Your lovely candlelight dinners have ended you up with candle wax all over the different surfaces in your house. The laminate countertop is beyond repair in your eyes as there is hard wax all over it. You had the most beautiful candle holder, which you thought would handle the melted wax efficiently, every drop of it.
But the next thing you see is the countertop, along with the candle holder, is dripping melted wax. It doesn’t mean we cannot enjoy candlelight dinners, nor does it mean we will stop using lighting candles to create an ambiance full of fresh scents. It just means we need to know the trick to clean the candle wax from the surfaces.
Getting rid of it without damaging and scratching the surface is the purpose. So, how to remove candle wax from a laminate countertop; let us answer it in the easiest way possible using the simplest of tools and products.
The Two Effective Methods
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We have two ways to share with you which can perfectly remove the candle wax from your laminate countertop. The first one is the heat method, where you apply heat to soften the hard wax and then remove it. The second one is the ice method, where you use ice cubes to harden the candle wax fully and scrape it off. Use any of these methods, which you find easy, and get rid of the awful-looking candle wax from your otherwise beautiful and precious laminate countertop.
Heat method
To remove the candle wax through the heat method, you will either require an iron or a hairdryer. You will also need a clean cotton cloth to place on the candle wax as a barrier between the heat and the countertop. This clean cloth will also work to soak the melted wax. If you need to scrape off some of the softened candle wax, either use a butter knife or a plastic scraper. A gift card or plastic spoon will also do. Avoid using the metal scraper always.
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How to Remove Candle Wax from Laminate Countertop Through Heat Method
Before you start applying the heat method to remove the wax, scrape off the hardened candle wax from your laminate countertop as much as you can. You do not have to be too precise or too diligent.
Then, clean the bits of scraped wax with a brush or vacuum it directly.
Plug your iron or the hairdryer in and let it heat up. Make sure to keep the heat at the lowest to medium setting possible.
Do not use high heat, thinking it will melt the wax quickly. When it comes to removing the wax from a surface, there is no way you can be hasty. Patience and careful treatment is the key to remove the wax without damaging the surface.
Dampen the cotton cloth well and then squeeze it thoroughly.
Place the cotton cloth over the hardened wax on the laminate countertop. Target one section at a time.
Now take the iron or the hairdryer and apply the heat through it. If you are using the iron, then move it over the damp cotton cloth or just hold it without pushing it too much on the wax.
With the hairdryer, you will have to maintain a distance and then apply the heat from an inch or two away.
The wax will start softening, and the damp cloth will mainly soak most of the melted wax. Basically, the melted wax will stick to the cloth, and the laminate countertop will have a little bit of residue.
To clean that remaining residue, you can use white vinegar. Dilute the vinegar by mixing it in warm water. A gallon of warm water will be enough to dilute two cups of vinegar.
Use a cotton fabric, dip it well in the vinegar-water solution and then thoroughly squeeze it.
Rub the residue on the laminate countertop with the cotton fabric, and the residue will slowly get removed. Finally, your countertop looks just the same as before when it didn’t have hardened wax all over it.
Ice Method
In the ice method, we need some ice cubes and a zipper bag to pack the ice cubes. Just like the cloth in the heat method, the bag works as the barrier between the wax and the ice cubes. Also, putting them in a bag ensures that the ice cubes don’t melt sooner due to them coming in contact with your fingers or hands. And to scrape off the hardened candle wax, as usual, you have to use a plastic scraper or knife or a butter knife or a gift card. No metal scraper, please.
How to Remove Candle Wax from Laminate Countertop Through Ice Method
The ice method actually further hardens the already hardened candle wax due to the cooling effect. Then scraping off the hardened candles becomes easy and comparatively safe too. If the candle wax is not fully hardened, scraping it off can be tricky, and you might end up with scratches on the laminate countertop.
Put the zipper bag full of ice on the laminate countertop where you have wax on it.
Give the ice cube time to transfer its cool effect to the candle wax so that the wax gets fully hardened. It might take 15 minutes at best.
Now take the butter knife or plastic scraper and start scraping off the fully hardened candle wax very carefully in one direction.
Do not worry about the residue or the remaining layer, as a cleaning agent is enough to remove it easily. Just make sure to scrape off most of the hardened candle wax without damaging the countertop.
You can use the vinegar-water solution or rubbing alcohol, even isopropyl alcohol if you can arrange it. The ratio of water and vinegar to dilute the vinegar is already mentioned in the heat method.
The process is the same. You have to soak the cotton cloth in the solution or cleaning agent and then squeeze it well.
Rub the cloth over the residue gently, and remove the residue from your laminate countertop.
Without worrying about your spoiled laminate countertop and vowing and sighing about not lighting candles in the future in zest, get your tools and products ready and carefully attempt any of the two methods to remove the candle wax from the laminate countertop.
