Pro Cleaners Swear by This Free Kitchen Staple to Instantly Remove Candle Wax – Table Covers Look New Again in Seconds

Candlelight adds instant charm to any Festive or elegant tablescape, but rouge candle wax drips can instantly ruin your favorite table linens.

Scrubbing risks damaging the fabric just when you want your table to look perfect, but cleaning pros have revealed the fast, free solution: Ice.

This quick, no-fuss trick is the best way to clean spilled wax, our experts say. Here's how it ensures that wax mishaps won’t steal the spotlight.

How to Remove Candle Wax With Ice

When tackling Christmas-related stains, wax is one of the trickiest. It clings to fibers, even if you apply a paper towel to try and soak it up in the short time it remains molten, becoming seemingly impossible to wash out.

So, rather than trying to mop it up, be it cleaning a tablecloth, blanket, or removing candle wax from carpet, FantasticServices' professional cleaner, Petya Holevich, purposefully hardens the wax quickly instead.

'The fastest and most effective way to deal with wax is actually to harden it immediately,' she explains. 'I rely on this method because wax becomes far easier to remove cleanly when it’s fully solid and brittle, and ice allows you to reach that state within seconds instead of waiting for the wax to cool on its own.'

The cleaning tip itself is simple. All you need is an ice cube tray (available at Walmart) and some water:

1. Place an ice cube directly on the wax spill for a minute or two until the wax stiffens.
2. Gently scrape it with a dull tool, such as a butter knife or a spoon edge. The cold causes the wax to contract and lose its grip on the surface, breaking cleanly instead of smearing or soaking deeper into fibres. 
3. Once the wax is removed, you can treat any remaining residue with a small amount of dish soap [such as Dawn from Walmart] or rubbing alcohol [also from Walmart], but, in general, the ice will remove the bulk of the mess instantly and prevent most stains from setting.

After dinner, simply do laundry as normal. We suggest opting for a sensitive laundry detergent such as Molly's Suds Liquid Detergent from Amazon and drying with wool dryer balls from Walmart, to help cut out toxic laundry room items and make your best table linens last longer.

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Meet the Expert

Petya Holevich

Petya Holevich is an experienced house cleaning and laundry expert with over 5 years of dedicated time at Fantastic Services. 

Not just wax spilled at the table? Don't fret, we have some top tips for removing food and drinks stains, too.