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Fyrius's avatar

Clever ways of removing candle wax, particularly from a non-flat surface?

Asked by Fyrius (14578points) June 24th, 2012

I love candles, but candle wax stains bother me. There’s the round and thick kind that’s nice and easy to peel off, but also the flat, crumbly kind that you’d have to scratch away flake by flake and you’ll never get it all off.
Are there any neat tricks for removing that?

I know about a trick involving a clothes iron on top of absorbent paper, but that won’t be very practical for cleaning something like my candlestick saucer, for example.
(I know, my desk is a cluttered mess, shaddap.)

Are there any other clever tricks?

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15 Answers

Fyrius's avatar

For the candlestick saucer, I have half a mind to just heat it on the stove and melt and then absorb the wax with a tissue, once this candle is through. But I’m not even sure if the metal would be okay. (I think it’s copper.)

SpatzieLover's avatar

Put the item in the freezer or pour hot water over the item.

Since this item is metal, hot will work best. For a glass item the freezer method or leaving it out in the sun to melt the wax, works best.

Fyrius's avatar

The freezer? I wouldn’t have thought of that. How does that work? Does it detach the wax because it shrinks or something like that?

Anyway, those both sound like good ideas that hadn’t occurred to me. Thanks! : )

Pied_Pfeffer's avatar

I agree with you @Fyrius. If the holder is placed on a burner at the lowest setting and monitored at all times, the wax will become flexible enough to peel off of a metal surface.

If anyone can help me figure out how to remove wax from a brick hearth, I’m open to suggestions via PM.

gailcalled's avatar

Put the candlestick in the sink on a paper towel; pour boiling water on the waxy parts. Tilt the candlestick while the wax is still soft or simply scrape with a chopstick or wooden spoon.

Neizvestnaya's avatar

Get a fireplace fire starter, it’s a lighter on a long handle and direct the flame to melt the wax to run off the metal onto a paper towel. Works quickly for me.

courtney1946's avatar

If you live where your car gets really hot in the sun, bundle the item with paper towels where the wax is, put it in a plastic bag (best color is black) then put it in your car on a hot, sunny day. You should try to retrieve it while still hot so it won’t all stick together. I did this with a lumpy wax blob on a blanket. Most of the was went into the paper towels.

Fyrius's avatar

Loads of good ideas! : )

YARNLADY's avatar

I would put some absorbent material over it, like a cotton t-shirt or paper towels, then turn a hair dryer on high and heat the candle holder until the wax melts off.

Judi's avatar

if that’s a cluttered mess I need to really hang my head in shame.

zigmund's avatar

The yamlady has it right. A hair dryer will quickly melt all the wax and leave you with just the right amount of paraffin oil to polish your saucer.

snowberry's avatar

Baking soda acts as a lovely scouring powder. Wet a toothbrush, a rag, or your finger. Dip in the baking soda, and rub. Plan to rub a lot and use as much as it takes, but the nice thing is that baking soda never scratches anything, and it dissolves instantly in water. Clean up is a breeze.

Mariah's avatar

I have no idea, just wanted to say hi. Hi!

augustlan's avatar

I was going to suggest freezing it, too. When you freeze the wax, it becomes brittle and easier to remove. Melting it away on your metal candle stick should work just fine, though.

Fyrius's avatar

@Judi
My desk is a cluttered mess because what you see there is the clearest spot on there.

@Mariah
Hi! : ) Long time no see.

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