How do you get cold (dried) candle wax out of cloth and furniture?

Dear tmacewen,

A very simple way to remove candle wax from cloth, carpets and
clothing is as follows:

- Make sure that the wax is really cold and totally dry.

- Put the affected piece of cloth, in case it's no carpet, on a flat
surface, like an ironing board.

- Place a sheet of blotting paper over the wax.

- Adjust an electric iron at lowest heat and iron over the blotting
paper.

- The candle wax will be removed from the cloth.

Some carpets may not tolerate even the lowest heat adjustment of an
iron. Also, colored candle wax might leave discolorations. In case of
doubt, there is an alternative way to remove wax: Water a clean white,
undyed piece of cloth with petroleum ether and then rub cautiously on
the wax mark to remove it.

To remove candle wax from wooden furniture surfaces, you should do the
following:

- Soften the wax spot with a hair-dryer.

- Then, place a piece of linen fabric over the wax. Linen absorbes the
liquid wax excellently.

- When the linen has removed the wax from the surface, clean the wood
with a solution of water with vinegar. Later, clean the surface again
with clear water.

Other furniture surfaces can be handled the same way, provided they
don't  suffer from the hair-dryer's hot air.

Removing candle wax from small metal objects is very easy: Put them
into the freezing compartment of your fridge or into the deep-freeze
cabinet for circa an hour. After that, the wax has become brittle and
can be removed from the metal without a trace.

Sources:

Allnatura: Tipps zur Pflege von Teppichen
https://ssl.kundenserver.de/allnatura.de/info/pflegetipps_teppiche.html

Alliance: Fleckenteufel für Holzmöbel
http://www.alliance.de/verbraucher/journal/index_260.htm

Die Hausfrauenseite: Wachsflecken, by Carola Enning
http://www.hausfrauenseite.de/index.shtml?http://www.hausfrauenseite.de/haushalt/wachsfleck.html

Search terms used:
kerzenwachs entfernen:
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=kerzenwachs+entfernen&meta=
wachsflecken waschbenzin:
://www.google.de/search?q=wachsflecken+waschbenzin&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=de&meta=
wachsflecken möbel:
://www.google.de/search?q=wachsflecken+m%C3%B6bel&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&start=0&sa=N

Hope this helps!
Regards,
Scriptor

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Request for Answer Clarification by tmacewen-ga on 09 Dec 2002 08:17 PST

Just need to clarify what "Blotting paper" is exactly and what
"Petroleum ether" is exactly?

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Clarification of Answer by scriptor-ga on 09 Dec 2002 09:21 PST

Dear tmacewen,

"Blotting paper" is normally used when writing with ink, like letters
or at school. It is placed on the fresh ink to dry it instantly. You
should have no problem buying blotting paper at any stationary dealer.
It is not expensive at all.
"Petroleum ether" is also called "benzine" sometimes. It is a liquid
petroleum product used for cleaning purposes. Chemist's shops and
drugstores carry it in small quantities for use in households.

Hope this helps!
Best regards,
Scriptor

A small comment to this:

>Removing candle wax from small metal objects is very easy: Put them
>into the freezing compartment of your fridge or into the deep-freeze
>cabinet for circa an hour. After that, the wax has become brittle and
>can be removed from the metal without a trace.

Make sure the object isn't made of tin before trying this. Tin can
disintegrate if exposed to cold temperatures (below 13°C).

http://www.corrosion-club.com/tinplague.htm
http://www.finishing.com/0600-0799/740.html