Removing Candle Wax

With the darker time of year we find that we use quite a few candles, which does make the place feel homey and they are pretty to watch, however they also drip wax !

Over the last few days I've been removing candle wax from the floor, from candle holders and from some seasonal cloths which I'm changing over for Spring ones !

With floor/carpet the best thing to do is to scrape away as much wax as possible with a knife and then make a few passes over the mark with some newspaper and a hot iron. You keep the newspaper pressed over the wax mark and iron over the paper. You have to be careful to keep the iron moving or you might leave a scorch mark, but this works quite well.

It is a similar process with wax left on cloths, place some newspaper on top and under the waxy mark, having first scraped off as much as possible, placing the cloth in the freezer for a few minutes helps to make the wax brittle so it's easier to scrape off, then iron over the newspaper. Having newspaper under and over the mark stops the wax melting further into the cloth, instead the newspaper absorbs it. Then you can use the newspaper to light the fire !

Finally, candle holders need to be laid on some newspaper on a tray in a low oven and left there until the wax has just started to melt. You should use that trusty old knife to scrape away as much as possible before you put them in, as the newspaper won't absorb a lot of wax. Also, don't have the oven on any higher than 100C as you might set fire to the wax ! Handle with care as you remove the candle holders as they will be hot !

Now everything looks much better and the cloths and the holders have been out away for next year !