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Cleaning up Holiday Oh-ohs

© Peggy Hoehne

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years; the next few months provide plenty of opportunities for parties. But with the fun of entertaining come the oh-ohs; the spilled wine, the candle wax on the carpet, coffee rings on the end table, and many other little spills and mishaps.

You will find your holiday more entertaining if you know how to clean up afterward. We are going to look at some of the more common entertaining mishaps.

Candle Wax
On Hard Surfaces - Let it harden and scrape off as much as possible. The wax left can be melted with a hair dryer and wiped up as it melts.

On Fabric (tablecloths, clothing, carpet) - First, freeze it. Put the fabric item in the freezer until the wax is hard and brittle. If it is the carpet, put ice in a zip lock bag and lay it on top of the wax for awhile. Break off, peel off, or scrape off as much as possible. If the wax begins to soften, re-freeze it.

Once you have removed as much wax as possible in this way, lay folded paper towels or clean absorbent paper over the wax spill. Run a warm iron over the folded paper towels having them soak up the wax as it melts. Keep replacing the towels with clean ones until no more wax comes up. (Check the temperature of the iron, especially if the carpet is nylon. You want to melt the wax, but not melt or scorch the fabric. For velvet or other plusher fabrics, use a steam iron)

Finally clean with soap to get the last of the wax out.

Red Candle Wax - After using the above tips, dab a small amount of denatured alcohol onto the stain if any candle dye remains on the fabric. Sponge with water.

If the stain is on a very light colored surface you may want to try this tip before using the iron: Mix ¼ cup of hydrogen peroxide with 3 cups of cool water. Do not use hot water or it will set the stain.

Dab that on and let it set for 5 to 10 minutes. If that helps some but not enough, add a little more peroxide and let it set longer. Then rinse very well with vinegar and water.

Red Candle Wax on Linoleum

Wine
Red Wine on Wood Furniture - Rub the area with paste wax, silver polish or a cloth barely dampened with ammonia. If the spot still remains, make a thin paste of boiled linseed oil and rottenstone, and rub it into the stain with your finger. Wax or polish.

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