Dining by candlelight is a delightful thing, however; candle drips and pools on your wooden table can cause terrible stains. How do you get rid of wax on wood and other surfaces? This is a guide that will help you deal with wax especially candle wax.
Removing wax on any surface
Candle wax is initially hot, greasy and can run across a surface without hesitation. It’s tough to deal with wax stains especially on wooden furniture; here are some tips:
Things you will need
- Ice cubes
- Hot water
- Scraper
- Clean cloth
- Wood cream finish
- Goof Off
Removing wax stains on wood
Wax can leave very unsightly marks on wood, especially polished wood. When you see candle dripping and pools on your wooden table, you must not hesitate to clean it up right away. You will risk letting the wax penetrate the grains of wood and changing its color.
Step 1
Use ice cubes and harden the wax, Apply the ice cube over the area; you can hold it with your bare hands too.
Source: https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/ice-cubes-11611651797.html
Step 2
Scrape off the hardened wax using a credit card or a plastic ruler. You will see that the wax will be easier to remove this way.
Source: https://www.todayshomeowner.com/video/how-to-remove-candle-wax-from-furniture-the-easy-way/
Step 3
Once all the wax has been removed, you can apply cream furniture wax to polish the surface.
Removing wax from vinyl flooring
It’s a challenge to remove wax from delicate vinyl flooring. Usually once hot candle wax touches vinyl, this changes color almost immediately. So when it comes to this surface, you have to act fast.
Step 1
Soak the spot with hot water. Let hot water stay for about five to ten minutes.
Source: https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/unusual-side-effects-of-drinking-hot-water/#gref
Step 2
Wipe away the wax using a dry cloth.
Source: https://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-remove-wax-from-furniture
Step 3
Repeat the steps until the wax has been completely removed.
Step 4
Apply multipurpose remover like Goof Off to remove all the waxy residue.
Source: https://goofoffproducts.com/product/pro-strength-remover-1-gallon/
Remember the following when removing wax build up
When removing wax don’t strip the surface of the furniture. Stripping will remove not just the wax but also the original finish of the furniture. If you are working on antique furniture stripping will significantly decrease the value of the piece.
The wax buildup is an indication that your finish needs cleaning and not really a complete stripping. There are actually two ways to remove wax from furniture and this is according to the degree of staining. You may buff the piece of furniture and but if you don’t get the best results, you can use a wax removal product instead.
Buff the furniture piece
Buff the surface of your furniture using a soft cloth. Use a lint-free, clean and smooth piece of cloth. You have to wipe off accumulated dust and buff the piece in circles while you apply pressure to the surface of the piece. Continue this until the surface has become less sticky.
If your cloth gets stained, you need to replace it with a clean piece. Take note that you want to remove any excess wax on the surface of your piece of furniture. Do not reapply the excess wax, just buff, and shine. This process may be completed by buffing with another piece of cloth.
Removing excess wax using commercially-prepared products
When there is wax build-up and it has become old and hard, you have to remove it right away. Use a commercially-prepare product that is special –made for wax removal. You will find a wide variety of wax-removal products in the market and also from furniture stores.
Wax removal products will also be able to help remove dirt, oils, and wax. Now you don’t have to worry about damaging your furniture’s finish as long as you follow the instructions on how to use it.
Apply only a thin layer of the wax removal product on a clean cloth. Do not apply directly on the surface of the furniture. Then buff the wood surface; keep buffing until you get visible results.
A good kind of wax is furniture wax with beeswax or carnauba wax. With these commercially-prepared products, you will be able to remove wax from furniture and restore it to its former beauty.
Conclusion
Wax can be removed from the surface of furniture easily when you deal with the wax build up ASAP. Letting the wax settle can make it harder for you to remove the wax especially on unfinished wood. There are also commercially-prepared products available so you can’t go wrong.
