Creating a festive atmosphere with a festive cake and decorative candles undoubtedly brings positive emotions and pleasant experiences of a joyful moment. But the holiday ends and other problems immediately arise: greasy wax stains appear on your favorite clothes, snow-white tablecloth, and carpet. As they say, the holiday was a success.
You can remove paraffin stains from clothes and preserve the original appearance of the item you like using both stain removers and folk, proven products, which are cheaper and cope with the problem no worse than expensive products. To combat stubborn stains, there are many methods that were used by our grandmothers and tested by more than one generation before us.
Rules for removing wax stains from clothes
It is advisable to remove wax marks as soon as they appear, otherwise old stains will be much more difficult to deal with.
- When you see a drop of wax on your favorite blouse or on your husband’s shirt, you shouldn’t immediately take a napkin and try to remove it, but you shouldn’t put it on the back burner either. If you immediately begin to remove the contaminated area, you can grind the paraffin and, thus, the stain will increase in size. You need to start cleaning after the paraffin has hardened.
- When the wax hardens, you need to scrape it off with a sharp object - it will quickly come off. You can use the blunt end of scissors, a spoon, or simply snap it off with your fingernail.
- After removing the upper part (it forms in the form of a droplet), you need to rub the fabric, remove the remaining pieces of paraffin and clean the surface of the material from crumbs.
- The greasy mark can be removed using an iron, a piece of cotton cloth or a napkin.
- First, place a clean white cloth on the ironing board, then the dirty item itself, and cover the stain with a napkin. The resulting three-layer structure will have to be thoroughly ironed. Under the influence of hot steam, the wax melts, the resulting fat is absorbed into the paper. During removal, you need to constantly change the position of the soft tissue located below and the paper.
This method completely cleans the clothes; after treatment, the items should be washed.
Removing wax stains from various types of fabrics
It is clear that the hot method of removing greasy marks cannot be applied to delicate fabrics. How to remove candle marks from clothes depending on the structure of the material?
- Silk is a delicate fabric and therefore requires careful handling. No matter how capricious the material is, removing paraffin stains from silk turns out to be as easy as shelling pears. You just need to quickly remove the item and place it in the freezer for a couple of minutes. A completely frozen drop of wax will easily crumble from clothing and not a trace of contamination will remain.
- Suede is a soft, velvety leather used in the manufacture of bags, gloves, and shoes. The surface of these products has uneven surfaces, so removing the stain with an iron will be very problematic. A different method is used to clean suede. You need to pour water into the kettle and wait until it boils. Then bring the item to the spout of the kettle and remove the contamination with steam.When the stain begins to release grease, you need to blot it with a napkin. Continue this way until the stain disappears completely. During processing, you must be careful not to smear the paraffin on the surface.
- Wool products. Wax-stained items can be restored to their original appearance by dropping a few drops of dishwashing detergent onto the stain. After half an hour, the product should be washed in a washing machine using a mode suitable for washing wool.
- Synthetic fabrics. Products made from this material are quite capricious, so dealing with the stain will not be easy. The fact is that synthetics cannot tolerate hot air - under the influence of an iron, the fabric can “shrink” or melt - turn into an accordion. Therefore, it is recommended to use a hair dryer to remove stains from thin and fragile fabrics. You need to put a clean cloth, then a synthetic item and direct a stream of warm air from a hairdryer onto the stain. As the paraffin melts, it must be removed with a napkin. To avoid damaging the item, do not bring the hair dryer close to the fabric.
- Leather products. A drop of wax, falling on leather items, falls off on its own after hardening. You just need a little help with your fingernail. If there are greasy stains left, we do this: moisten a piece of cloth in alcohol and wipe the contaminated area. This is enough to remove fat.
- Velvet is a soft, fleecy material, making stains very difficult to remove. The fact is that melted paraffin eats deeply into the villi themselves, which makes it difficult to remove fat. It happens that not a single method gives a visible result and the thing becomes unusable. But you shouldn’t despair; it is recommended to use turpentine to remove fat.You need to take a disk, soak it in turpentine, squeeze it out, put it on the stain. For 20-30 minutes, you need to constantly blot the stain with a clean napkin, change the cotton pad to a new one. The method is labor-intensive, but the game is worth the candle.
- Fur products. It is difficult to remove wax stains from such things, but you can try. You need to put a piece of fabric on the dirty place and warm it up with an iron.
What to do with residual stains?
Sometimes, no matter how you try to remove traces of wax, what methods you use, but the greasy stain still flaunts on the clothes and spoils their appearance. How to deal with such a problem?
First, the fabric needs to be ironed, and then sprinkle a little talc on the stain. The substance helps to adsorb the wax and the greasy stain becomes barely noticeable. Then they are treated with ammonia, previously dissolved in 1 tbsp. water 1 tbsp. Before using alcohol to remove a stain, it is necessary to test the reaction of ammonia on this type of fabric. To do this, you can wipe the item from the inside in an inconspicuous place. If the color of the fabric remains the same and no changes are noticeable, you can use this method to remove the wax stain. It is recommended to wash the cleaned items.
What to do with old stains?
It often happens that having put a blot on clothes, we do not immediately notice it. Some time passes and, oh, what a shame - the thing is ruined! What to do in this case? You can use the basic cleaning method with an iron. Then, depending on the fabric, wipe the place with gasoline or apply dishwashing liquid. The item should be left for 12 hours.Then wash in the washing machine.
If all methods fail, you will need to take the contaminated dress or jacket to the dry cleaner. This is the only way to get rid of old stains.
A candle wax stain on clothing is not a difficult stain to remove, so you shouldn’t send your favorite item to the attic or throw it away. The tips given are available to everyone, so before parting with a piece of clothing you like, you need to try all the methods for removing greasy paraffin marks. Be sure that the item will remain in the same form as it was before the procedure, so you can safely put on your favorite dress and get ready for a new date!
