Remove Wax from Clothing

If you need to remove wax from clothing, scrubbing or picking at it is unlikely to do the trick. However, there are some pretty simple procedures that you can use to remove wax - such as candle wax - from clothing (and other fabric too).

Steps

Scraping off the Excess Wax

1. Let the wax dry. No matter which approach you use to remove wax from clothing, you will have better results if you try to remove the wax after it dries. This may go against your instinct to get rid of a stain right away, but you don't want to try to remove wax while it's hot.
   • If you rub at the wax when it’s hot, you could spread it to other areas of the clothing and make the situation worse. So, resist the temptation to run for the sink while the wax is still hot or to smear it with your fingers.
   • You could let the wax dry naturally. Or you could put ice cubes on the clothing to make it dry faster or put it in the freezer.
2. Scrape off as much of the wax as you can. Once the wax is dry, you want to scrap off the easily removable wax before applying heat. You can use a dull knife to do this.
   • Scrape in a direction away from the body so you don’t hurt yourself. The reason you want to use a dull knife is because a sharper knife could easily put a hole in the clothing.
   • If the clothing is very delicate, such as silk, you should use a spoon instead and skim it over the wax lightly. Avoid digging into the cloth or you might damage it. You could also try using a credit card edge instead of a dull knife.

Removing the Wax with an Iron

1. Use an iron to melt the wax. You can remove wax – such as candle wax – from clothing if you use an iron. Keep it on low heat. You should apply the heat to the wax after you’ve scraped it with the dull knife or spoon.
   • Then, put paper towels on top of the clothing. You could use brown paper bags instead of paper towels. You may need to replace the paper periodically as some wax comes off. You could put a thin cloth in between the iron and the paper towels, which should be pressed onto the waxy area of the clothing.
   • Press the warm iron to the paper or cloth. This is going to move the wax from the clothing to the paper towels or bags. The iron should not be on steam setting or it won’t work. This procedure works well for larger wax stains. Be careful you don’t burn the clothing.
   • Use blotting paper instead of paper towels on fabric like fleece or wool. Otherwise, you might end up with small bits of the paper caught in the fabric.
2. Apply laundry prewash stain remover. After you’ve tried the ironing approach, using laundry prewash stain remover on the clothing before washing it should remove any lingering hint of the wax or stain from it.
   • You want to wash the clothing in the hottest water you can. Use bleach on the clothing if it’s white. Otherwise, use color bleach. This step is even more important when colored wax has fallen on white or light colored clothing.
   • Don’t put the clothing in the dryer until you are sure the stain is gone. The heat could set the stain otherwise.
   • Alternately, hand-wash if you're dealing with very delicate items of clothing or get them dry cleaned.

Using Alternative Ways to Remove Wax

1. Try a blow dryer. If you don't have or don't want to use an iron, you can find other ways to deliver enough heat to the wax that you should be able to melt and remove it.
   • Put paper towels on both sides and simply blow a hair dryer over the spot with heat for five seconds and blot it out with the paper towel. This method works well for clothing that you fear could be damaged by too-hot of an iron.
   • You may need to use the stain remover and wash the clothes if a stain remains.
2. Put the clothing in boiling water. Dipping the clothing into a large kettle of boiling water can remove wax. The trick is adding baking soda to the boiling water.
   • Take a very large kettle. Boil water in it. Put 5-6 teaspoons of baking soda into the water. Dip the clothing with wax on it into the boiling water with a stick or rod. After about a minute, the wax should fall into the water.
   • Dip the clothing into the water several times. It should only take a minute or so for the wax to soften and fall into the kettle. Keeping the fabric in the boiling water for too long can harm the clothing by removing dye.
   • For more delicate clothing like fleece, you can place a towel over the waxed area and iron the towel. The wax will be absorbed out of the clothing and into the towel. This will avoid damaging clothing with boiling water.
3. Try vegetable oil or carpet cleaner. If the stains are small, you could use vegetable oil to get them off. Apply a dollop of vegetable oil to the wax. Alternatively, you should scrape away most of wax, apply a carpet cleaner, brush it with a toothbrush, and clean your item of clothing in the washer.
   • Use paper towels to wipe off the excess wax. Launder the clothing.
   • Avoid stronger solutions like paint thinner or gasoline. However, you could try using a small amount of rubbing alcohol on the stain in addition to vegetable oil.
4. Put the clothing in the freezer. You just need to wait until the cold makes the wax brittle. Then, you should be able to snap most of the wax off.
   • You should only need to keep the clothing in the freezer for about an hour for this process to work.
   • There might be some wax remaining. If there is, put the area of the clothing with wax on it over a large bowl and secure it to the bowl with rubber bands. Then, pour boiling water over the wax. This should melt it. Wash the clothing as usual.
   • If you want to freeze your wax using a different method, try some wart removal spray to freeze it quickly and safely.

Tips

• If you don't have an iron, just use a hair straightener!
• You can use the same procedures to remove wax from other fabrics, such as tablecloths.
• The little plastic clips that come on bread bags work well instead of a bread knife for all kinds of small scraping jobs.
• Be very careful using the ironing method on furniture. If you don't test it before trying, you may end up with an iron-shaped hole on your clothing.
• The ironing method also works for removing acetone (nail polish remover) from unvarnished wooden furniture. (A soft cloth would probably work better though).
• Be careful with candles. They can be a fire hazard.
• Always check the care labels of the clothing before you apply any products.

Warnings

• Do not use this method for clothing that must be dry cleaned; often you cannot safely get these wet.
• Be careful of boiling water. Use rubber gloves to carry items to washing machine.

Things You'll Need

• Clothing
• Water
• Heat source (an iron, boiling water, or a blow dryer)
• Possibly baking soda or vegetable oil
• Paper towels, thin cloths, or brown paper bags

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Sources and Citations

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