How to Get Wax Out of Carpet?

Updated on February 24, 2007
K.B. asks from Winfield, KS
54 answers

Does anyone know a good way to get candle wax out of carpet. We rent a small house and I want to make sure we get the deposit back when we leave. A few weeks ago my husband spilled a burning candle on the living room floor and the wax spilled out and is still there on the carpet. We haven't tried to remove it yet because we're not really quite sure how and I don't want to risk ruining the carpet further. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
K.

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So What Happened?

Hey thanks for all the great advice! I used the iron with paper towels method and it worked great! Thanks a bunch everyone!

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J.B.

answers from Springfield on

I learned this at a candle party from the lady selling candles. Just put a few layers of paper towels over it and then iron over the paper towels on the lowest setting. This should make it melt and absorb into the paper towels. Good luck!

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M.C.

answers from St. Louis on

Get a brown paper bag lay over wax then us a hot iron. The wax will soak up into the bag..done it and it works great. Good luck

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M.B.

answers from Springfield on

You take a brown paper bag and place it over the wax then iron the bag. The wax will start to melt and the bag will absorb it. Keep ironing and moving the bag around. It takes awhile but it works.
M. B

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M.B.

answers from Joplin on

Glad to hear the wax came up. Thats great!!

1 mom found this helpful
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T.L.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Use a blowdryer on a warm setting, and heat up the wax... When you see it start melting, use a paper towel to blot it up (DON'T RUB) continue until it is all gone. There are plenty of articles that tell you to use an iron... but that runs the high risk of melting the carpet. The blowdryer also works great when getting grease off of your stove or oven... if you need any more tips let me know... Cleaning is my 2nd biggest hobby.

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C.W.

answers from Joplin on

Use a couple of paper towels. Put them on the wax and use a hot iron. The iron will melt the wax and it will be absorbed into the paper towels. sounds like you got a lot of the same adivce just with variations. Tell me which one works best, as I have only tried it with poaper towels. But I wouldn't want to ruin my towels!!? good luck. candi

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R.B.

answers from Topeka on

My older dog knocked off a candle that was in a warmer onto our brand new berber carpet. We tried everything, then we decided to get hot boiling water put it on the wax and use a carpet cleaner to suck up the water and wax. Worked WELL!

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L.R.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I have heard that yoou can blow a hair dryer on tablecloths stained with wax to remove the stain. You might try that with the carpet and see if it works!
I thought I'd throw this in as well- I have a wonderful candle business that offers gourmet candles that clean up easily with soap and water. They really are amazing, and wonderful smelling too! If you'd like more info, my website is:
www.candleheaven.org
Hope it comes out K.!

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J.T.

answers from St. Louis on

goo gone works on hard surfaces, i have never tried it on carpet. However, the trick with the iron gets most of it up and you can scrub the rest of it out. 1. Take a hot iron with a bunch of paper towels 2. put the paper towels on the wax, lay them flat. 3. put the hot iron on the paper towel. (do it for a couple of seconds and check the paper towels because you don't want to get wax all over the iron nor do you want the wax to get too soft and spread in the carpet more. this takes some patience but it does work.

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H.S.

answers from Kansas City on

The best way I have found, is to take a towel you don't mind trashing, lying it on top of the mess, and running an iron over the spill. The heat will melt the mess, and as long as you constantly turn th etowel, you can get the wax up. Goood Luck!!

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A.C.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I have heard that if you use towel and lay it over the spot and then press a warm iron to the towel it should remove it. I have never tried this but I have friends who have and they say it works. Good Luck

W.Q.

answers from Tulsa on

Hi K.,

This method is slow but works well. Use a hot iron and brown paper bags. Place a bag over the spill and press with the iron. Remove the bag, disgard it and repeat the steps. You'll want to continue repeating it until your bag shows no wax after applying the iron. Good luck.

W. Q

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G.N.

answers from St. Louis on

Technique:
Chip off and remove as much as possible first. Then take a terry towel and lay it down on the wax, then take an iron (on medium heat) and place it on the towel. The wax will wick up into the towel. Be sure to inspect the towel frequently, and be sure to keep moving to a fresh part of the towel until wax is gone.

