How to remove wax from carpet

An indispensable attribute of a romantic evening or theme party are wax or paraffin candles. However, an unpleasant moment can be a candle knocked over on a carpet or rug, which not only leaves an unsightly drip on the pile, but also, when removing the lumpy mass, a stain underneath. Experienced housewives offer several secrets on how to quickly deal with such stains and safely remove wax from the surface of the carpet.

Methods using household chemicals

You can fight wax stains on the carpet using folk recipes or special household chemicals that are offered in stores. Among the most well-known methods are:

• using any solvent (white spirit, gasoline or acetone are suitable; they effectively remove wax stains from carpets, but can harm the paint, which is why it is better to try this type of panacea for greasy stains on a small and inconspicuous area of ​​the carpet);
• special product Asidol (this is an inexpensive ammonia solution available in any hardware store; it perfectly removes wax and paraffin stains from carpeting);
• substances based on soda (they can be mixed with water in equal proportions, the resulting slurry is applied to the wax stain and allowed to soak in for a little time, after which the dirt is removed).

Important! Any household chemical can cause irreparable damage to the carpet, so you should definitely take this possibility into account and be extremely careful. If you have doubts about the correctness of the chosen solution, it is better to contact a professional dry cleaner.

Traditional methods

Traditional recipes for removing wax stains are simple and accessible. This does not require a large number of tools or a lot of time; only available means are used:

• freezing and heating (wax can be frozen perfectly with a small piece of ice, after which large pieces of wax are broken and removed, and smaller pieces are heated through thick paper, this must be done until the wax from the carpet transfers to the napkin);
• a solution of salt, vinegar and soda (a paste is prepared from the listed ingredients and rubbed onto the paraffin stain; after the composition has hardened, it is cleaned with a soft brush, then the carpet should be washed with shampoo);
• a composition based on turpentine and ammonia (the elements are mixed in equal proportions and applied to the stained area, allowed to harden and washed off with a soft brush, after which the carpet should dry with natural ventilation).

Important! After using any of the methods presented, you should thoroughly clean the carpet using shampoo or a special carpet cleaner.

Then all that remains is to dry the product, but this must be done in a well-ventilated area, without using heating elements or a hairdryer.

Which carpets are easy to remove wax from?

Wax drips are much easier to remove from low-pile rugs made from natural materials and dark colors. On light-colored carpets with long pile, the wax will be very noticeable and the stains will be difficult to clean.The choice of candle drip remover should also depend on the color and length of the carpet pile. For light-colored rugs, more aggressive solutions or special products that can be found in household chemicals or hardware stores are suitable.

What is easier to remove: fresh or hardened wax?

The age-old question is which wax is easier to remove, fresh or already hardened. It should be immediately noted that it is much easier to remove the wax drip immediately after knocking over the candle. At this point, the stain has not yet had time to be absorbed into the textile surface, and the losses will not be so dire.
But it happens that drops of wax on the carpet are noticed too late, when it has already hardened and “grown” to the pile. In this case, conventional heating or freezing is not enough; you will have to use aggressive mixtures that can dissolve the wax stain and remove it from the surface.