Who doesn’t love a candle-light dinner with the beloved one? Candle creates a salutary environment with its relaxing and therapeutic light. However, any unconscious moment can create a messy environment by falling candle wax on the surface. Though it won’t damage the hardwood floor at once, it should be removed as soon as possible.
Whether the wax gets on the floor, don’t flip the lid. As there are some easy ways to go to get off the wax, don’t try a penetrating oil to strip the wax. Apply some DIY ideas to get the wax off the floor quickly. Also, never try to apply toxic alternatives, they may destroy your wooden floor.
Here, you will go through some easy but effective ideas to clean the wax from the hardwood floor.
Ways to get wax off the hardwood floor
It seems that getting wax off the hardwood floor is easy but tricky. Here are some DIY ideas you can try.
DIY- 1: Proper Heat
Without heat, candle can’t lit. Candle lights through the wax melt. So, it drips on the floor, no matter how carefully you handle them. But, don’t worry. Candle wax removal is an easy task which requires you special, costly supplies and time. You can clean your entire floor within the time you spend on afternoon snacks.
Required supplies
- Paper Bag or Towel to soak up the wax.
- Scraper or plastic spatula
- Iron or hair dryer
Steps to use heat for candle wax removal
- At first scrape the wax from the surface by using the plastic spatula. Don’t pick the wax off the floor harshly. It’ll damage your floor. Instead, steadily scrape the wax as much as you can from the top of the floor.
- After scraping the maximum part of the wax, lay the paper bag on the wax. Then apply heat by using the iron on the area. Start from the low to the medium setting of the temperature. Never try to steam the iron by overheating. However, gently pass the iron over the area. Don’t let the iron sit in a fixed area. It’ll burn the wooden floor. It’s best to iron the waxy area as you iron the cotton cloths.
- You can use a hair dryer in the absence of the iron to melt the wax. No matter the tool you use either an iron or a hair dryer, the final task is to melt the wax for soaking it up by the towel.
- Then remove the towel or the paper bag which is ironed. Expectedly, all or most of the wax will be removed. However, if you find anything left behind after removing the towel, repeat the previous step by laying a towel on the wax and iron on it.
- Sometimes, some residue can remain on the floor. The residue isn’t wax but furniture debris. If it isn’t removed by applying heat, use furniture wax to buff it off the floor.
DIY- 2: Warm Water
If you don’t have an iron or a hair dryer, don’t get upset. You still can remove the wax by using warm water. Isn’t it easy to heat the water instead of using an iron?
Required supplies
- Clean cloth or clean mop.
- Mineral Spirits
- Iron or hair dryer
Steps to use Warm water for candle wax removal
- Using warm water to remove the wax is an easy task but requires attentive care. At first, clean the floor with warm water. It helps to clear any debris, dirt or other residues from the hardwood floor.
- Pour a generous amount of mineral spirits on the affected area. Let the wax absorbs the spirits. Now, start scrapping the wax from the floor with a clean cloth or clean mop. Apply maximum pressure to remove the wax stain as well as the waxy residue.
- Hopefully, no residue will have remained on the floor. Now wipe the floor with another clean cloth to finish the task.
DIY- 3: Chill Out
As candle comes with two forms, i.e., liquid and solid. So, if you haven’t an iron or a hair dryer to turn the wax liquid, make it solid. Then it’ll be easy to clean the wax.
Required supplies
- Clean cloth or clean mop
- Ice Pack or Ice in a plastic bag
- Plastic spatula or scraper
- Furniture Wax
Steps to use Ice Pack for candle wax removal
- The easiest way begins by placing the ice pack on the wax and let it sit on the wax at least 15 minutes. In the meantime, the wax will turn into solid.
- When the wax is solid and nice, use a plastic spatula or scraper to scrape the wax from the floor. Remember to pry it gently unless you leave a stain on the floor. So, continue the step smoothly until the wax is completely gone.
- However, some residue may not be removed as they are not waxy. So, use furniture wax to buff them off from the floor.
DIY- 4: Spoon or finger
It’s a quick way to use your finger or a spoon to scrape the wax off the hard floor. However, it takes a substantial time to clean a wide area but the best way for a short space.
- The quick solution starts by scraping the wax off the floor by using a spoon or your finger. However, don’t leave any stain on the floor.
- Then apply some warm water to clean the floor and wipe it by using a clean cloth.
Quick Tips for removing wax off the hardwood floor
- Never use a hot heat gun or hair dryer. Even don’t increase the heat while using to melt the wax. It may burn the wooden floor and make the wax removal extremely difficult.
- Always use a wax stripper, not a furniture stripper, for the stubborn wax.
Final Remarks
Candlelight is amazing but creates an embarrassing moment by damaging the floor for unconscious uses. A longtime presence of the wax on the wood floor may destroy the floor and leave a stain (which is hard to remove). So, remove the wax as soon as possible from the floor.
As it is a do-it-yourself task, you should not delay cleaning the floor. However, use any method from the methods as mentioned above or use a wax removal substance.