If there is still a noticeable spot on the carpet you can purchase a carpet spotter that contains citric solvent from your local carpet cleaning supply store (check the yellow pages). Please note that you will require a carpet cleaning machine to rinse out this spotter as it will not dissipate and can be damaging to polypropylene backed carpets.

Precautions:
Please follow all use and safety instructions on the bottle and do not pour the cleaning compound directly onto the carpet. Apply the cleaning compound onto a white terry towel and surgically apply conservative amounts to the effected carpet fibers. As with all stains dyes in candles can cause permenant damage, once wax is removed if a stain remains treat as a dye stain.

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V.G.

answers from Joplin on

I've heard that you should place a cloth on the wax then put a hot iron over it. Check often and repeat w/ different cloths til gone.

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A.S.

answers from Wichita on

I'm not positive this will work on wax, but I know it worked wonders getting crayon (which is made with wax) off my sister's brand new sofa. She used "Murphy's Oil Soap". Let us know if it works!

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M.M.

answers from Wichita on

An iron and paper towels will get wax out of anything, off the wall, out of the carpet, anything. Change the paper towel often. For a really bad spill, you may be at it for a while, but it will come completely out.

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J.R.

answers from Lafayette on

put an old towel that you dont use anymore over the wax then run an iron over it. The wax will soak up in the towel. Works very well for the wax, but sometimes if the candle was a different color from the carpet unfortunately that dye stays in there

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M.G.

answers from Kansas City on

If the wax is colored, you'll have a stain to deal with, but you can get the wax out relatively easily. scrape as much as you can off with a butter knife and then take white paper towels and lay them across the wax and iron them with a dry clothes iron. You'll have to repeat this many times, but the wax will soak into the paper towel. Just toss the paper towels as they get soaked and put a new one down. As far as the potential stain if it was colored wax, you'll have to try a stain-removal product, which I can't help you with.

Good luck!
M.

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J.C.

answers from Kansas City on

Put a towel on it (old one you don't want) and iron over it. The wax will melt and the towel will absorb it.

J.G.

answers from Oklahoma City on

If you put an old rag on top of it and then use your iron and iron over it, it will come right out of the carpet. It also helps if the rag is a little damp. Hope that helps. It has always worked for me. I am the worst at letting candles do that.

J.

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R.W.

answers from Kansas City on

K.-

I actually know how to do this, becuase I did the same thing to a couch. You need to take a paper sack (like we used to get from the grocery store) and lay it over the wax. Then use a hot iron and iron the sack over the wax on the carpet. The iron warms the wax and the paper sack will absorb the wax.

R.

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D.H.

answers from Kansas City on

I dont know if anyone has told you this all ready but this works:!!

-Lay a few paper towels over the spilled wax and then iron over them. The wax will melt up onto the papertowels - its worked for me!

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L.

answers from St. Louis on

Lay a white cotton cloth over the wax spot and run an iron (steam OFF) back and forth over the top of the cloth. The wax will transfer from the carpet to the cotton cloth. You'll probably want to use an clean but old cloth so you can just throw it away.
Good luck!

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J.T.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi K.,
My name is J.. The best way to get wax out of your carpet is to use newspaper and a iron. Get your iron hot and take the newspaper and put it over the wax and iron the paper it will pull it up. I also wanted to let you know. I sell candles called Mia Bella soy candles, don't know if you heard of them. They are soy gourmet candles, They are wonderful candles and if you spill them they wash up with soap and water. They are good for small children. Been there with the spilled candle wax and its no fun. If you would like I have a web site if you are interested it is www.jilltilden.scent-team.com. You can also register for a free drawing. There is a little candle at the top of the screen just click on that. Good luck with getting it all out. I had the same issue and thats what a girl from work told me to do. , J.

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A.W.

answers from Kansas City on

You will need a roll of paper towels and an iron. Place the paper towels over the wax and then place the iron on it. Be careful not to get the wax on the iron. It might take a few paper towels to get it up. This worked for me when I was in an apartment and got wax on the carpet.

