Don’t panic if hot wax unexpectedly drips from those lovely candles onto your hardwood flooring; there are a few simple methods you may take to get rid of candle wax. Initially, let the wax remain in place; avoid the need to remove it right away. Take some time to thoroughly wipe the wax once it has dried to prevent harming the surface of your hardwood flooring.
To restore the sheen to your wood floors, use one of these two methods to remove wax. Then, buff or polish the floors as needed.
What You’ll require:
Ice cubes, a hairdryer, a plastic credit card or razor blade, wood furniture wax, and cotton cloths.
Use Ice to Remove Wax
Hardening the wax drippings with an ice cube is one method for removing wax from hardwood floors with the least amount of scraping. Even if the wax has already cooled, just hold the ice cube on the wax for 30 seconds. You might need to hold the ice cube for a minute or two if the wax is still soft and new.
Use a credit card to scrape at the frozen candle wax drips or a plastic razor blade if one is available. It should be possible for you to move each part around and pick it up off the ground. If the area is not coming free with ease, re-freeze it; you shouldn’t have to scrape.
To remove the wax without damaging the flooring, always avoid scraping into the wood’s surface. Instead, try to loosen and slide the wax from its original location.
Using a fresh cloth, dry the affected area. Make sure to gather up any melted water from the ice cubes! If you touch your fingers over the floor or see an uneven spot in the sunlight, you can still detect traces of wax. To remove any leftover wax, use wood furniture wax to clean a large area of the floor. Although it may seem inappropriate to clean wax by adding additional wax, furniture wax is designed to offer protection and help smooth out flaws. Buffing a large area rather than just the little region that was impacted helps hide the fact that you were only doing spot cleaning.
Use Heat to Remove Wax
When using a hairdryer on medium heat, aim it toward the wax drips while maintaining a 12-inch distance. In order to scrape the wax off the floor, the heat will help soften it.
Once the wax has softened, pop the chunks off the hardwoods using the edge of a plastic credit card or plastic razor blade (much like with ice cubes).
Finish cleaning the hardwood floors by buffing and washing the surface with wood furniture wax if there are still traces of wax visible. This procedure will assist in repolishing your floors and removing any last traces of wax.
Things to Steer Clear of
Using mineral spirits on sealed hardwood floors can remove the floor wax itself, leaving the floor vulnerable.
Do not use green scrubbers or steel wool. To preserve the finish of your hardwood floors, these are just too harsh for floor cleaning.
Not to be gouged! Even if you think you can merely “pop” the wax drips off the hardwood surface, don’t take the chance with a kitchen knife or a razor blade.
