Everyone loves the smell and calming light of a nice candle. But its calming effects can quickly wear off if you accidentally get wax on a carpet or area rug. Thankfully, there’s an easy trick to getting dried candle wax out of a carpet, and it doesn’t involve any furious scrubbing, expensive cleaning products, or carpet cleaning secrets. All you need is:
- A butter knife
- A vacuum
- A towel
- An iron
- Simple carpet cleaner
Before you get out a pair of scissors and start snipping away at the dried candle wax stuck to the fibers of your carpet, follow these three easy steps to remove the dried wax.
Three Easy Steps to Removing Dried Wax From a Carpet or Rug
Step #1: scrape away excess wax
If there is only a bit of candle wax on the floor, you can likely skip this step. But if there are large globs present, you can chip away at them using a butter knife.
Gently run the knife over the affected area, scraping the wax over and over again to loosen it up and remove it. Avoid scraping too hard, and don’t use a sharpened knife or one with a serrated blade. Not only could this ruin your carpet, but you run the risk of cutting yourself, as well.
Once you have scraped up all the wax you can, pick up the larger pieces by hand and use a vacuum to get rid of the smaller bits.
Step #2: melt the remaining wax with an iron
DO NOT run the iron directly on the carpet or area rug. Doing so can irreparably burn your carpet and make a bigger mess of the wax. First, lay a damp (not saturated) towel down over the affected area, then press the iron (set on high) over the towel for 10-30 seconds.
DO NOT press hard on the iron, this can push the wax deeper into the carpet. Instead, let the heat melt the wax and draw it up into the towel, which will absorb it and remove it from the fibers.
You may need to repeat this process multiple times and rewet the towel as necessary.
Step #3: apply carpet cleaner
With most of the wax removed, you may see some discoloration left over from the wax (depending on the color of the wax). While the carpet is still warm, spray carpet cleaner onto the affected area gently massage the area with your fingers. Leave for a few minutes and then dab it dry with a towel.
Revel in Your Success!
That’s it! With some luck, you should have no problem removing the dried wax from your carpet or area rug. If you are uncertain about how to remove wax from your carpet, or are concerned that you may ruin your expensive oushak carpet, contact SOS Cleaning and Restoration. We are more than happy to help remove dried wax, and any other stains from your carpet.
