Spilled candle wax can be kind of tricky to clean up. Water and wax don’t react well together, so you will have a difficult time trying to clean up a candle wax spill with soap and water. Luckily, there is a super easy solution to cleaning up spilled candle wax.
WD-40 is an extremely effective product to use when trying to remove spilled candle wax. Since WD-40 is a water displacement cleaning agent, it works wonders when you are trying to clean up wax accidents.
How to Remove Candle Wax with WD-40
The trick to using WD-40 to remove candle wax will depend on where the wax spill is. It can be trickier to remove candle wax from carpet and fabric than on hard surfaces. This is because the wax has time to seep down into the fibers of carpet and fabric before it dries, causing it to be stuck deeper.
The process of removing candle wax with WD-40 differs greatly between different surfaces. Keep reading to learn more about the proper way to clean candle wax with the help of this functional and effective product.
To check the current price and availability of WD-40, click here to view the listing on Amazon.
Carpet
If the candle wax has spilled on your carpet, it is going to be harder to completely remove because the wax seeps down into the fibers before it dries. There are two different methods you can use to ensure you get all of the wax out of the carpet.
First, there is the cold method. This involves you taking a bag of ice and setting it on top of the candle wax. This will freeze it, so it doesn’t have time to work down into the fibers. After a few minutes, remove the ice.
When the wax is frozen, use a knife or an old credit card to scrape the wax off the surface. You are then going to vacuum to get up any loos wax. Grab the WD-40 and spray some of it onto the area you just removed the wax from. Let it soak in for a few minutes.
You will then dab the area with a clean cloth. This will help remove any remaining wax and get rid of any potential stains. After you dab up the WD-40, spray the area with a carpet cleaning solution. If you have a carpet cleaning machine, that will be even better. If you don’t have a carpet cleaner, clean up the carpet solution with a damp cloth.
In addition to the cold method, there is also the hot method. Instead of freezing the wax like the cold method, the hot method warms the wax back up. Place a paper bag over the spilled candle wax. You want to make sure it is just a regular brown paper bag, not one with print or color.
Use an iron on low setting with no steam. Apply the heat over the paper bag with a little bit of pressure. This should help the wax transfer onto the paper bag. Avoid keeping the iron in the same place for too long as this could burn your carpet.
You will then follow the same steps of the cleaning method from the vacuuming to the carpet cleaning. Using the WD-40 will help loosen up any remaining pieces of wax that didn’t get picked up by the heat.
Hard Floors
Cleaning spilled wax off a hard floor surface is much easier than cleaning it off a carpet. First, you will need to scrape the spilled wax off the surface of the floor with a knife or an old credit card. After you have the majority of the candle wax removed, spray some WD-40 onto the spot where the wax was.
Let the WD-40 soak for a few minutes, then take a thick cloth and wipe it up. When you are finished, you will want to clean up the floor by mopping it and removing all residue of the WD-40.
Candleholders
You can also use WD-40 to remove candle wax from an old candleholder. All you need to do is spray some of the product into the candleholder and give it a few minutes to soak into the wax. After just a few minutes, you will be able to wipe out the holder and remove the wax that was stuck to the inside. Now you have an empty candleholder that you can reuse.
Clothes
If you accidentally spill candle wax on your clothing, you should take care of it as quickly as possible. Take the article of clothing and lay it out over a clean cloth, preferably a white one to prevent any color bleeding.
First, try to scrape off as much of the candle wax as you can. Next, spray the clothing with WD-40 and add a couple of drops of dish soap. You will want to massage this combination into the clothing and let it sit for just a few minutes.
After those few minutes have passed, rinse the clothing in hot water to get all of the product out. Throw the article of clothing in the washer on the highest heat setting it can handle. Do not put it in the dryer. Instead, let it air dry to make sure there isn’t any leftover wax stuck in the fibers. This will make it easier for you to spot any remaining wax to repeat the process.
Final Thoughts
Dealing with spilled candle wax can be a huge pain. When wax first spills, it’s wet and has the potential to seep deeper into cloth and fabric surfaces. This can make it pretty tricky to make sure all of the wax is properly removed. Hard surfaces are much easier to remove candle wax from.
Luckily, WD-40 has the ability to aid in candle wax removal from several different surfaces. As long as you follow the right instructions, you will be able to get the wax up in no time. WD-40 helps loosen up any remaining candle wax that might have been missed during your original removal.