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M.C.

answers from Kansas City on

oh that is simple! Grab your iron and a piece of fabric or an old towel, place the towel on the wax and heat up the iron, place the iron on the towel for a few seconds at a time until it is all gone. If the wax is a dark color compared to your carpet it will leave color in the carpet and you should use a carpet cleaning fluid to take the color out. Hope you have good luck with it.

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A.B.

answers from St. Louis on

What I do: cut up a brown paper bag, or use thick paper towels. Put it over the wax, and iron it with a hot iron. The wax will stick to the paper, and you should be able to get it all up (just be sure to use a fresh spot on the paper for lots of wax).

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T.D.

answers from Springfield on

I have done this very thing. Take a brown paper bag and put it on top of the wax. Heat up your clothes iron and rub it on the paper bag. Don't hold it in one spot for too long because it will melt the carpet. I move the bag to not get too much wax on one spot of the bag.

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K.B.

answers from Champaign on

K.,
At one time there was a lady at Yankee Candle store and she had told me that freezing it would help remove it from like a dish. I feeze anything that I had burnt a candle in just get the remaining out so I can reuse it again. Esp my tart burner. I would try to take and ice cube or even freeze a damp clothe and see if that would help remove it. Also there is a product called GOO Gone. You should be able to pick up at a local hardware store or even a WalMart. I would try to get it cold and see if that would do the job but if it didnt then I wold try the GOO Gone. Keep me updated as to what worked in case I am asked again in the future or I may need the tip.
K.
K.

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M.Y.

answers from Peoria on

Maybe try a warm iron and a paper towel. Take the paper towel and place it over the wax and the briefly place the warm iron on it. It warms up the wax and the paper towel absorbs it. I cannot guarantee this but it has worked for me in the past.

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J.G.

answers from St. Louis on

You have probably already gotten this answer by now, but I will send it anyway. Use brown paper bags and cover with a warm (not hot) iron. Just reposition the paper bag after it soaks through each spot. Don't try to rush it, it may take some time. Keep the iron low to Med. heat. Hot will burn the carpet and look even worse than the wax did.

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S.

answers from Tulsa on

Have you tryed to us a iron and wax paper or a towel. put the towel or wax paper on the candel wax with the warm iron go over the area. My mom got candle wax out this way it will take a long time! Good luck. S.

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M.A.

answers from Bloomington on

K.,

What I have done (I read this tip in the newspaper) is wet a washcloth, squeeze out the excess and the put it over the spot, and then use your hot iron on the spot over the washcloth. The iron melts the wax and it will stick to the washcloth. It has worked for me several times. Hope this helps!

M.

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J.

answers from Kansas City on

Not sure if it really works, as I've never tried it, but I've hear of laying a brown paper grocery bag down over the wax, then ironing over the top. I think it's supposed to heat the wax and make it stick to the bag.

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T.M.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Hey K.,
Have you tried using a paper towel and iron? Get a paper towel from the kitchen and with your iron, iron over the paper towel and the wax should transfer to the paper towel. You may have to do it several times but this usually works for me. I hope that makes sense and I hope you can get it out.

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K.F.

answers from Oklahoma City on

You may have already gotten a good answer, but I once got candle wax out of a carpet by using an iron (it was the first time I used that wedding present!). I think I put a paper towel down on the floor & then used the iron on low heat on top of the paper towel. It took quite a while to get the job done, but little by little I was able to peel the wax off.
good luck!

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H.A.

answers from Kansas City on

The best way is the brown paper bag, with a towel over it and your iron, it may take a few times, but be persistant. I did it a few times myself...it does all come out...good luck

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D.Y.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi there - scrape as much of the wax out as you can and then place an old towel (one you don't mind being stained) over the remaining wax and iron over the towel. The wax will melt and then absorb into the towel. Then use a standard stain remover for any remaining color.

Good luck

D.

