Candle Wax On Concrete Steps

balanceact

I've been tuning up a house to sell for a good client and we are both kind of stumped on how to remove candle wax that a tenant let puddle into the back steps. It's been there for a couple of years at least..

Any suggestions appreciated,

balanceact

Double-A

That's a good question.

I used to use combine wax and acetone and use it on a rag to wipe down our machines to coat the metal and seal out moisture.

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Tom R

Set it on fire and belt-sand it clean??

Brushslingers

This should work for ya, newpaper and a hot iron. put a few sheets of newpaper on the step and heat it up. I've done the same thing on carpet.. works like a charm.

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Benn

balanceact

Double A - Maybe some acetone or other sovent might help get it out.

Tom - Setting it on fire isn't a bad idea but belt sanding would kind of change the look of the surface which is rather rough textured like stucco or mortar. Personally I'd like to take a jack hammer to the whole mess and replace them with wood but this wouldn't be worth the investment with this particular house going on the market.

Brushslingers - Your newspaper and iron is a great idea and if it doesn't work it won't make it any worse.

Thanks All for your suggestions,

balanceact

RobertF

I got some off a concrete counter using a putty knife, a torch and a pile of mechanics rags.

Scraped off as much as I could, then alternated between the torch and the rags to dab it up. Worked allright, IIRC I had to use a wire brush for a final cleaning.

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-Robert F

jmon12

have you tried using real hot water and pouring it on the wax, it may melt the wax for easy cleanup and not harm the crete.

Jeremy

Teetorbilt

I'm lurking. I have a similar problem except it's on the side of a house that will be painted soon. I was planning to wet blast, It might be a viable idea here too.

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ron schenker

What I've done before was to use my soldering iron and solder sucker. Takes a little time if there's alot of wax and not very friendly to the soldering iron tip, but it worked for me.

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Don't worry, the baseboard will hide it!

mdshunk

What about those little steam cleaners that they're advertising to clean your bathrooms and kitchen countertops?

http://www.amazon.com/Eureka-350A/dp/B00005QX42