Many years ago, my brother served as an alter boy, and the robes were sent home to be cleaned. It was during this time that I learned how to quickly and easily remove wax drips from from the cotton robes. Over the years, I also learned that it worked on most fabrics and even carpet. Here are my tips for cleaning up wax stains.
Don’t bother the wax while it is still damp because it can work further into the fibers making it difficult to remove. Instead, let it harden. I won’t take long. After the wax has dried scrape away as much as possible. A spatula or butter knife is the perfect tool for peeling dried wax from fabrics and carpet.
After you have scraped away as much dried wax as possible, turn on your iron and allow it to get hot. Gather a brown grocery store paper bag and tear it onto large sheets. Place the remaining wax stain between two pieces of paper bag and iron it. The wax will be transferred to the bag by the heat. If there is more of a stain left in the fabric, readjust the paper to a clean spot and iron it again. Repeat until the stain is gone. It won’t take many tries.
If the wax was colored, you may still be left with a slight dye stain. To remove the stain, soak the fabric in oxygen based cleanser and allow it to sit overnight. If the item to be cleaned is white, you can use a bleach stick to spot treat the stain and wash immediately.
The process for removing wax from carpet is pretty much the same as from fabric. It will take longer to get all of the wax out because you cannot work from both sides. So, after scraping all of the wax you can from the carpet, place the paper bag down on the wax and press it with a heated iron. Be patient and keep using clean paper bag to press more and more wax out of the carpet. Eventually, was will stop transferring to the bag. At this point, the carpet will be wax free. If there is still a stain from colored wax, use carpet cleaning solution or steam cleaner to remove it.
The last time I removed a wax stain it was from my sister in law’s carpet and she did not have paper bags. Instead she had craft wrapping paper. That worked just as well as paper bag.