• Colored wax stains can be difficult to remove.Dripping wax of three colours image by Igor A. Bondarenko from Fotolia.com
  
  There are many kinds of waxes used in households, including natural plant waxes like carnauba wax, beeswax from honeybees, synthetic waxes and paraffin, which is a byproduct of petroleum refining. Waxes and fats are closely related chemically. Most waxes are harder and have higher melting points than fats. Natural waxes are lipids, so they do not dissolve in water and don't respond to usual cleaning methods.
  
  

Cold Method

• Allow the wax to harden before doing anything to it. If it is still warm and liquid, it will get worked into the fabric and spread around to cover more area. If the wax stain is small, you can lay the garment flat and treat the wax with an ice cube until it is hard and brittle. Then use a wooden or plastic flat scraper and flake the wax away from the cloth. Remove as much as you can by scraping.
  
  If the wax stain is large, put the garment in a clean plastic bag and place in a freezer for a while until the wax is hard. Then look at the wax to see if has penetrated the fabric. If not, it can be popped off by bending the fabric that surrounds the wax. If it has penetrated, scrape it on both sides of the fabric. Don't allow the wax to warm up. Remove any residue by the ironing method.
  
  

Ironing Method

• After using the cold method, take the garment to the ironing board and heat the iron to the temperature you would normally use for that type of fabric. Put down a heavy piece of brown paper like a clean brown grocery bag or butcher paper. If there is any lettering on the paper, it should face the ironing board rather than the garment.
  
  Place several layers of white paper towels on both sides of the stain and iron it. Check to see if the wax is melting and being absorbed into the paper toweling. Replace the paper toweling as it becomes saturated with the melted wax. Repeat until no more wax is being removed from the fabric.
  
  

Cleaning Solvents

• Some cleaning solvents sold for household use have instructions on how to use them for removing wax. If the above two methods haven't removed all the wax, especially if it is colored wax, you can try treating the stain with a commercial product. Test the product on a seam allowance or inconspicuous area first. Linda Cobb, in her book "Talking Dirty Laundry with the Queen of Clean," suggests some commercial products like Energine Cleaning Fluid and Weiman's Wax Away.
  
  

Dry Cleaning

• If the garment is not a washable one or if the stain remains after using the cold and ironing methods, take it to a dry cleaner. Be sure they make a note that it is a wax stain and where the stain is located so they can use the proper solvents.
  
  

Boiling

• If you are removing wax from cloth that has been dyed in the batik or wax resist method and the ironing method does not remove all the wax, you can try boiling the fabric. Don't use this method on silk fabric. Bring water to a boil in a large pot dedicated for non-food use. Place the fabric in the boiling water and watch for wax to rise to the surface of the boiling water. Skim the wax off as it comes to the top. Do not dispose of the water used in this method by pouring it down a drain. Instead, let the water cool, remove any hardened wax, and dispose of the water in an outside area.