How to Get Wax Off Wood Quickly & Easily

Wax spillage on wood flooring or furniture is not a big problem. Here we go through a couple of natural ways to get wax off wood without damaging its surface.

Since most wood surfaces and flooring will be coated with a protective waterproof layer, removing wax is mostly a simple and easy task that you can quickly finish without the need for any chemical solutions or equipment. However, if you have spilled wax on unfinished wood surfaces, a few more steps are needed to remove as much of the wax as possible.

Failing that, and if the wax has ended up on some expensive furniture pieces, you may want to see a professional to avoid inadvertently damaging the wood using these two suggested methods of wax removal.

Method 1: Scrape Off The Wax

Materials:

• A firm plastic spatula, leftover plastic spoon, or an old credit card
• Clean, lint-free natural fiber cloth

How to Get Wax Off Wood by Scraping:

1. Using your plastic spatula, spoon or one side of a credit card, begin to scrape away the wax in the direction of the wood grain. Do this gently, since you do not want to damage the protective coat on the wood surface. Scrape the wax debris into a pile, then dispose of it.

2. Depending on how much wax has been spilled, you may have to repeat this process until all of it has been removed. Again, do this gently, take your time and keep scraping in the direction of the wood grain to avoid damage.

3. Once the wax has been entirely removed, use your clean, lint-free cloth to buff the affected area.

Note:

If the spill just occurred, allow the wax to cool completely. Don’t panic and start wiping or scraping away the hot wax, since you might actually burn yourself, or at the very least make the mess even worse as you spread the hot wax over the wood.

Once the wax is cool and before you even start scraping, try to remove wax as much as possible with your hands, as this will obviously reduce the amount of scraping you will need to do later on.

Method 2: Get Wax Off Wood with Heat

Method 2: Heat & Wipe

This particular method is the ideal way to remove larger wax spills from wood floor surfaces. Sure you could opt for the scraping method outlined before, but if there is a large amount of wax to remove you increase the risk of damaging the sealed wood surface further through too much scraping. If you have an unfinished wood surface, this is also the better method for you. An unfinished wood surface may have deep crevices  where it will be hard to remove wax through scraping.

This involves gradually warming the wax, so it becomes softer. Once the wax is soft enough, you can wipe it with a reusable cloth or recycled paper towels, avoiding any risk of scratching your furniture or flooring. The best way to do this is using a clothes iron. This is because it draws the wax upward into the paper towels, including wax that’s embedded deep in the wood grains.

Materials:

• Iron
• Clean, lint-free cloths or washcloth
• Heavy-duty recycled paper towels

How to Get Wax Off Wood with Heat:

1. Place your iron on the lowest setting with no steam. This is so important, particularly with unfinished wood since you don’t want to scorch it.

2. Cover the affected area with three or four layers of heavy-duty absorbent paper towels.

3. Place your lint-free cloth, or washcloth over the stack of paper towels.

4. Press the iron onto the cloth over the affected area for a few seconds.

5. Pull back the cloth to see if the wax has been absorbed into the paper towels. If not, you may need to place the iron on the cloth again and/or increase the temperature slightly.

6. Repeat the process – you will likely need to replace the paper towels after a few heat applications, depending on the amount of wax that has been spilled.

Note:

Make sure to place several paper towels on the wax. This is very important. If you don’t use enough paper towels, the wax will absorb into your cloth, harden within the cloth’s fibers, and cause further mess on the iron itself.

Read on:

• 6 Tips for Repairing Scratches on Wood Floors
• How to Get Candle Wax Out of Clothes – 3 Removal Tips
• Is Wood Recyclable? Wood Recycling Tips

Important Information regarding Health-related Topics.

** Links to retailers marked with ** or underlined orange are partially partner links: If you buy here, you actively support Utopia.org, because we will receive a small part of the sales proceeds. More info.

Tags: Guide Practical Tips Remedy