Remove Wax from Clothing: Considerations for Fabric Types

Removing wax from clothing is never a fun chore to do. However, it's pretty easy if you have the right tips. There are different steps to follow for different fabrics. If your silk dress or shirt has gotten some wax on it, for example, you'll want to remove that wax differently than you would any other material. Below are steps for removing wax from most materials, with another set of steps following on how to remove wax from silk.

Removing Wax From Non-Silk Fabric

Step 1 - Use a Dull Knife

The first thing you will want to do when trying to remove wax is to use a very dull knife, and try scraping off as much of the wax as possible.

Step 2 - Freeze It

Sometimes freezing the wax makes it easier to scrape off with a dull knife. Put your article in a plastic bag and then place it in the freezer until the wax hardens. Then, try scraping on the wax some more.

Step 3 - Bag or Paper

After you have scraped off as much as you can, you will want to grab either a piece of butcher paper, or a brown paper bag. Lay the paper on the stain, and use an iron to heat up the area. You will see the wax start to dissolve off your piece of clothing and onto the paper.

Step 4 - Take Care of the Stains

Now that you have gotten the actual wax off of your clothing, you can take care of any stains by using rubbing alcohol. Pour a bit of alcohol onto the spot where the wax stain is present. Take a white cloth, and dab out any stains that were left behind from the wax.

The above steps are great ones to follow if your clothing is made up of anything but silk. Unfortunately, silk is just a tad bit harder to remove wax from. However, it can be done. Follow the steps below to remove wax from your silk clothing.

Removing Wax From Silk

Step 1 - Remove With a Knife

As in any other material step, you will want to remove as much as you can with a very dull knife first.

Step 2 - Use a White Cloth

For this step, grab a white cloth, and lay it down on the counter. Place your silk shirt with the stain on top of the white cloth. Make sure the wax is the part on the white cloth.

Step 3 - Saturate the Silk

With your silk clothing on the white cloth, soak the waxed area with lubricant. You can add a few ounces of laundry detergent as well and rub into the wax spot.

Step 4 - Wash

Next, simply throw your silk clothing into the washer, and run it on the hottest cycle your material can take Hang dry your silk to get the best result.

There you have it. Whether you had a wax problem with silk or another fabric, it looks like new once again.