Wax in Carpet

How to Get Wax Out of a Carpet: 5 Easy Steps

There’s only one thing worse than spilling red wine on the carpet; spilling hot wax on it. Wax has an infuriating habit of immediately solidifying and latching itself on to whatever surface it lands on, and when that surface is a textile like carpet it seems damn near impossible to remove.

But all is not lost. If that romantic candle has indeed betrayed you and covered your carpet in a stubborn waxy mess, there actually is a way to get rid of it. All you need is a few everyday household items:

Here’s what you will need:

Ice pack or bag of ice

Iron

White cotton towel or white paper towel

Butter knife (make sure it has a dull edge)

Carpet cleaner

Vacuum

Got your things together? Now simply follow these five easy steps to learn how to remove wax from a carpet and restore it to its former glory:

Step 1: Freeze it

If your wax has only just been spilled, apply an ice pack or bag to the stain until the wax is completely solidified. If you’re using a bag of ice cubes, wrap it up in a thin towel or place it inside another sealed bag to prevent the wax from getting wet.

Step 2: Scrape it

Now that the wax is solid, take your butter knife and start gently scraping away the wax. Be as gentle as you can, especially with berber carpets as the loops will fray easily. Vacuum up any loose pieces of wax once you’ve scraped up as much as will come loose.

Step 3: Heat it

Slightly dampen your cotton or paper towel and lay it flat over the remaining stain. Take your iron and set it to an appropriate setting for your type of carpet fibres. Office and commercial carpets tend to be full of polyester or plastic fibres, which will melt under the heat of a high iron setting, so make sure you reduce the heat levels as appropriate.

Slowly rub the iron over the towel. The wax will melt and be absorbed into your towel. After 20-30 seconds, shift your towel (or replace it if you’re using paper towels) and place a clean spot over the stain and repeat the process until all the wax has been absorbed.

Step 4: Clean it

If you still have any faint wax or dye stains remaining, take your carpet cleaner and gently rub it into the carpet with a clean, damp cloth and then blot out with another clean cloth.

Step 5: Vacuum it

Restore the texture of your carpet and remove any stray flakes of wax with your vacuum. Use the upholstery brush attachment to really get deep into the pile and fluff it back up.

Voila, now you know how to get wax out of a carpet! This is a great little trick to have up your sleeve should those candles turn rogue again in future.