best way to get candle wax out of a tablecloth?

Question

I was reaching for a candle to blow it out and I tipped it over on my christmas talblecloth. I was told to put paper towel over the cloth and then iron it and it will pull the wax out. Is that right?

Answer 1

Sounds pretty close to what this web site recommends.

Removing Candle Wax from Tablecloth
http://www.creativehomemaking.com/articles/021604l.shtml

First pick away whatever pieces you can from the tablecloth. Then put a thin cotton towel, a sheet of tin foil, then another thin towel on your ironing board. The towel that will be "absorbing" the wax should be one that is old and you wouldn't care about losing. Then heat up the iron to its highest heat, and place the tablecloth wax side down on the top of these towels. The heat will melt the wax, and the pressure of the iron will draw it into the towel. Keep doing this until it is removed.

Wax on Trousers
http://www.creativehomemaking.com/articles/112803i.shtml

Try putting a brown paper grocery bag over the wax and iron on medium setting. As the wax turns to liquid the paper bag pulls it away from fabric. This also works good for carpet/wax.

This also might be helpful even though the first part is directed more at wax on carpet.

Remove Candle Wax From Carpet
http://www.mrscleannw.com/tips/remove-wax.html

1. Get rid of the debris. To do this, use a dull knife or other product. Easily scrape off anything that you can get off. Some of the wax should come off easily. Make sure to remove as much as you can from the carpeting in this manner, but do not rub it in.
2. To get more off in this manner, fill a plastic storage bag with ice cubes and place it on the location. This will allow the wax to set and make your scraping method work a bit better. Try to get into the carpet pile as much as possible.
3. Once you get all that you can out of the carpet in the manner of scraping, it is time to move on.
4. Next, take a good thick paper towel or terry cloth and apply it to the area.
5. Take a warm iron, warm, not hot, and rub it over the location. This will gently melt the wax just enough to be absorbed into the cloth. Make sure that you move the cloth around a bit in order to allow the wax to be absorbed fully.
6. If this does not remove all of the wax from the carpet, then try this method.
7. Apply isopropyl rubbing alcohol to the stain and allow it to sit for about 30 minutes.
8. Then, take a scrub brush and brush the stain with it. You will want to rinse this with warm water afterwards.

You can keep applying these methods until the stain comes out.

Sometimes, even with your best efforts, candle wax can not be removed completely. Yet, even when the tips we have listed have not worked, you may have some additional help here. Here are some things to take note about candle wax removal.

* Realize first that candle wax, or any other type of wax, will not be bothered by water. So, any water soluble solution is not likely to give you the results that you want. Remember that when you are cleaning your wax stains.
* You can often get dry cleaning solvent to work on candle wax. To do this, just apply a small amount of it on to the area of the stain and then blot it up with a clean sponge or paper towels.
* Do not use products such as gasoline or paint thinner on the surface.
* If you have a stain that is colored wax, or even crayon, you can still get the stain off in this manner. You should try to get off as much as possible of the stain by removing the wax with a dull knife.
* If there is any type of dye left in your carpeting or on your clothing, you can apply a solution to the area to lift the dye. Try a solution of rubbing alcohol on the stain. Hydrogen peroxide can also help.
* Some stains from candle wax will leave an oily residue. If this happens, you will want to work to remove all the wax that you can as directed above. Then, apply a layer of baking soda to the area where there is still some grease. Allow this to set for several hours. The baking soda will pull the moisture out of the carpet and you can then vacuum the carpet to remove the baking soda. You likely will not need to wash the area again.

Make sure to test all treatments on a hidden location of carpeting before you apply it to an open area. You should also consult with a skilled professional carpet cleaner if these solutions do not work for you.

Candle Wax Stains On Fabric
* Try to treat these stains as quickly as you can. Warm and soft wax will come off much easier than wax that has set already. In fact, a stain that has been there for a long period of time will likely be set more so than others.
* Try these stain removal tips for your fabrics before you launder them. If you do not do so, you are likely to wind up with a set stain permanently.
* Use a dull knife or the edge of something and scrape off any and all of the wax that you can. This can help you to get the most stain out as quickly as possible. Be sure not to smash the stain more so into the carpeting though.
* Place paper towels over the area and use a warm iron on top of them. Move the towels around to keep the surface area clean. This will cause the warmed and softened wax to absorb into the paper towels. Use only a warm iron.
* Do not use a warm iron on colored waxes. Only use a scraping method in this case.
* Once you get as much of the stain out as you can, launder the fabric as you normally would, only if this is permissible to the item as directed by the manufacturer.

Apparently there's specific Candle Wax Remover available as well.
http://www.alwaysbrilliant.com/aa/aspx-products/1-591/2-45325/3-1/bb/wax_away_remover,safe_cleaner.htm?

Since I don't even own an Iron, I personally am going to try the ice cubes, dull knife, rubbing alcohol, then stain stick.. I'll update this when I'm done to let you know how it works. :)

Hope this helps,
:)

Answer 2

As an alternative to using a hot iron you could put the tablecloth in the freezer and try picking off the wax when it's hard enough.

Answer 3

Put a towel over it and iron on top of the towel. Move the towel a lot to get more wax out.

Answer 4

I've done the same thing before! Put a damp cloth on both sides of the table cloth then iron with a lot of steam.

Answer 5

READ ME: this happened to me 2, I put it in the dryer for just a few minutes & it melted off, the when it stuck to the inside of my dryer, I picked it off,it came off very easily from my dryer.

Answer 6

yes... paper towel or old cloth.... do it several times and use a clean spot on towel each time.

Be Blessed!