# Waaaagh! How to get wax out of flannel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2005, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waaaagh-how-to-get-wax-out-of-flannel/337380 "2005-12-28T00:52:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waaaagh-how-to-get-wax-out-of-flannel/337380/1 "2005-12-28T00:52:55Z")
Ok. So I have this nice, new flannel blanket. I had it laid out on the couch and I had a candle burning on the end table the other day, inside a ceramic holder. I noticed at one point the candle had gone out, so I picked it up. What I didn’t know was that the wax had all liquefied inside the holder, which would have not been a problem, except that when I picked it up, it sloshed out of a hole in the side of the holder and all over the blanket, which of course I just happened to be holding it over. I tried to pick it out but the wax has left a big hard crusty spot on my nice new blanket. Is there a way to get wax out of flannel, or is it ruined? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waaaagh-how-to-get-wax-out-of-flannel/337380/2 "2005-12-28T01:00:55Z")
If it’s not a large section of blanket, I’d try soaking the section in a pan of steaming hot water. ---
**Author:** ![sharkattack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@sharkattack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharkattack)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waaaagh-how-to-get-wax-out-of-flannel/337380/3 "2005-12-28T01:06:37Z")
I spilled wax on my carpet once…my significant other took a sheet of paper, laid it on top of it and then used an iron on top of the paper. The paper soaked up the wax. Worked well. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waaaagh-how-to-get-wax-out-of-flannel/337380/4 "2005-12-28T01:08:38Z")
Removing wax is a two step process. The first thing to do is freeze the wax with ice. When it becomes hard and brittle, you can use a dull knife to scrape off most of the wax. Next warm up your iron to a medium high setting. Start with a couple layers of newspaper and iron over the wax, replace the paper as soon as wax starts to absorb into the paper. When you get down to just a few spots of wax in the paper, switch to paper towels. Lay a 3 or 4 layers, press firmly for 5 seconds or so then move to a clean spot with the towels. Keep this up till you get know more wax in the paper towels. This should remove 99% of the wax. Then you should pretreat the wax spot and wash per manufacturers recommendations. Depending on the dyes used in the candle, you may never remove spot completely. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waaaagh-how-to-get-wax-out-of-flannel/337380/5 "2005-12-28T02:13:03Z")
_writes everything down_ Lucky for me it was a white candle. The spot is pretty much transparent. Thanks so much for the tips! ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waaaagh-how-to-get-wax-out-of-flannel/337380/6 "2005-12-28T04:38:53Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > Removing wax is a two step process. The first thing to do is freeze the wax with ice. When it becomes hard and brittle, you can use a dull knife to scrape off most of the wax. Next warm up your iron to a medium high setting. Start with a couple layers of newspaper and iron over the wax, replace the paper as soon as wax starts to absorb into the paper. When you get down to just a few spots of wax in the paper, switch to paper towels. Lay a 3 or 4 layers, press firmly for 5 seconds or so then move to a clean spot with the towels. Keep this up till you get know more wax in the paper towels. This should remove 99% of the wax. Then you should pretreat the wax spot and wash per manufacturers recommendations. Depending on the dyes used in the candle, you may never remove spot completely. I always found a brown paper grocery bag worked best…trust me on this, I used to cocktail in a goth club, having to get wax out of fabrics such as velvet and lace was a frequent problem. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waaaagh-how-to-get-wax-out-of-flannel/337380/7 "2005-12-28T15:27:16Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > Ok. So I have this nice, new flannel blanket. I had it laid out on the couch and I had a candle burning on the end table the other day, inside a ceramic holder. I noticed at one point the candle had gone out, so I picked it up. What I didn’t know was that the wax had all liquefied inside the holder, which would have not been a problem, except that when I picked it up, it sloshed out of a hole in the side of the holder and all over the blanket, which of course I just happened to be holding it over. I tried to pick it out but the wax has left a big hard crusty spot on my nice new blanket. Is there a way to get wax out of flannel, or is it ruined? Commercial dry cleaners used to use stoddard solvent which is a deodorized kerosene or a close cousin. It will remove the wax and any wax coloring. Hot removal with irons and brown paper may or may not remove colored wax residue. Consult a dry cleaner! Don’t try a DIY project with flammable solvents. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waaaagh-how-to-get-wax-out-of-flannel/337380/8 "2005-12-28T15:30:19Z")
I’ve done it, and it works, but if you have an old iron, use it. I accidentily got some wax onto the iron through the newspaper, then went to iron a nice white shirt a week later…and trashed it.