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S.R.

answers from St. Louis on

try getting a hairdryer and heating it up a bit and then getting some carpet cleaner while its mooshie. it worked for me once

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A.L.

answers from St. Louis on

place a towel over the wax and put a hot iron on it.. it will pull the wax to the towel...if the wax is colored it will leave the color on th carpet but the wax will be gone

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K.L.

answers from Tulsa on

Try using a hot iron and a piece of wax paper big enough to cover the candle wax. Just iron over the wax paper and the candle wax should stick to the paper - any remaining try goo gone...

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C.C.

answers from Tulsa on

Depending on how big the spot you need to remove is, will be the size of towel you choose. But get an old towel or rag and lay it over the spot and use your iron on the towel to remove the wax. The heat and steam from the iron will melt most of the candle wax off and the towel will absorb it. After you have gotten all you can out of the carpet with the iron, while the fibers all still warn, scrub like heck with your favorite carpet cleaner. Works for me everytime. I have 2 yr old twins and they are often naughty...lol.
Hope it works out for ya!!

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E.T.

answers from Columbia on

Palce a paper towel over the spot and using an iron, gently go over it with minimal pressure. It should melt and stick to the paper towel instead of your carpet. If it's colored wax though you'll probably still have a stain from the color.

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K.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Hello K.!
The way that I have gotten wax out of my carpet is by using paper towels and an iron. You heat the iron, put a paper towel over the wax area, put the warm iron on the paper towel. Remove and apply a new paper towel. Put the warm iron onto each paper towel until all the wax is removed.

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S.G.

answers from Kansas City on

My sister used to work for Candle Light and they recommend using a white cloth over the wax in the carpet and then use a warm iron on top of it. It will draw out the wax onto the towel.

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S.R.

answers from Lawrence on

K.,

I'm new to this Mom group and noticed you're a work-at-home mommy and in Lawrence, and I was wondering what you do, and if you did it before you decided to stay home with your son. I am a stay-at-home mom to an almost 10 month old little, and I am looking for some work I can do from home, and all I have been able to fine are pyramid scheme type jobs.

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J.F.

answers from Enid on

take a paper sack from a grocery store and tear it to the size of the wax spill. Using a regular clothes iron place the paper sack on top of the wax and use your iron to melt the wax. remove the iron and let the wax cool just a little and gently pull on the paper sack. You may have to repeat this several times, but it works great.

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T.H.

answers from Bloomington on

Their is a wax remover they sell if you need... but the old Paper towle and iron on a low to med setting is a good one!! if you dont have an iron try heating it up with a hair dryer!!

Pick out what you can if big clumps try to use a knife or a fork to get those out then get the little bit left that other way...

good luck hun!! It is really easy!!! I know it is a pain.. but It happens!!!

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K.N.

answers from Bloomington on

Put a paper towel over the wax and run a hot iron over it. Repeat the steps until all the wax is gone. Saw it on a design show on tv.

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T.P.

answers from Tulsa on

Hello

Have you tried putting an old rag down and ironing over it. This is what I did and it got all the candle wax up. Good luck.

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J.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi, K.!
I would try warming up your dry iron and placing a piece of brown paper, like a paper bag, over the spot then gently ironing the wax. The brown paper soaks up the heated wax and it will become dark and oily. Refresh the brown paper repeatedly until you no longer see a stain.
Good luck!
J.

Edited to add: oops! I didn't read the other responses first. Sorry for repeating!!

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M.B.

answers from St. Joseph on

The best way I know of to get wax out of carpet is this.
A warm iron and two papertowels folded in half, place the papertowels over the spot, run warm iron on top of towels which will absorb the wax.

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J.B.

answers from St. Louis on

We had the same trouble a few years back and used an old B. paper bag and an iron on a low setting. Put the paper down on the wax, then rub the iron over top - the iron re-melts the wax and the bag absorbs it. You can also use B. paper used for shipping packages - you just want to make sure the paper isn't coated with anything that will melt......

Worked like a charm! Good luck!

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C.M.

answers from Oklahoma City on

You can get the wax out by puting a paper towel over it then a regular towel and ironing it. You may have to do it more than once though.

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