Placing candles on a brick or stone fireplace or other stone surface is a common decorative flourish that adds ambience and colour to a room. Candle wax is tricky to remove from any surface, but when it spills or splatters on brick or stone, the wax can seep into the pores and grooves and create a difficult-to-remove mess. To fully remove the wax and accompanying colour stain, you must draw the wax out of the stone before cleaning the surface.

Press a clean cotton cloth on to the surface of your brick or stone. Heat your clothing iron to the lowest heat setting. Place the iron over the cotton cloth and hold it in place for several seconds so the wax liquifies and transfers to the cloth.

  • Placing candles on a brick or stone fireplace or other stone surface is a common decorative flourish that adds ambience and colour to a room.
  • Press a clean cotton cloth on to the surface of your brick or stone.

Pull rubber gloves on to protect your hands from irritation.

Combine 1 cup of ammonia with 4.5 litres of warm water. Wet a scrubbing brush with the diluted ammonia solution and use it to scrub off any oily residue from the candle wax.

Scrub the surface of your brick or stone with plain water on a cloth to rinse it off. Pat dry with a clean cotton cloth.

TIP

Allow the candle wax to harden or freeze it with ice cubes then scrape it off with a plastic scraper.

Grease-cutting washing-up liquid can be substituted to wash your brick or stone surface after the wax has been removed.

WARNING

Avoid using vinegar to remove the wax residue as the acid in vinegar can damage natural stone surfaces.