How to get wax out of carpet – a 3-step method for success

If you need to know how to get wax out of carpet then it's likely that a candlelit dinner or sound attempt at bringing hygge vibes home, went bottoms up. And if a candle drips wax on to the carpet, you really do need a quick fix so that you can rescue and restore your floor covering to its former glory.

Keep reading to find the best way of dealing with this situation and with little effort plus minimum tools or ingredients, you'll be able to save your carpet from a waxy misery. You never know, your carpet may even turn out looking better than it was in the first place, and for an extra bit of advice in that area, you can get the full rundown on how to clean a carpet in our guide.

• For cleaning advice, hacks and more check out our hub.

What you will need to get wax out of a carpet

• An ice pack/bag of frozen peas
• A clean tea towel
• A palette knife
• Paper towel
• An iron/hair dryer
• A vacuum cleaner

How to remove candle wax from carpet

Don't despair! You can get wax out of a carpet if you take the right approach. Try these three ways...

1. Freeze the wax

Grab a bag of ice cubes or an ice pack if you have one. Failing that, a bag of frozen peas or similar can be a great stand in. Wrap in a clean tea towel. Apply to the wax to freeze it. 

2. Remove the wax

Once it’s solid, scrape – gently – off the floor with a palette or similar style knife. If that doesn’t get all of the wax, you can place a paper towel or paper bag on top of the wax and use your iron on a low setting (no steam) over the wax, which should be drawn out of the carpet. Move the towel or paper as you go, so there’s always a fresh surface to absorb the wax.  

3. Clean the area

You may have yielded brilliant results but to really finish the job off well, you need to clean the carpet. We like HG Spot & Stain Spray Cleaner to get rid of any lingering stains, and finally to remove any tiny remaining particles of wax, you need to give the area a good vacuum once the area is completely dry.

Find the best vacuum cleaner for you in our buying guide.

How to remove wax from carpet without an iron

If it's just a hairdryer that you have to hand that's not an issue. You simply need to follow step two above, using your hairdryer (on a low setting) in place of the iron. Repeat this two or three times and all the wax should absorb into your tea/paper towel.

If you feel like upgrading your hairdryer in the process then check out our guide to the best hair dryers around.

Need more carpet cleaning advice?

• Find the best vacuum cleaner for you
• How to get red wine out of carpet after another romantic evening gone wrong!