BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Cleaning White Candle Wax on Black Tablecloth!!!!!

I helped a friend with her wedding and we made black table toppers from 100% polyester fabric. Several of the table toppers have a lot of white candle wax on them.

One source I found said to put them in the freezer for a day or two, chip off the wax clumps, and then iron the fabric between paper towels to remove the wax within the cloth. The only problem, I don't have that much room in my freezer, even to do 1 at a time. I suspect this method came from Martha Stewart, as it's SOOO easy and will only take 3 or 4 DAYS!

I found a posting for Goo Gone, which I will try as soon as I can find it. But I wanted to ask if anyone has any other suggestions.

Thanks for any replies.

Maybe boiling water over it? Just a guess.

Is it a HUGE spot? You can use ice to set the wax and then chip it off; then iron it. I've done that - never with black fabrics though. You can still end up with sort of an oily residue tho.

Alrighty, let's get that wax out!

1. You do not need a freezer to harden the wax up for peeling/chipping. Fill a zip top plastic bag with ice, then sit it on top of the wax.

2. Once the wax is very chilled, use something thin to pry the wax up and off. You can peel or chip it. A hard bristled brush can help remove the little bits that do not want to budge.

3. Grab an iron. If you do not have an iron, fill a can (any open top metal can) with boiling water.

Iron technique-
Place several layers of brown paper under the fabric. Put the fabris WAX DRIPPED side down on top of the paper. Place another layer of paper on top. Place the iron on this and move around. Keep checking the fabric until the wax is gone.

CAN method-
Fill the can with bloiling water. Use an oven mit and CAREFULLY do the same thing with the can as with the iron. You may need to refill the can as the water cools. The can will not burn the fabric, so it is possible to just let it sit as long as no kids or pets can reach the can or have it spilled on them.


If you still have a stain, you can try using a hairdryer to melt it into absorbent paper or Goof Off/Goo Gone.

Icp caught me on this, I forgot to say to use brown paper ripped from brown paper bags. Grocery bags are best!

Thanks Julie,
Will brown grocery bags work? It's the only type of brown paper I have.

Icp, brown bags are great. I meant to say brown bags in my post. They are very absorbent.

Once I get back from Missouri, I'll let you know how it worked.
Thanks so much for the info