I remove it?

Answer 1

Blow torch

Answer 2

Put a paper bag (must be paper) over the wax - use a clothes iron over the bag - moving around so not to let the wax soak all the way through. The bag will then have the wax on it. I had to use 2 bags to get it all off my dresser. Works well for clothes too.

Answer 3

First, a lesson on cleaning:

To remove something, you need the solvent that is compatible with the material you want to remove.

The principal for this compatibility is the chemical term of polar and non-polar solvents.

That said, if you want to remove a non-polar material, you will need a non-polar solvent. Same is true for polar material use polar solvents.

Now for your problem, wax is a non-polar material, so, try carburetor cleaning spray. This is a non-polar solvent with small molecular weight, thus makes it a good solvent.

Water, as you already find out, will not work, it is a weak polar solvent, wax will ignore it.

Answer 4

Fill a bucket with HOT HOT soapy water and start scrubbing. Use dish washing liquid. Harsher chemicals may discolor the brick.

Keep adding HOT water if needed. Should come right off.

Answer 5

turn your iron on high. when it gets hot, put a couple of layers of paper towel over the wax and lightly press the iron on the paper towel. it will soften the wax and you can continue warming and wiping the wax until its gone.

Answer 6

put brown paper bag over it and iron the bag, this should heat up and absorb the wax

Answer 7

maybe try using a medium hot iron and a paper bag to melt it and soak it up. be careful that you don't get the bag too hot and catch it on fire though.

edit: gee... how original am I?

Answer 8

Try pouring a small amount of boiling water on it, then wipe it up quickly, and scrub with a brush.

Answer 9

(ICE) freeze the wax with ICE, it will scrap off.