Beauty requires a lot of effort, and waxing is one of them, but to spoil the procedure at home can be one annoying thing – getting the wax on the carpet. Especially frustrating if the product is new, expensive, with a thick, long pile.
There are several ways how to get body wax out of carpet, so as not to damage the textile base and completely clean the resulting stain.
What is Wax
Wax is a unique organic compound produced by bees. These industrious insects get their wax from their glands. The color of the wax can be either white or yellowish. It is a very complex compound that combines many different substances.
When melted wax comes into contact with fabric, it quickly hardens and an unpleasant stain with wax particles appears. Standard washing in a washing machine will not help to cope with the pollution if the stain appeared on the clothes. And with carpet pile it is several times more difficult to remove the wax stain.
Wax for body, in addition to the standard paraffin also includes a variety of resins of natural and artificial origin. At first glance, it may seem that such a mixture can not be removed from the carpet, but if you take note of our tips, it will not take you much effort and will save your new carpet.
Remember the most important thing – don’t let the wax completely soak into the carpet. Start the procedure as soon as the wax stain has formed.
How to Get Body Wax Out of Carpet – Different Materials
When deciding how to clean your carpet, you must first determine what material your product is made of. Knowing the right way to remove wax from different kinds of materials will allow you to extend the life of your carpet and keep it in good condition for a long time.
Wool Carpet
Wool rugs deform under rapid temperature changes and do not tolerate long contact with hot water. For natural wool carpets, cleaning with ammonia, salt and soda, as well as the freezing method are ideal. We will tell you about them below.
Synthetic Carpet
Synthetic carpets are loyal to all methods of cleaning, so you can choose any of the following.
One thing to be aware of is that synthetic carpets will not look the same if you run a stiff brush against the nap while cleaning or pour boiling water on wax stains.
Jute rug
A jute rug, which consists of plant fibers, is one of those things that should be handled as gently as possible. Never use hot water, as high temperatures will cause the jute fibers to lose their shape and make the rug less durable and beautiful.
Freezing is an ideal method of removing wax stains from your jute rug. If you have suddenly allowed the wax to harden, a variety of wax remover cleaners can help you.
Carpet Wax Removal Technique
Keep in mind – The wax’s ability to freeze quickly when frozen and to melt quickly when heated will help us effectively remove stains from carpets of all materials.
The cleaner should be chosen knowing the material of the carpet and how much wax stains are on it, how long they have been there, and whether they are large or not. If there is a handmade rug in your home, we advise you to hand it over to professionals, you should not experiment on such a delicate material yourself.
At home, housewives can remove wax stains using things that are often always on hand, such as a butter knife.
Method 1: salt, vinegar and baking soda for carpet fibers
Wax stains must be removed immediately so that dust does not begin to accumulate on it, which will destroy the structure of the carpet. A mixture of table salt, baking soda and vinegar is one of the most popular methods among all housewives.
How to remove wax from the carpet using these simple ingredients:
- Mix all the ingredients in equal proportions.
- Then mix them until you have a mixture.
- Place the mixture on the wax stain on the carpet.
- Wait a little while for it all to dry completely.
- Then take a soft-bristle brush and start cleaning.
This method is great if you’ve just dripped wax and immediately decide to get rid of a fresh wax stain. If the wax is already hard enough, you’ll need to heat up the remaining wax with a hot fork or spoon before the procedure.
Method 2: turpentine and rubbing alcohol
On light-colored carpets, traces of wax stand out very strongly, and it takes much more effort to clean them. But even this situation has a solution. A mixture of turpentine and rubbing alcohol will help us.
Let’s look at the whole procedure in detail:
- First, mix rubbing alcohol and turpentine in equal parts.
- Next, use a sponge to cover the stain with the mixture with rubbing alcohol.
- You can go about your business for thirty minutes while it all dries.
- Then take a soft brush and get rid of the problem.
- Then wait for everything to dry.
Method 3: aggressive
Remember that you should not take to dry the carpet after the procedure with a hair dryer or with a heater. Firstly, the material will be damaged, and secondly, there is a chance to inhale not very pleasant substances.
If the area of dirt is very large or the wax is firmly embedded in the pile, the task becomes several times more difficult. There is one very aggressive method, which should be used only as a last resort. Any strong solvent will do.
How to do it, let’s consider:
- Take a cotton pad and apply the solvent of your choice to it.
- Wipe off the wax stain.
- Keep changing the cotton pads until you get rid of the stain completely.
- Then use detergents to rinse the carpet thoroughly.
Be aware of safety precautions when using any kind of solvent. If the substance is very caustic and has a strong odor, open all the windows in the room before proceeding with the cleaning procedure.
Alternative Ways How to Get Body Wax Out of Carpet
If the wax is too deeply embedded in the lint, freezing or heating the candle wax can help.
Before you start getting wax out of carpet either of these options, let the wax cure all the way in, gently pick up any wax residue with an oil knife, and vacuum the carpet some more. After all this will leave only one stain. How to get wax out of carpet, we will now tell you.
Freezing the wax with using a butter knife
The use of ice cubes increases the rate at which the candle wax stain hardens, and the stain is much easier to wipe off afterwards. To get rid of wax residue, you need to take a few simple steps:
- First, place the ice cubes in an ordinary plastic bag.
- Place the plastic bag on the stain.
- Wait for the ice to do its job and the wax to solidify.
- Using a butter knife, remove the stain.
- Then simply vacuum the carpet of particles.
After a couple of hours, we suggest rinsing the fibers with carpet shampoo for a perfect result.
Before choosing a shampoo, test how it works on a small area of the carpet. The carpet cleaner can cause shedding or fading of the paint.
Warming Body or Candle Wax Stain with Using a Paper Bag
To remove traces of all the wax, you can also use a useful and fairly easy way using a regular iron and a paper towel. Many housewives on the forums share this very method, because it is simple and works well.
Here is a detailed guide for you:
- Place a paper bag on the stain, a brown paper bag from the supermarket will do.
- Put the iron on the lowest heat setting and turn off the steam release function.
- Start ironing the paper towel without pressing down hard on the iron.
- The wax will start to transfer to the paper towel, if it doesn’t transfer all the way, start again.
- Then remove the paper bag, place a new clean cloth on top of the stain and steam the iron.
- Repeat the same ironing with the cloth, then you’ll just have to vacuum the carpet.
Do not overheat the iron, or the wax will spread all over the carpet or you will damage the nap, and even risk setting a small fire.
If for some reason you do not have an iron, a standard hair dryer will do, and the paper bag can be replaced by something similar in composition.
Conclusion
Removing wax stains from carpet fibers takes a little time if you start cleaning right away.
BEST Option to remove wax – first freeze wax and then melt it!
Delicate items is problematic to wash, so as not to damage the material, it is better to entrust the job to professionals, and the rough carpets can be cleaned yourself with improvised means. To permanently remove traces of dirt, the final treatment is performed by means of household chemicals, designed specifically for carpets.
If you need to remove wax from wood floors – get acquainted with useful guide here.