Table decorations for an elegant event or romantic dinner wouldn’t look complete without an assortment of candles. Burning candles present a number of hazards for your table linens from dripping wax to an actual fire!

Protect Your Tablecloth or Table Top

The best way to protect your table linens or tabletop is to place a barrier between it and your candles.

One way to achieve this is to place any candle holders on top of a mirror. Its surface would not only be easier to clean, it can also provide a lovely reflection of the candlelight.

Prevent the Drip

Another option is to limit the chances of dripping wax. Preventing dripping candle wax can be as simple as choosing to use dripless candles, which are available from many retailers. The dripless label is somewhat inaccurate, in that most candles still produce some waxy residue.

One helpful bit of information is that beeswax candles are naturally dripless. However, those candles can be more expensive, and sometimes they aren’t available in the size, shape, or color you need.

If you’re unable to use dripless candles, and you end up with candle wax on your table linens, here are some tips to deal with it.

Candle Wax Removal Mistakes

Let’s get what NOT to do out of the way first. Do not wash and dry table linens that have dried candle wax on them.

This likely wouldn’t remove much of the waxy residue and a drying cycle could set any oily stains below it.

A set stain can ruin your tablecloth or runner, or else force you to cover the stain with a strategically-placed centerpiece.

How To Get Candle Wax Out of a Tablecloth

There are a few options for removing candle wax from a tablecloth. Here are some of the easiest-to-follow steps:

• Remove excess candle wax from the tablecloth’s surface. Once the wax cools, you can use a dull knife to scrape it off. If it is too soft to easily scrape, holding an ice cube against the wax will harden it and allow you to remove it.
• Remove the oily residue below the wax. You’ll often see an oily stain on your fabric once the wax itself is removed. It’s important to draw as much of that out as possible before laundering the tablecloth.
• How to draw the oily stain out of the tablecloth: the easiest way is by using a paper bag and an iron. Cover the stained area with a clean paper bag, also placing one under it. Press the bag between a hot iron and the stained cloth, which should activate absorption of the oil by the paper. Move the bag to cover the stained area again with clean paper and apply the hot iron again. Repeat until you’ve caused the absorption of most of the oil.
• Launder the tablecloth, following the laundry care directions for that particular fabric. If there is still oily residue visible on your cloth, you can treat it with dishwashing liquid designed to cut through grease, like Dawn, before laundering.

These steps will work for many of the fabric choices from iQ Linens, including tablecloths, table runners, and cloth napkins.

Removing Candle Wax from Non-Washable Fabric

Sometimes caring for fabric, like a burlap table runner, is more difficult than washable polyester blends or cotton. In these cases, following another set of steps can work.

• Freeze the area. Either place the table runner or napkins in your freezer or apply a plastic bag full of ice to a larger fabric piece in order to harden the wax on the surface. Once the wax hardens, carefully scrape the excess wax from the surface.
• Once the excess wax is removed, place folded paper towels or a paper bag underneath and on top of the stain and apply gentle pressure from a warm (not hot) iron to absorb the excess oil. Applying gentle pressure and only using warm heat is crucial when dealing with burlap, jute, or other delicate fabric. This is to avoid damaging it.
• For any remaining oil, place an absorbent pad under the stain and flush with a stain remover or water mixed with grease-fighting dishwashing liquid until clean.
• Another option to treat remaining waxy stains is to combine rubbing alcohol and water in a mix of one-part alcohol and two-parts water. This should be applied to the stain in small amounts following each with blotting. You can use a medicine dropper or small syringe to distribute the alcohol mixture onto the stain.
• Allow fabric to dry naturally for either cleaning method. Repeat, if necessary.

Removing Candle Wax from Cloth Napkins

Sometimes candle wax from a centerpiece can even end up adhered to diners’ cloth napkins. Most of the time one of the above methods will work for its removal. Placing napkins in the freezer can be more easily achieved because of their size, rather than applying ice directly to the pieces. Once you harden the candle wax on the napkin, follow the steps above to remove it. Washing the napkins in a warm wash cycle and drying to remove wrinkles should complete the process.

Overall, having candle wax stains on your table linens is not a cause for alarm. You can almost always clean the wax and residue from any cloth and use them again and again. If you find that a stain is impossible to remove yourself, or the removal seems tricky, you can always take it to a professional. Click to see more table linen stain-fighting tips.

Also, remember that iQ Linens provides affordable replacement tablecloths, runners, and cloth napkins in a wide variety of colors and fabrics that suit any occasion.