How to Remove Wax from Clothing

Co-authored by Kamel Almani

Last Updated: September 16, 2021 References Approved

If you need to remove wax from clothing, scrubbing or picking at it is unlikely to do the trick. However, there are some pretty simple procedures that you can use to remove wax - such as candle wax - from clothing (and other fabric too).

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Scraping off the Excess Wax

1
Let the wax dry. No matter which approach you use to remove wax from clothing, you will have better results if you try to remove the wax after it dries. This may go against your instinct to get rid of a stain right away, but you don't want to try to remove wax while it's hot.
- If you rub at the wax when it's hot, you could spread it to other areas of the clothing and make the situation worse. ^{[1]
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  Research source} So, resist the temptation to run for the sink while the wax is still hot or to smear it with your fingers. ^{[2]
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- You could let the wax dry naturally. Or you could put ice cubes on the clothing to make it dry faster or put it in the freezer.
2
Scrape off as much of the wax as you can. Once the wax is dry, scrape off the easily removable wax before applying heat. Use a dull knife or a plastic spatula to do this.^{[3]
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Expert Source

Kamel Almani
Laundry & Cleaning Specialist
Expert Interview. 9 April 2021.}
- Scrape in a direction away from the body, so you don't hurt yourself. The reason you want to use a dull knife is that a sharper knife could easily put a hole in the clothing.
- If the clothing is very delicate, such as silk, you should use a spoon instead and skim it over the wax lightly. Avoid digging into the cloth, or you might damage it. You could also try using a credit card edge instead of a dull knife. ^{[4]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Removing the Wax with an Iron

1
Use an iron to melt the wax. You can remove wax – such as candle wax – from clothing if you use an iron. Keep it on low heat. You should apply the heat to the wax after you've scraped it with the dull knife or spoon. ^{[5]
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- Put paper towels or brown paper bags on top of the clothing. You may need to replace the paper periodically as some wax comes off. You could also use transfer paper or thin cloth over the wax.^{[6]
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  Expert Source
  
  Kamel Almani
  Laundry & Cleaning Specialist
  Expert Interview. 9 April 2021.}
- Press the warm iron to the paper or cloth. This is going to move the wax from the clothing to the paper towels or bags.^{[7]
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  Expert Source
  
  Kamel Almani
  Laundry & Cleaning Specialist
  Expert Interview. 9 April 2021.} The iron should not be on steam setting, or it won't work. This procedure works well for larger wax stains. Be careful you don't burn the clothing.
- Use blotting paper instead of paper towels on fabric like fleece or wool. Otherwise, you might end up with small bits of the paper caught in the fabric.
2
Apply laundry prewash stain remover. After you've tried the ironing approach, using laundry prewash stain remover on the clothing before washing it should remove any lingering hint of the wax or stain from it.
- You want to wash the clothing in the hottest water you can. Use bleach on the clothing if it's white. Otherwise, use color bleach. This step is even more important when colored wax has fallen on white or light colored clothing.
- Don't put the clothing in the dryer until you are sure the stain is gone. The heat could set the stain otherwise.
- Alternately, hand-wash if you're dealing with very delicate items of clothing or get them dry cleaned. ^{[8]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Using Alternative Ways to Remove Wax

1
Try a blow dryer. If you don't have or don't want to use an iron, you can find other ways to deliver enough heat to the wax that you should be able to melt and remove it.
- Put paper towels on both sides, use a hair dryer to blow heat on the spot for five seconds and blot it out with the paper towel. This method works well for clothing that you fear could be damaged by too hot an iron.
- You may need to use the stain remover and wash the clothes if a stain remains.
2
Put the clothing in boiling water. Dipping the clothing into a large kettle of boiling water can remove wax. The trick is adding baking soda to the boiling water.
- Take a very large kettle. Boil water in it. Put 5-6 teaspoons of baking soda into the water. Dip the clothing with wax on it into the boiling water with a stick or rod. After about a minute, the wax should fall into the water.
- Dip the clothing into the water several times. It should only take a minute or so for the wax to soften and fall into the kettle. Keeping the fabric in the boiling water for too long can harm the clothing by removing its dye.
- For more delicate clothing like fleece, you can place a towel over the waxed area and iron the towel. The wax will be absorbed out of the clothing and into the towel. This will avoid damaging clothing with boiling water.
3
Try vegetable oil or carpet cleaner. If the stains are small, you could use vegetable oil to get them off. Apply a dollop of vegetable oil to the wax. Alternatively, you should scrape away most of the wax, apply a carpet cleaner, brush it with a toothbrush, and clean your item of clothing in the washer.
- Use paper towels to wipe off the excess wax. Launder the clothing.
- Avoid stronger solutions like paint thinner or gasoline. However, you could try using a small amount of rubbing alcohol on the stain in addition to vegetable oil. ^{[9]
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4
Put the clothing in the freezer. You just need to wait until the cold makes the wax brittle. Then, you should be able to snap most of the wax off.
- You should only need to keep the clothing in the freezer for about an hour for this process to work. ^{[11]
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- There might be some wax remaining. If there is, put the area of the clothing with wax on it over a large bowl and secure it to the bowl with rubber bands. Then, pour boiling water over the wax. This should melt it. Wash the clothing as usual.
- If you want to freeze your wax using a different method, try some wart removal spray to freeze it quickly and safely.

Community Q&A

Question

I have a black shirt I spilled a large amount of wax on. I have tried ironing the shirt, but the sleeve became hard. Is there any way to remove the wax that won't damage the shirt?

Community Answer

if you have not already tried this, put a towel or absorbent cloth in between the iron and your shirt when you use the iron.
Question

I have a lot of wax on my pants, and some of these methods seem tedious for a lot of wax spots. Would dry cleaning the pants do the job?

Community Answer

Dry cleaning would likely not get it all off. Try the method with iron and the paper bag shared in this article. In the video, the woman cleans up a lot of wax very quickly.
Question

How do I remove red wax stains?

Community Answer

After you have removed all the wax you can, soak it in a mixture of Dawn dish soap and water. It is the Dawn in the blue bottom.

Warnings

Be careful of boiling water. Use rubber gloves to carry items to your washing machine.

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Do not use this method for clothing that must be dry cleaned; often you cannot safely get these wet.

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