What to Do When Wax Gets Stuck in Your Carpet
Candles create the perfect ambiance for a tranquil evening at home. However, they also make a mess when some of the candle wax accidentally drips on the carpet. Wax dries and hardens quickly from its melted state and firmly attaches itself to the carpet fibers. It is not water or oil-soluble, making it impracticable to apply popular stain-removing solutions. It leaves homeowners clueless; they feel that their plush carpet is ruined forever and that it is impossible to remove spilled wax from it.
Instead of panicking and feeling disappointed, we suggest that homeowners follow a few simple steps when they end up in the situation where wax gets stuck in their carpet. It does not require any expensive products or intensive scrubbing, simply a few materials commonly found in every home can do the trick.
Before going ahead with the process, let's look at the list of required materials essential to complete the process of wax removal from the carpet:
A butter or putty knife
Paper towel or brown paper bag
Iron or hairdryer
An ice bag
A towel
Vacuum
A carpet cleaner
It is essential to get rid of the wax as soon as it is noticed. The longer it stays on the carpet, the harder it is to remove it. After these items are gathered, follow these steps to get the candle wax out of the carpet:
Harden the wax
The first step in the process is to prevent the melted wax from getting deeper into the carpet fibers. Place a waterproof ice bag over the wax for a few minutes to solidify it. The hardened wax is simple to remove. Avoid this step if it is already solidified.
Scrape
After the wax freezes, repeatedly run a butter or putty knife over the area to scrape the hardened wax off the carpet. Getting rid of as much wax as possible at this stage makes the following steps simpler and more effective.
Heat the wax to melt it
Once most of the wax gets off the carpet, place a brown paper bag or paper towel over the remaining wax. Use an iron or hairdryer to reheat the wax. Keep the iron at a low temperature and turn off the steam setting. Ensure the iron isn't too hot, as it will burn the paper. Run it over the paper bag in a circular motion. As the wax heats and melts, the bag absorbs it. Repeat until there is no wax left on the carpet.
Apply carpet cleaner
Next, spray a high-quality carpet cleaner or rubbing alcohol on the affected area and let it stay there for some time. It gets rid of any dirt, remaining wax, or stains.
Vacuum
Once the carpet dries, vacuum the area to revive the carpet to its previous state.
Follow the steps mentioned above to remove the dried wax stuck in the carpet quickly and affordably. However, if the homeowner is not confident, lacks time, or the wax has gone deeper into the fiber, seek professional assistance. Contact a carpet cleaning and restoration company to remove wax or other stains effectively and restore the carpet to its original condition.
3D Carpet Cleaning and Restoration offers home service cleaning and sanitation, air duct cleaning, and 24-hour flood service in Tampa & South Florida. Call (813) 833-4126 today!
