How to Remove Candle Wax From a Table Cloth

Candles can make an attractive and festive addition to any table, but wax dripped all over your tablecloth can be an unpleasant surprise. While it is tempting to try to scrape and wash the wax out, these methods will just waste your time and possibly ruin your tablecloth. Remelting the wax allows you to easily remove it from your tablecloth, while a little extra time and effort also can remove any stains from colored wax.

Preparation

• 1

  Put the tablecloth in your freezer for up to several days to harden and dry out any large chunks of wax. You can alternatively rub the wax stain with an ice cube to freeze the wax more quickly.

• 2

  Remove the tablecloth from the freezer and lay it on a flat surface with the wax stains facing up.

• 3

  Scrape wax off of the tablecloth with a dull knife or old credit card.

Removing Wax

• 1

  Plug in an iron, set it to medium, and wait until it is warm. Check the tag of the tablecloth for any special ironing instructions.

• 2

  Put a few paper towels on top of the wax stain and a few under the wax stain, being careful to cover any area the iron will touch to avoid scorching.

• 3

  Press the warm iron onto the paper towels on top of the wax, moving the iron slowly in a circular motion, just as you would iron any piece of clothing. The heat from the iron will cause the paper towels to absorb the wax.

• 4

  Remove the paper towels. Repeat the process with clean towels until the wax is removed from the tablecloth.

Removing Wax Dye

• 1

  Mix one part rubbing alcohol with two parts water.

• 2

  Sponge the mixture onto the wax dye stains.

• 3

  Rinse with warm water and repeat as necessary.

• 4

  Wash the tablecloth according to label directions.