How to Get Candle Wax Out of Fabric and Tablecloths

To get candle wax out of fabric, let the wax harden, then scrape off as much as you can with a dull knife. Lay the fabric between clean white paper towels and press with a warm, dry iron, moving to a clean patch of towel as the wax soaks in. Repeat until no more wax comes up. Then treat the greasy or colored mark left behind with a prewash stain remover and launder it, following the care label. Check the spot before drying. Don’t put it in the dryer until the stain is completely gone.

Why wax comes out in two stages

Candle wax leaves two problems, and they need different fixes.

• The wax itself. Wax is solid when cold and liquid when warm. So you remove it in two ways: scrape it off hard, then melt the rest into something more absorbent than your fabric.
• What the wax leaves behind. Once the wax is gone there’s usually an oily shadow, and with a colored candle, a patch of dye. That is an ordinary stain, and it needs an ordinary stain treatment.

Most failed attempts stop after stage one. The cloth looks clean when wet, goes through a hot dryer, and the shadow sets for good.

The method, step by step

These steps combine the candle-wax entries from the American Cleaning Institute’s stain removal guide and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension’s candle wax page. The two agree on the order.

1. Let it harden. Don’t wipe warm wax; it spreads into the weave. Wait until it’s firm. UGA’s method for carpet speeds this up with an ice cube in a plastic bag held over the wax, and the same trick firms a drip on a tablecloth.
2. Scrape. Use a dull knife or a spoon edge and lift off everything that will come away. The more you remove now, the less the iron has to melt into the cloth.
3. Iron it out. Put the stained area between clean white paper towels, or a fold of them, and press with a warm iron. UGA says to press “from the back of the fabric”. ACI says to “replace paper towels frequently to absorb more wax and to avoid transferring stains.” A greasy towel just puts the wax back. Keep the iron moving, and don’t turn it up past the fabric’s own setting.
4. Treat what’s left. ACI’s next step: place the stain face down on clean paper towels, sponge it with a prewash stain remover or cleaning fluid, and blot. Let it dry.
5. Wash it. Launder according to the care label.
6. Check before drying. ACI’s general rule is “Do not put it in the dryer until the stain is removed.” Let it air dry if you’re not sure, and repeat steps 4 and 5 if a mark remains.

White paper towels matter for the same reason white cloths matter for carpet: a printed towel can leave its own color behind.

When a colored candle leaves dye behind

Deeply colored candles are the ones to watch. The wax lifts out, and a pink or brown patch stays.

• First, more wash. ACI notes that if color remains, rewash “using sodium hypochlorite bleach, if safe for fabric, or oxygen bleach.” Read the label first. On colored linens that means oxygen bleach, such as OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover used as its label directs.
• Then diluted alcohol. UGA’s step for a dye stain left by wax is to “sponge it with alcohol diluted with 2 parts water,” then rinse.
• Test first, every time. UGA’s cautions: “Always pretest each cleaning agent on an inconspicuous area first to determine colorfastness”, and read the care label before any method. A hem or the inside of a seam is a good test spot.

Treat one product at a time, rinse between them, and never mix bleach with anything else.

Wax on a tablecloth

A tablecloth is the commonest place for candle wax, and its size is the problem. You can’t hold a whole tablecloth under an iron. So deal with it where it is.

• Clear the table and leave the cloth on it. Once the wax has hardened, scrape it while the cloth is still flat and supported. It’s much easier than chasing a drip around a crumpled cloth.
• Take only the stained area to the ironing board. Lay that section flat, with a fold of paper towels under and over it, and work it as above. Keep the rest of the cloth folded clear of the iron.
• Work drip by drip. A long run of drips down one side is a dozen small jobs. Fresh towels for each.
• Don’t machine-dry it with a shadow still showing. Damp-dry the cloth on a line or over a rack and look at it in daylight. Heat sets the oily ring that a dining-room lamp hides.

Vintage and lace cloths. An heirloom linen with no label, lace, or anything that says dry clean only is a different job. UGA’s rule is not to use “any products or procedures prohibited by the care label.” Old linen can be fragile in ways you can’t see, so scrape off what you can and take the rest to a dry cleaner.

Wax on a rug or carpet

Same idea, adapted for a floor. UGA’s carpet method is to harden the wax with an ice cube in a plastic bag, scrape gently, then press with a warm iron (not hot) over several layers of paper towels, “moving the blotter materials as wax is absorbed.” It finishes with a solvent spot cleaner and then a diluted-alcohol step for leftover dye, applied a little at a time.

UGA warns not to overwet carpet with solvents, which “can destroy the carpet backing”. It also says: “Do not have an open flame near flammable cleaning solutions.” On a candlelit evening that means blowing the candles out before any solvent comes out. For wine and coffee, carpet needs its own method; see how to get red wine out of carpet.

The same trick works on crayon

Crayon is wax and pigment, so it behaves the same way. Scrape it, then iron it into paper. ACI’s stain guide says to treat crayon “the same as candle wax.” The old-fashioned stain removal table has the crayon row, and walls have their own version of the heat-and-blot method.

If this is holiday-table wax, the rest of the clean-up is in the holiday hosting house prep.

FAQ: candle wax on fabric

Does freezing get candle wax out of fabric?

Hardening the wax makes it easier to scrape. UGA’s carpet method uses an ice cube in a plastic bag. Freezing alone won’t remove the wax that has soaked into the fibers, though. That part needs the iron and paper towels.

Can you put fabric with candle wax in the washing machine?

Remove the wax first by scraping and ironing it into paper towels. Then pretreat the mark and wash it as the care label says. Washing first leaves wax in the fibers.

How do you get colored candle wax stains out?

After the wax is gone, rewash with a bleach that’s safe for the fabric, such as oxygen bleach on colors. UGA’s next step is rubbing alcohol diluted with two parts water. Test both on a hidden spot first.

Will the dryer set a candle wax stain?

It can. ACI’s rule is not to put a stained item in the dryer until the stain is removed. Air dry it and check it in good light first.